Tuesday (February 8th): Arce Strikes Oro Blanco in Bolivia

Luis Arce - Bolivia
Luis Arce

Name? Luis Arce

Westphalian identity? Bolivian

Age? 58

Why is he in the news? Bolivian president Luis Arce has been in the news lately mostly for being president of the country with the most lithium reserves in the world. Unlike his predecessor, Evo Morales, Arce took a less statist approach so that Bolivia’s state-owned company, Yacimientos de Litio Bolivianos, can offer contracts to private foreign companies for rights to mine and produce lithium, something Bolivia hasn’t the capacity to do yet.

Why do we care? As soon as Bolivia’s lithium is commercialised, Arce will be kilometres ahead in the race to profit off of it. The mineral is so valuable, it was dubbed the “white oil”. And Latin America—in particular Arce’s Bolivia—is brimming with it. Like oil in the Middle East, a commodity so highly demanded is a stabiliser for its geopolitics vis-a-vis more powerful countries and will hopefully contribute to prosperity in the region. 

Why should you care? Because lithium is indispensable to manufacture the batteries of your smartphone, camera, laptop and your electric car. But its extraction damages local ecosystems, which is why Arce must tread lightly to protect communities’ environment, so as to not experience a similar coup to Evo Morales. You should care 8/10 about the white gold the entire world is after. 

Who else cares? Argentinian president Alberto Fernández and President-Elect Gabriel Boric of Chile. Them, with Arce, form the “Lithium Triangle” of South America, where together they hold 63% of global lithium reserves. Boric promises to nationalise the lithium industry, where lithium is exported already; and Fernández proposed increasing yearly production of lithium carbonate by 700% in order to promote private and foreign investment – something Argentina’s defaulting economy is in desperate need of. 

Any further comments? Despite the controversies of its mining, lithium is essential to decarbonisation, and Arce and his counterparts could elevate South America to be a truly indispensable part of carbon neutrality efforts.

Francia Morales

Editor in Chief for Research and Analysis