Bianca Paiva
Reporter Agência Brasil

Brasília - The Bolivian gas crisis could be turned into an "unparalleled opportunity" for the Brazilian government to get out in front of the problem, says Adriano Pires, of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and director of the Brazilian Infrastructure Center (CBIE).

"In the past Brazil never considered natural gas an important energy source," Pires pointed out in an interview on Radiobras' Radio Nacional AM. But with the completion of the Brazil-Bolivia gas pipeline and the resultant spike in supply, Brazil suddenly became dependent on gas from Bolivia. Although Brazil still uses a small amount of gas in absolute terms (only 8% of the energy used in Brazil comes from natural gas - the world average is 24%), 50% of what it uses comes from Bolivia. "That is an excessive dependence," declared the CBIE director.

Pires went on to say that if the crisis gets worse the only alternative for Brazil will be to ration gas use. "That will mean cutting off some consumers - those who have easy access to alternative sources of energy," he explained.

In conclusion, Pires said that the Bolivian gas crisis does not mean that future plans for continental integration have to be abandoned. "In the mid- and long-term, the tendency is for the strengthening of democracy in Latin America with more stable governments that will honor contracts with the private sector," he declared.

Translator: Allen Bennett