The shrinking of a staple loaf of bread in Bolivia highlights the severity of its economic crisis ahead of Sunday’s presidential election.
For years, Bolivians could get a 100-gram (3.5-ounce) “battle bread” from government-subsidized bakeries for just 7¢. But now, while the price remains the same, buyers get a loaf 60% the size. “It’s like eating a bit of air, a Communion wafer,” a shopper in La Paz said.
The Movement Toward Socialism has ruled Bolivia since 2006, for years benefiting from a commodities boom. However, as state revenues have fallen, the model has become ruinously expensive, with the government spending 4.2% of GDP on subsidies, feeding a crisis that has opposition candidates leading the presidential race.