Bolivian Opposition Takes A Stand against Evo Morales

It seems that things in the Bolivian economic department are going from bad to worse, since president Evo Morales decided he should impose tough measures regarding the nationalization of foreign companies.

Bolivian opposition leaders have issued warnings that these measures will only force foreign investors to flee, while Brazil, which has been heavily dependent on Bolivian natural gas will look some place else for completing its supplies:"(Morales') declarations in Europe could lead us to greater international isolation and to Bolivia being shunned by investors", they said.

Morales criticized the subsidiary of Brazilian state run oil firm, Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras), stating that it has been conducting illegal operations, which, in turn, sparked outrage from Brazilian neighbors, who had invested around 1.5 billion dollars in the Bolivian economy.

After stating that natural gas prices would be set by the government and all energy operations would be transferred to the state owned energy company, Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales Bolivianos, 10 days ago, Morales surprised everyone again on Thursday.

He announced that foreign companies might run the chances of receiving no compensation for giving up their assets and control of their operations to the Bolivian state. "If they have recovered their investment, then there is no reason to compensate them whatsoever," he said.

For the moment, Morales is attending a Vienna 58 nation summit of the EU, Latin and Caribbean countries, where energy security is high on the agenda.