SOBOCE files complaint against Bolivia with Andean Community

Sociedad Boliviana de Cemento S.A. (SOBOCE) has filed a formal complaint against the Plurinational State of Bolivia before the General Secretariat of the Andean Community (SGCA). The company alleges a breach of legal security and discriminatory treatment against a subregional investor, citing protections under Decision 291.

SOBOCE is also seeking to suspend the execution of a court sentence that mandates a coercive payment of more than 744 million bolivianos to FANCESA. The company has requested that the Andean Court of Justice review the case before the payment is enforced.

Ricardo Barrientos, SOBOCE’s National Manager of Administration and Finance, stated that the dispute stems from a debt the State has owed the company for 16 years rather than issues of unfair competition. Barrientos characterized the legal proceedings as a tool of pressure intended to force negotiations regarding expropriation amounts, alleging a decade of judicial irregularities and lack of due process.