Statement by Mr. Pedro Luis Pedroso Cuesta, Cuban Ambassador, in the trade policy examination of the Plurinational State of Bolivia. November 14, 2017
Mr. Chairman,
We thank you for your introductory words and the speaker, Ambassador Francisco Lima, for the report presented.
We would like to extend a warm welcome to the high level delegation from La Paz, chaired by His Excellency Mr. Clarens Emdara, Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade and Integration of the brother Government of the Plurinational State of Bolivia.
To begin with, it is remarkable to note, as indicated in the Secretariat's report, that the real GDP growth has been around 5% per year during the period covered by this report, the decade from 2006 to 2016. This is especially important in the international context of those years, which was not the most favorable due to the financial crises that affected many economies of countries in the region, as well as the crisis in the prices of raw materials that has persisted since 2014 until today. This growth was fundamental in reducing poverty and extreme poverty rates and in improving the income distribution, which had persistently affected the country since previous decades.
We must emphasize that this stable economic growth is related to the implementation for more than a decade of the Economic Community Social Productive Model, which has been conducted with the aim of improving social indicators such as the increase of employment, the reduction of poverty and inequality. In this context, it is highlighted that Bolivia has not followed the economic orthodoxy promoted by the IMF and the World Bank, in turn it has followed its own development system based on the "Living Well" philosophy, stemming from the ancestral multicultural wealth of that nation.
This model has provided the country with economic sovereignty to adopt measures aimed at increasing tax revenues, including the expansion of the tax base and the application of additional rates to the Corporate Profits Tax. It has also allowed it to work for the diversification of the productive matrix and the industrialization of its natural resources. As the Bolivian authorities have pointed out, the nationalization of natural resources and the reform of public enterprises have contributed to higher revenues. All these actions have been aimed at reducing poverty, redistributing income and achieving exchange stability, among other purposes.
The Bolivian experience has been successful in various fields. The increase in the per capita GDP by 153%, from US $ 1,227 in 2005 to US $ 3,100 in 2016 is noteworthy. In addition, Bolivia has reduced the extreme poverty inherited from 38% in 2005 to 16.8% in 2015. The levels of urban poverty fell from 24% to 9.3% and the rural one fell to 33.3% from 59.6%.
It is worth mentioning that in the period covered by the report, substantial improvements have been made in the distribution of income, which is demonstrated by the fact that the Gini coefficient fell from 0.60 in 2005 to 0.49 in 2014. Last year, the IMF itself acknowledged that Bolivia achieved substantial socio-economic progress and that poverty had been reduced to one third. In addition, it highlights that unemployment reached close to 3% in several years and not higher than 4.9%.
The Bolivian economy in the last ten years has expanded at accelerated rates as a result of the implementation of prudent macroeconomic policies.
It is clear from the Bolivian experience that the countercyclical policies implemented have allowed them to successfully counteract the exogenous adverse shocks and this is demonstrated by the growth rate registered from 2014 to 2016 despite the crisis in primary products. It also highlights that the sectors that promoted this dynamic were those most linked to fiscal and monetary incentives.
The exchange policy of Bolivia contributed to consolidate the domestic market, maintain anchored the expectations and the "Bolivianization" of the economy, the latter being the decisive factor for the recovery of the monetary policy instruments.
Another meritorious aspect is the decrease in public debt during the period under review, which fell from 22% of GDP in 2005 to 8.9% in 2016.
Likewise, the progress linked to the customs administration should be highlighted. In this regard, the procedure of nationalization of goods at the border on means and transport units, has allowed them to achieve that from April 2015 to May 2017, on average, 57% of the nationalization of the goods was carried out in less than 24 hours. Also, better customs practices are implemented such as the Advanced Presentation of Goods Declaration, the Authorized Economic Operator System, which narrows the relationship between customs and the business sector, the simplified customs processing and the digitalization of procedures.
Bolivia is a country increasingly integrated as for the political and economic-commercial point of view, particularly in the Latin American region. It is a member of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), the Latin American Integration Association (ALADI), the Andean Community (CAN), the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America - Treaty of Commerce of the Peoples (ALBA-TCP) and is in process of adhesion to the Common Market of the South (MERCOSUR).
In this Organization, the Bolivian delegation, although small in number, is very active and its wise contributions in negotiations and regular work have enriched the debates and positions in defense of the increasing integration of the developing countries and LDCs in the Multilateral Trading System.
Mr. Chairman,
Cuba takes this opportunity to congratulate the brother people and Government of Bolivia for the great progress made in the last ten years in the economic, commercial and social areas, which demonstrates the commitment of the Bolivian governmental authorities to the Multilateral Trade System. We are convinced that the profound changes taking place under the leadership of President Evo Morales have been decisive to demonstrate today in this House the clear progress made in the implementation of its economic, commercial and social policies.
We wish them success in defending their report and we urge them to continue with their genuinely national policies, which have allowed them to show their excellent results as a good example to follow by many members.
Thank you very much.