Bolivia's State Oil Firm Head Resigned On Accusations

The president of Bolivia's state oil company resigned on Monday following accusations he violated the government's oil nationalization decree.

Jorge Alvarado was one of the key figures in President Evo Morales' drive to nationalize the South American nation's hydrocarbons industry.

Morales and Hydrocarbons Minister Andres Soliz announced the resignation at a joint news conference in La Paz on Monday afternoon.

The Bolivian government last week acknowledged that Alvarado, who answers directly to Soliz, had violated the terms of nationalization decree by having the state oil company Yacimientos Petroleos Fiscales Bolivianos contract to export crude oil through an independent Brazilian firm.

Opposition members of the Bolivian Senate voted last Wednesday to investigate Alvarado.