Bolivia: Government, Opposition Clash in Cooking Oil War

[struggle4progress]

Wednesday, 26 March 2008
(IPS) - The latest clash between the Bolivian government and conservative opposition forces is over a temporary government ban on exports of cooking oil, in response to domestic price hikes.

In the last few months, the local markets have suffered shortages of flour, rice, beef and other staple foods produced in Bolivia’s more affluent eastern region, accompanied by a rise in prices that the government attributes to a campaign aimed at generating discontent.

In response, the leftwing administration of Evo Morales decreed a suspension of exports of cooking oil on Mar. 19.

Minister of Rural Development and Agriculture Susana Rivero said "we cannot allow the price of cooking oil in Bolivia to be the most expensive in the world." She said a ton of soybeans in Bolivia is selling for 1,690 dollars, compared to 1,290 dollars a ton on the market in Chicago, Illinois ...

http://upsidedownworld.org/main/content/view/1197/68/