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Brazil Dismayed By Bolivian Gas Decision

Posted on: Tuesday, 2 May 2006, 18:00 CDT

Brazilian leaders expressed shock and dismay Tuesday at Bolivian President Evo Morales' decision to nationalize the country's natural gas sector.

I consider this an unfriendly action, said Brazilian Energy Minister Silas Rondeau Tuesday. A spokesman for the Brazilian state-run energy company called the action unfriendly.

Brazil's state-run oil and gas company Petrobras stands to lose an estimated $1 billion in revenue when Bolivia finalizes its takeover of the continent's second-largest gas reserves.

Later in the day, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva held emergency meetings with Petrobras officials, which were reportedly followed by calls by the Brazilian president to several other Latin American leaders with a vested interest in the Morales decree, which was announced Monday.

An indigenous leader, turned president, Morales said nationalization of gas would end the pillage of our natural resources by foreign companies ... He also said nationalization would not stop with the country's gas reserves, but would one day include its mines and other natural resources.

Source: United Press International

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