LA PAZ (Reuters) – Bolivia’s Senate on Friday morning gave ultimate approval to a so-called “gold regulation” aimed toward bolstering the nation’s overseas forex reserves.

The laws, which was backed by the ruling occasion and permits the central financial institution to monetize its gold reserves, will now be despatched to President Luis Arce to be signed into regulation inside 10 days.

Fears of a scarcity of {dollars} in current months have fueled wider worries about an financial disaster in Bolivia, the place overseas trade reserves have been falling for years and the native forex is pegged to the buck.

In an announcement after the vote, Bolivia’s central financial institution stated the regulation was the results of a “consensus with gold producers, members of mining cooperatives, social and labor organizations from completely different sectors and nationwide legislators. “.

The brand new regulation will enable the central financial institution to purchase uncooked gold from the nation’s mining cooperatives and convert it into gold forex or bullion to commerce in worldwide markets.

“We accepted the regulation by a majority… It is to make sure a secure economic system within the Plurinational State,” stated Hilarion Mamani, a senator from the left-wing ruling occasion MAS.

Bolivia’s internet overseas trade reserves have fallen from a peak of over $15 billion in 2014 to lower than $4 billion at the moment.

“Bolivia goes by a deep disaster and this regulation is simply a palliative,” opposition senator Andrea Barrientos stated after the talk.