PPO Abogados has helped the French Development Agency (AFD) grant a loan of 100 million euros (US$118 million) to Bolivia to support households severely affected by the covid-19 pandemic.
The deal closed on 31 August. The Bolivian government relied on in-house counsel.
With the funds, the state will grant financial support by issuing vouchers to vulnerable members of society, including for children and students from kindergarten to the second year of primary school, senior citizens without access to pension programmes, pregnant women, mothers of children younger than two and people with disabilities.
The negotiations of the agreement faced certain challenges, not only because it occurred during a global health crisis, but also due to political changes in the country, following last year’s national elections and the change of administration from President Jeanine Áñez to President Luis Arce Catacora.
According to the legislative proposal, the credit agreement must be paid back in full between January 2026 and June 2035.
This is not the first time that AFD has lent to the South American country. Last year, it granted a loan of 100 million euros (US$118 million), which the Bolivian government used to support vulnerable people during the pandemic. In addition, the French government donated US$1 million to Bolivia for the purchase of PCR tests and other medical equipment.
Counsel to the French Development Agency (AFD)
PPO Abogados
Partners Carlos Pinto and Lindsay Sykes, and associates Ingrid Reese and Andrea Lizárraga