LA PAZ, Aug 21 (Reuters) – Bolivia’s government has named Oscar Mario Justiniano Pinto as interim Economy Minister, removing Jose Gabriel Espinoza from the post, according to a presidential decree published Friday in the Official Gazette.
The move comes days after Bolivia’s Congress voted to censure Espinoza, dealing a setback to President Rodrigo Paz’s government amid mounting economic challenges.
Espinoza said on Tuesday he would take legal action against the censure, which the government called unconstitutional, and turn to the nation’s top constitutional tribunal to review the decision.
Paz’s administration initially said Espinoza would remain in office while the tribunal reviewed the dispute.
Friday’s decree established that Pinto, Bolivia’s environment minister, will head the economy ministry until a permanent candidate is appointed. It did not provide a timeline.
Espinoza’s ouster comes at a sensitive time for Paz’s government, which is seeking congressional backing for economic reforms and for a financing program negotiated with the International Monetary Fund in July that still requires approval from both Bolivia’s Congress and the IMF Executive Board.
(Reporting by Sergio Limachi; Writing by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez, Editing by Lucinda Elliott and Daina Beth Solomon)
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