24

This paper focuses on the debate over the proposal of economic transformation carried out by MAS in Bolivia, and specifically it is based on the analysis of recent changes concerning the State’s role in raw materials exploitation and the regulation of foreign enterprises. We therefore start by placing the so called hydrocarbon nationalization process in the overall transformation proposal, in order to put forward what the latter consisted of. Finally, we analyse the evolution of six indicators during the period between 2006 and 2009, which allows us to assess the outcomes of this process: FDI, investment in exploration and drilling, oil production, exports, reserves and fiscal income. This analysis allows us to dispute the validity of arguments in favour of lower fiscal pressure to stimulate investment and fiscal income. However, some limitations and inadequacies of the nationalization strategy need to be mentioned.