Three Ministers Resign From Bolivia's de Facto Government

The Bolivian ministers of Economy and Public Finance, Oscar Ortiz; of Labor, Employment and Social Security, Oscar Mercado Céspedes; and of Productive Development, Abel Martínez, left their posts on Monday, while the businessman Branko Marinkovic left the Development Planning Ministry to become the new Economy and Finance Minister.

In the case of Ortiz, he said at a press conference that he did not resign from his post, "although they developed a false information campaign saying that he had done so, surely to pressure me to do so. It seems to me an unworthy way to act."

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He said that in his actions, he will always put principles before interests, so no charge should justify going against the principles and ethics that have guided his actions.

In this sense, Ortiz stressed that "I am not willing to sign any decree that goes against the legal system or that does not have sufficient legal backing," while admitting to having differences with other authorities of the de facto government.

In the case of Mercado Céspedes, through a press release, Bolivia's governmental authorities communicated the decision of the now ex-official to resign from the position he held since July 2019.

Mercado Céspedes announced that this Tuesday, he will offer a press conference to explain the reasons for his resignation. However, he told national media that it is related to the same reasons as those of Ortiz, given he opposed the signing of the decree to privatize the Light and Electric Power Company (Elfec).

As such, the move was issued through a press release from the Ministry of Productive Development; however, for the time being, it is unknown why he decided to resign from his position.

At present, the former Minister of Planning, Branko Marinkovic, has been appointed as the new Minister of Economy and Public Finance. In contrast, the de facto President, Jeanine Añez, has appointed two other heads of agencies to fill the vacancies.

Añez has also appointed Gonzalo Quiroga as Minister of Planning, and Alvaro Tejerina as the new Minister of Labor, at a ceremony held at Palacio Quemado in La Paz.