Bolivia: Drastic action needed (tags)
In Bolivia, poverty and inequality are on the increase because the government has not been able to implement its National Development Plan. A report drawn up by the Planning Ministry in Bolivia and an arm of the United Nations, the UNFPA, came to the following conclusion: "There is social and economic inequality in the country due to a lack of government policies to bridge the gaps and these inequalities will increase as time passes." The figures say it all. Poverty affects 6 out of 10 Bolivians, while 4 out of 10 live in extreme poverty. The situation is getting worse each year because the annual growth rate of the population is 200,000, but 174,000 of these will live in poverty. While the bourgeoisie plays with hunger strikes to gain so-called Autonomy, some 15,000 children die each year from hunger or hunger related diseases. On the same day that the UN report appeared, it was announced that annual economic growth had fallen from 4.5% in 2006 to 3.8% in 2007. At the same time inflation has risen to 12% mainly due to the rising cost of foodstuffs. Here are two examples. In 6 months a kilo of rice in Santa Cruz had doubled in price from 4 Bolivianos to 8. Gas bottles used for cooking had risen from 25Bs to 50Bs, but it was still hard to find any because most are being exported to Peru where they will sell for up to 125Bs. So business does not worry if Bolivians have no gas to cook with as long as they make a profit.