Argentina to pay more for Bolivian natural gas

[Judi Lynn]

Argentina to pay more for Bolivian natural gas

Thursday, June 29, 2006; Posted: 3:15 p.m. EDT (19:15 GMT)



Bolivian President Evo Morales, left,
and Argentine President Nestor Kirchner
attend a ceremony in Buenos Aires on Thursday.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) -- President Nestor Kirchner met his Bolivian counterpart Evo Morales with a bear hug Thursday and then agreed to a 47 percent price hike for the Bolivian natural gas Argentina needs to fuel South America's second-largest economy.

The accord means Argentina's price will rise from $3.38 to about $5, in U.S. dollars, per million British thermal units.

Kirchner also announced a joint pledge to move foward with ambitious plans for a natural gas pipeline linking Bolivia's southern gasfields with northern Argentina.

The pipeline and price hikes have been the subject of intense negotiations, which had hit a snag after Morales' abrupt state takeover of Bolivia's energy sector in May.

The two leftist presidents announced the deal in back-to-back speeches interrupted by raucous applause from a crowd of thousands of Bolivian migrants at a campaign-style rally.
(snip)

Viva, Argentina! Long Live, Bolivia!" he concluded amid raucous cheers and drum beats.\
(snip/...)

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americas/06/29/Argentina.Bolivia.ap/index.html

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In case you didn't catch it, AP wants you to know AP sees the Bolivians (Evo Morales supporters) in the audience as RAUCOUS. Real peasants, AP finds! Might as well do a little regime changin', right? They are too crude and stupid to make their own presidential choices, apparently, according to A.P., the news service of the gods. :sarcasm:

www.m-w.com

raucous
One entry found for raucous.

Main Entry: rau·cous
Pronunciation: 'ro-k&s
Function: adjective
Etymology: L raucus hoarse; akin to Latin ravis hoarseness
1 : disagreeably harsh or strident : HOARSE <raucous voices>
2 : boisterously disorderly <a... raucous frontier town --

[bemildred]

1. It's nice that they worked this out amicably.

The price sounds like a compromise between current market price and the old arrangement.