Andrónico Rodríguez indicated that the Government is keeping the money from the loans.

The president of the Senate, Andrónico Rodríguez, denounced that the Government holds more than 2 billion dollars in cash and banks without executing. He pointed out that these funds come from previously approved credits and should be allocated to address emergencies. This statement arises amid the Executive's pressure for the Assembly to approve new loans, Rodríguez described the Government's stance as contradictory.

The National Council of Autonomies, which brought together governors with President Luis Arce, demanded the Assembly approve two credits. One is a loan of 250 million dollars intended for natural disasters, and the other is a COVID credit of 100 million dollars to address emergencies. They warned that if not approved, legal actions will be initiated against the Legislature.

Rodríguez questioned the attempt to blame the Assembly for the lack of resources and indicated that the problem is the non-execution of already available funds. He assured that the Government has enough unused resources to address urgent needs and criticized seeking more debt without first accounting for the use of previous money.

The Government, meanwhile, maintains that the available resources are insufficient to face the crisis. The MAS member Luis Arce declared that the magnitude of the rains and disasters exceeds what was expected. He explained that the funds from the General Treasury of the Nation are depleting rapidly and asked the Assembly to approve the pending international credits.

The rains have left more than 450,000 families affected throughout the country. According to the Ministry of Defense, there are 4,971 affected communities. The number of deceased rises to 52, while material damages continue to increase.

In this scenario, the Government insists that external financing is required. It considers that without new credits, it will be difficult to attend to all the affected regions.

The Legislative Assembly held a session to address the 100 million dollar JICA credit. This loan was signed in March 2023 and proposed for use in the Preliminary Electoral Results Transmission system. Legislators questioned this decision and demanded greater transparency in the distribution of funds.

The Evista senator Santos Mamani opposed the approval of new credits without a detailed report from the Executive. He argued that the money is freely available and its use must be clarified. Another Evista legislator, Freddy Mamani, questioned the destination of the funds and stated that he will not support new loans without guarantees of their proper execution.

Rodríguez recalled that a CAF credit of 75 million dollars for climate emergencies was recently approved. This loan was enacted by Arce on March 19 and has not yet been executed, despite being for immediate disbursement. Rodríguez demanded that this money be used as soon as possible to help the affected communities and criticized the Government for not prioritizing the urgent needs of the population.

Is the Government only interested in accumulating more money?

President Arce replied that the Assembly is not fulfilling its role, stating that the lack of credit approval hinders emergency response. He affirmed that without the loans from the IDB and Japan, the country's economic situation will worsen. He insisted that legislative opposition puts humanitarian assistance at risk because the lack of resources prevents an effective response to the crisis.

The National Council of Autonomies declared the national emergency a priority and determined the creation of working groups to analyze the situation. They seek to coordinate with local governments a response strategy to the disasters. They also committed to managing more financing for the hardest-hit regions.

Senators opposing the credits argue that the Government must be more transparent. They question seeking additional debt without justifying the use of previous resources. They propose that before approving more loans, the Executive must provide clear accounts.

Rodriguez requested that aid be expedited with the already existing 2 billion dollars. He also demanded that the Executive provide detailed reports on the resources in cash and banks. He assured that the Assembly can't approve more debts without knowing the destination of previous loans.

While the country faces a humanitarian crisis, the ruling party is embroiled in political disputes and bureaucratic excuses. The lack of loan execution reflects the Government's negligence, which only cares about its political stability. This lack of effective management highlights the deficiencies of a model that prioritizes power control over the true needs of the people.