Bolivia to earmark extra funds for public investment in 2016

Bolivian President Evo Morales said Friday his government would earmark an extra 1-2 billion U.S. dollars for public investments in 2016 to boost internal growth.

"This year, on top of the 8.3 billion U.S. dollars already earmarked for public investments, we will add between 1-2 billion U.S. dollars," Morales said.

The president announced this strong injection of public funds shortly after losing a referendum, which forbids him from standing for a fourth term in office in 2019.

"Now the people have decided I have to go in 2019, we will make larger investments. We will spend money as we have money to spend," Morales said, adding the amount spent could be even larger if companies "play their part" and invest more in the national economy.

The current budget is already standing at a historical high of 8.3 billion dollars, around 1 billion more than the budget in 2015.

In the 2016 budget, around 2.59 billion dollars will be spent on 29 key projects, which are seen as a priority by the state.

However, the government has lowered its original GDP growth goal of 5.8 percent this year to 5 percent, due to the fall in oil prices.

In recent years, Bolivia has managed to maintain steady economic growth, ranking among the best-performing economies in Latin America. Endi