Bolivia’s Morales to renegotiate contracts

Bolivia’s future president said Dec. 20 he plans to strengthen relations with state-owned foreign companies as he seeks to assert ownership over his nation’s large energy reserves. Indian coca farmer Evo Morales has pledged to increase state control of Bolivia’s oil and gas reserves, but says he will not confiscate refineries or infrastructure. Instead, his government would renegotiate contracts so that multinationals are partners but not owners in developing Bolivia’s resources, he said.

“Many of these contracts signed by various governments are illegal and unconstitutional. It is not possible that our natural resources continue to be looted, exploited illegally, and as the lawyers say, these contracts are legally void and must be adjusted,” Morales told reports Dec. 20.

He said his government would start a dialogue with the governments and leaders of the corresponding companies, and “we are going to strengthen our relations with state oil companies and welcome and value their proposals.”

Morales has close relations with Venezuela President Hugo Chavez, who is also trying to change the role of foreign oil companies in his country.

With just over half the votes counted, the leftist Morales had 50.1 percent of the Dec. 18 vote. He needs a bare majority to win outright and avoid having congress choose between him and conservative rival Jorge Quiroga in mid-January.

President Eduardo Rodriguez’s administration said it was organizing a transition team in anticipation of Morales’ inauguration on Jan. 22.

On Dec. 19, Morales said Brazilian oil company Petrobras must turn two refineries it owns in Bolivia back to Bolivian control. Morales announced that he had asked Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to return the refineries, which Petrobras purchased in the last decade. Petrobras bought the two refineries from Bolivia’s state-owned oil company in 1999 for roughly US$100 million.

—The Associated Press