MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th November, 2019) Bolivian economy suffered a $167 million loss in the first two weeks of the strikes and protests by opponents of the country's president-elect Evo Morales, Economy Minister Luis Alberto Arce Catacora.
Opposition in Santa Cruz, the nation's economic hub, has started an open-ended strike to force Morales out, who was allowed to run again despite serving two consecutive terms. Protests have spread to other regions.
"We calculated ... along with data provided by INE [National Institute of Statistics] that over the 14 days the country lost $167 million," Red Patria Nueva radio broadcaster quoted Arce as saying.
According to the minister, the strike hit the transport and trade sectors the most, as well as government services, which together lost an average of almost $12 million a day until Monday.
Arce stressed that the damage will only increase and will affect the country's GDP if the closure of state institutions and borders is announced.
Protests in Bolivia broke out in the aftermath of the October 20 presidential and parliamentary elections after the authorities said incumbent President Morales had won the voting. The opposition has disputed the results and criticized the vote-counting process, citing a lack of transparency.
Morales described the protests as an attempted coup d'etat, staged by the right-wing opposition.
