On May 1, during a rally celebrating International Workers’ Day, Bolivian President Evo Morales announced the nationalization of Air BP, a subsidiary of British Petroleum that supplies jet fuel to a dozen airports throughout the country. The company has agreed to the nationalization and will be compensated.
The announcement is part of an ongoing campaign to nationalize energy resources in Bolivia, and a struggle within Bolivia for equality and social justice. According to the government, the revenues will be used to fund social programs, including a universal pension system.
On May 1, 2006, Morales nationalized foreign-owned oil and gas companies, and in 2008, he nationalized a major telecommunications company.
Even before the election of Morales in December 2005, the people of Bolivia have had a deep history of resisting privatization. In 1999, Bolivians forced a U.S.-owned company that had bought the rights to the water to flee the country.
