Energy-Rich Keeping Profit at Home

LA PAZ, Bolivia For centuries, this country made it easy for prospectors to mine, from the Spaniards who plundered its gold to the tin barons of the 19th century to the multinational energy companies that flocked here in the 1990s to develop Latin America’s second-largest natural gas deposits.

But like many energy-producing countries these days in Latin America and elsewhere, Bolivia has pulled back the welcome mat. With an angry population demanding more of the benefits, and some groups calling for outright expropriation, the government recently raised royalties and taxes to among the highest levels in Latin America.
International Herald Tribune