LA PAZ, April 22 (Reuters) – Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz on Wednesday appointed Marcelo Blanco as the country’s new energy and hydrocarbons minister, replacing Mauricio Medinaceli less than six months into the new administration’s term.
Blanco previously served as vice minister of electricity and renewable energies.
The leadership change comes as Bolivia faces acute shortages of fuel and U.S. dollars. Dwindling foreign currency reserves have been further eroded by a slump in energy production and exports.
Paz ended nearly two decades of leftist rule when he took office last November, promising to open parts of the economy to private investment and close loss-making state firms to reverse a deepening economic crisis.
(Reporting by Daniel Ramos and Monica Machicao; Writing by Natalia Siniawski; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Tom Hogue)
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