He stated that, for this reason, the best exchange rate regime for the benefit of the population must be determined.

At the same press conference, Economy Minister Jose Gabriel Espinoza announced that the 2026 General State Budget will establish an exchange rate regime that will allow for more efficient management of this sector, without providing further details of the new exchange rate policy that will govern the Plurinational State.

The two officials addressed the exchange rate issue before journalists at the Government Palace, after President Rodrigo Paz swore in Espinoza as head of the BCB.

Bolivia has maintained an official exchange rate of 6.96 bolivianos per dollar since 2011. However, in the last three years, as a result of the scarcity of US dollars, a parallel market emerged, in which the dollar reached a rate of nearly 20 bolivianos.

Following President Paz’s inauguration, the exchange rate dropped to around 10 bolivianos.

“What the public needs to understand is that maintaining a fixed exchange rate, as has been done in recent years, has been a mistake, and that mistake has led to all the economic consequences that we now have to address,” reiterated the head of the central bank.

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