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While many developed countries are raising the retirement age, Bolivia has a new pension law lowering it from 65 to 58.
It also nationalizes pension funds and extends the state pension to people working in the informal sector.
Critics claim that Bolivia will be unable to fund the system in the future. It privatized pension funds 13 years ago after a state-run system collapsed.
MEANWHILE at Cancun's climate summit, President Evo Morales demanded more action on the environment.
"If we here throw the Kyoto Protocol into the garbage dump, we would be responsible for economy-cide, for ecocide -- indeed, for genocide -- as we would be harming humanity as a whole," he said to loud applause. Morales wants an agreement that protects native populations and gives climate assistance to poor countries at a level "equivalent to the budget that developed countries spend on defense, security and warfare."
FOR NEW LINK DETAILS, SEE:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/dec/11/cancun-talks-evo-morales
ALSO: Repsol YFP and other energy companies will invest about $2 billion dollars in four Bolivian natural-gas fields over the next five years.
FOR DETAILS, SEE:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-08/repsol-bg-group-others-to-invest-2-billion-in-bolivia-by-2015.html
FINALLY: Japan will help develop Bolivia's large lithium reserves and in construction of a geothermal power plant in Potosi with a loan. The Laguna Colorada plant loan is Japan's first since it forgave Bolivia's foreign debt four years ago. "Japan is the only country to forgive (our debt) and then later begin to provide loans to Bolivia," Morales said.
