SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Bolivia Nationalizes Its Three Main Airports
Feb 19, 2013
Bolivia's President Evo Morales announced the nationalization of the country's three main airports on Monday, saying the Spanish company that operated them had sought to "maximize profits" at Bolivia's expense and had failed to make necessary investments.
The airports, in La Paz, Cochabamba and Santa Cruz, were operated by Sabsa (Servicios de Aeropuertos Bolivianos), and, according to BBC News, "had been jointly managed by the Barcelona-based company Abertis and Spain's airport authority."
Reuters reports:
"I want to let the people of Bolivia know about the nationalization of Sabsa," Morales said in a televised speech in the central city of Cochabamba, adding that the company had made "an exorbitant profit with a derisory capital input."
"For this and other reasons, we were obliged to make this decision. We were ready to do this years ago, but we waited because of our diplomatic relations with certain countries," he said.
Morales also denounced the high salary the head of Sabsa, Antony Alicastro, received, saying Alicastro's monthly salary was equivalent to what he made in 8 months.
Andres Schipani reported in the Financial Times that Morales also "labeled the privatization of airports as 'looting'" on Monday.
Spain's Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo said the nationalization was an "unfriendly act" that "would have its consequences."
And El Pais reports that Albertis is seeking $90 million in compensation for the loss and is reportedly looking into legal action against the Bolivian government.
The move marks the country's third expropriation of a Spanish company in less than a year.
BBC News reports:
Since taking office in 2006, Mr Morales has nationalised several oil, telecommunications and energy-generating companies.
Last December, he brought two Spanish-owned electricity supply companies under state control after they allegedly overcharged consumers in rural areas.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Bolivia's President Evo Morales announced the nationalization of the country's three main airports on Monday, saying the Spanish company that operated them had sought to "maximize profits" at Bolivia's expense and had failed to make necessary investments.
The airports, in La Paz, Cochabamba and Santa Cruz, were operated by Sabsa (Servicios de Aeropuertos Bolivianos), and, according to BBC News, "had been jointly managed by the Barcelona-based company Abertis and Spain's airport authority."
Reuters reports:
"I want to let the people of Bolivia know about the nationalization of Sabsa," Morales said in a televised speech in the central city of Cochabamba, adding that the company had made "an exorbitant profit with a derisory capital input."
"For this and other reasons, we were obliged to make this decision. We were ready to do this years ago, but we waited because of our diplomatic relations with certain countries," he said.
Morales also denounced the high salary the head of Sabsa, Antony Alicastro, received, saying Alicastro's monthly salary was equivalent to what he made in 8 months.
Andres Schipani reported in the Financial Times that Morales also "labeled the privatization of airports as 'looting'" on Monday.
Spain's Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo said the nationalization was an "unfriendly act" that "would have its consequences."
And El Pais reports that Albertis is seeking $90 million in compensation for the loss and is reportedly looking into legal action against the Bolivian government.
The move marks the country's third expropriation of a Spanish company in less than a year.
BBC News reports:
Since taking office in 2006, Mr Morales has nationalised several oil, telecommunications and energy-generating companies.
Last December, he brought two Spanish-owned electricity supply companies under state control after they allegedly overcharged consumers in rural areas.
Bolivia's President Evo Morales announced the nationalization of the country's three main airports on Monday, saying the Spanish company that operated them had sought to "maximize profits" at Bolivia's expense and had failed to make necessary investments.
The airports, in La Paz, Cochabamba and Santa Cruz, were operated by Sabsa (Servicios de Aeropuertos Bolivianos), and, according to BBC News, "had been jointly managed by the Barcelona-based company Abertis and Spain's airport authority."
Reuters reports:
"I want to let the people of Bolivia know about the nationalization of Sabsa," Morales said in a televised speech in the central city of Cochabamba, adding that the company had made "an exorbitant profit with a derisory capital input."
"For this and other reasons, we were obliged to make this decision. We were ready to do this years ago, but we waited because of our diplomatic relations with certain countries," he said.
Morales also denounced the high salary the head of Sabsa, Antony Alicastro, received, saying Alicastro's monthly salary was equivalent to what he made in 8 months.
Andres Schipani reported in the Financial Times that Morales also "labeled the privatization of airports as 'looting'" on Monday.
Spain's Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo said the nationalization was an "unfriendly act" that "would have its consequences."
And El Pais reports that Albertis is seeking $90 million in compensation for the loss and is reportedly looking into legal action against the Bolivian government.
The move marks the country's third expropriation of a Spanish company in less than a year.
BBC News reports:
Since taking office in 2006, Mr Morales has nationalised several oil, telecommunications and energy-generating companies.
Last December, he brought two Spanish-owned electricity supply companies under state control after they allegedly overcharged consumers in rural areas.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.
To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good.
News & Opinion
Trending
Common Dreams, Inc. Founded 1997. Registered 501(c3) Non-Profit
Privacy Policy