Bolivia is dismantling its three year state controlled gold trading regime to pull more dollars into its financial system. Exporters will no longer need a central bank certificate to ship gold, and the central bank will stop buying gold itself, its president David Espinoza said. In place of the certificate, exporters must show the regulator SENARECOM that at least 80 percent of export proceeds are deposited in Bolivian financial institutions, with the finance ministry able to adjust that share.
The reform, backed by President Rodrigo Paz, aims to increase foreign currency inflows, improve dollar availability and tighten oversight, a government spokesperson said. It follows a 2023 gold law that officials say pushed trade into contraband channels, and a recent move to a flexible exchange rate.
The stakes are visible in the trade data: gold exports reached about 1.02 billion dollars in the first five months of 2026, close to the roughly 1.19 billion dollars recorded for all of 2025 and well above the 2024 slump. For a dollar short economy, how gold leaves the country now matters as much as how much leaves.