La Paz, Bolivia – The president of Bolivia’s state oil company, Jorge Alvarado, resigned Monday amid a probe into a contract with a Brazilian company, marking a setback in the drive to nationalize the country’s hydrocarbons industry.
In his letter of resignation, read at a news conference in La Paz, Alvarado wrote that the accusations against him were “an attack by the oligarchy and the reactionary right wing” aimed at halting the nationalization process.
He said he was resigning “to avoid committing any further harm to the great ideas for change in our country.”
Alvarado was a key figure in leftist President Evo Morales’ drive to nationalize the nation’s hydrocarbons industry, but his leadership of Yacimientos Petroleos Fiscales Bolivianos, or YPFB, has come under increased scrutiny.
The Bolivian government last week acknowledged that Alvarado had violated the terms of the May 1 nationalization decree by having YPFB contract to export crude oil through an independent Brazilian firm.
Opposition members of the Bolivian Senate voted Wednesday to open an investigation of Alvarado.
Morales said Monday that Alvarado had committed “no act of corruption, nor harm to the state” and alleged there was a “conspiracy” among opposition figures and international petroleum interests to slow Bolivia’s nationalization process.
Former YPFB vice president Juan Carlos Ortiz will fill Alvarado’s position.
Under Morales’ decree, YPFB is required to assume control of every stage of the production process. Foreign companies were given six months to cede operational control to YPFB or leave the country.
Earlier this month, Bolivia announced nationalization would be suspended while YPFB underwent a complete reorganization and sought $180 million in emergency financing.
Critics say YPFB lacks the resources or technical know- how to manage Bolivia’s natural-gas reserves on its own.
