LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Tired of gasoline shortages and skyrocketing prices, Simón Huanca took matters into his own hands.
The 53-year-old Indigenous artisan imported a Chinese electric car to navigate El Alto, Bolivia’s highest city, using the vehicle to transport both his family and the alpaca wool for his weaving workshop.
Click to Gallery
FILE - Bolivian Workers' Union members march to protest fuel subsidy cuts in El Alto, Bolivia, Jan. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Freddy Barragan, File)
People walks past electric cars displayed for sale at "La Feria de la 16 de Julio," in El Alto, Bolivia, Sunday, April 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
FILE - Public transport drivers protest poor gasoline fuel quality, one holding a sign with a message that reads in Spanish; "Enough with the trash gas. Corrupt ones," in La Paz, Bolivia, March 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Juan Karita, File)
An electrician installs a home electric vehicle charging station in La Paz, Bolivia, Tuesday, April 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
Simón Huanca drives his electric vehicle through the streets of El Alto, Bolivia, Friday, April 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
He also installed a dedicated charger in his own garage, mainly for convenience, but also because there are only three public charging stations serving the vast metropolitan area of El Alto and neighboring La Paz, home to more than 1.6 million people.
“Since last year, I’ve been trying to get an electric car to save on costs,” Huanca said while driving his electric off-road vehicle through a working-class neighborhood.
Huanca is one of a small but growing number of Bolivians abandoning their fossil fuel-powered cars for electric vehicles as the South American country grapples with fuel shortages and a presidential decree that ended long-standing fuel subsidies, effectively doubling the cost of gasoline.
Bolivia's energy supply disruptions worsened in 2023 under then President Luis Arce, who maintained a state subsidy under which the country purchased fuel at international prices and sold it at half its value on the domestic market.
But Bolivia — which imports 80% of the diesel and 55% of the gasoline it consumes — gradually ran out of foreign currency to purchase fuel, and the subsidy represented an annual drain of more than $2 billion on the state.
Long lines of vehicles waiting at gas stations became a common sight.
In December — one month after taking office — President Rodrigo Paz repealed the subsidy, and energy prices nearly doubled, hitting Bolivians hard.
A few weeks later, transport operators complained that the poor quality of the gasoline was damaging their vehicles. The government alleged sabotage, and Paz said that the gasoline distributed by state-owned oil company Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales Bolivianos was contaminated with gum and manganese that had remained in the storage tanks since the Arce administration.
The “junk gasoline” scandal triggered a wave of strikes and protests among transportation workers and the resignations of two high-ranking officials at the state-owned oil company.
The last straw for many Bolivians was the Iran war. Faced with the possibility of yet another rise in fuel prices, some traded in their gasoline-powered cars for electric vehicles.
“The investment exceeds $36,000, but I no longer waste valuable working hours searching for fuel or managing vehicle repairs,” said Ever Vera, a 54-year-old lawyer.
The number of electric vehicles in Bolivia climbed from 500 to 3,352 in the last five years, according to the Single Registry for Tax Administration, which compiles data on tax-paying vehicles. The most significant surge was recorded over the last two years, coinciding with the fuel crisis. They still only make up a tiny fraction of the estimated 2.6 million vehicles in the country of almost 12 million people.
The vast majority of these vehicles were imported from China, followed by the United States.
“The growth is exponential,” said Freddy Koch, an electromobility expert with the independent nonprofit organization Swisscontact. He noted that while these vehicles are being purchased by more affluent buyers, he expects them to gain broader appeal and predicts that the total number of electric vehicles could triple in as little as two to three years.
Paz also eliminated import tariffs on all types of automobiles, a move that has multiplied the number of importers competing with one another to bring these vehicles into Bolivia at a lower cost.
The rising number of electric vehicles has created new opportunities for 38-year-old electrician Marcelo Laura. A month ago, he identified a lucrative niche in the installation of residential and commercial charging stations.
“There aren’t many public charging stations,” he said. “A year ago, I thought it was practically impossible to think that people would actually be bringing in electric cars.”
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
FILE - Bolivian Workers' Union members march to protest fuel subsidy cuts in El Alto, Bolivia, Jan. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Freddy Barragan, File)
People walks past electric cars displayed for sale at "La Feria de la 16 de Julio," in El Alto, Bolivia, Sunday, April 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
FILE - Public transport drivers protest poor gasoline fuel quality, one holding a sign with a message that reads in Spanish; "Enough with the trash gas. Corrupt ones," in La Paz, Bolivia, March 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Juan Karita, File)
An electrician installs a home electric vehicle charging station in La Paz, Bolivia, Tuesday, April 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
Simón Huanca drives his electric vehicle through the streets of El Alto, Bolivia, Friday, April 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
TENERIFE, Spain (AP) — The cruise ship at the center of a hantavirus outbreak arrived off Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands, where the passengers and some of the crew will begin disembarking on Sunday, officials said.
Nobody among more than 140 people on board the MV Hondius is showing symptoms of the virus, Spanish authorities, the World Health Organization and cruise company Oceanwide Expeditions said. Three people have died since the outbreak, and five passengers who left the ship are infected with hantavirus, which can cause life-threatening illness.
The ship won't dock but will remain anchored, with people ferried off in small boats. Everyone disembarking will be checked for symptoms, and will only be taken off the ship once evacuation flights are ready to fly them to their destinations.
“The entire operation is proceeding normally,” Spanish Health Minister Mónica García said.
Authorities are aiming to complete the evacuation flights between Sunday and Monday, Spanish authorities and WHO said.
There are people of more than 20 different nationalities on board.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, along with Spain’s health and interior ministers, will supervise the operation in Tenerife, the largest of Spain’s Canary Islands off the coast of West Africa. Authorities have said the passengers and crew members who will disembark will have no contact with the local population.
Hantavirus usually spreads when people inhale contaminated residue of rodent droppings and isn’t easily transmitted between people. But the Andes virus detected in the cruise ship outbreak may be able to spread between people in rare cases. Symptoms usually show between one and eight weeks after exposure.
The Spanish nationals on board will be the first to disembark, García said, and will be transferred to a medical facility and quarantined. Oceanwide has listed 13 Spanish passengers and one Spanish crew member on board.
Some Spanish passengers aboard the ship told The Associated Press that they’re concerned about being stigmatized once back on shore.
And some on Tenerife are worried.
“I tell you, I don’t like this very much,” said 69-year-old resident Simon Vidal. “Anyone can say what they want. Why did they have to bring a boat from another country here? Why not anywhere else, why bring it to the Canary Islands?”
Both the U.S. and the U.K. have agreed to send planes to evacuate their citizens. Americans on board will be quarantined at a medical center in Nebraska.
Australia is sending a plane expected to arrive Monday to evacuate its nationals and those from nearby countries like New Zealand, García said. Its plane will be the last to leave Tenerife, she said.
Those disembarking will leave behind their luggage, and will be allowed to take only a small bag with essential items, a cellphone, charger and documentation.
Some crew, as well as the body of a passenger who died on board, will remain on the ship, which will sail on to the Netherlands where it will undergo disinfection, Spanish authorities said.
Suman Naishadham reported from Madrid.
A Civil Guard border police stands guard following the arrival of hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo)
Civil Guard border police officers following the arrival of hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo)
Passengers and crew at the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius after arriving at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Passengers at the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius after arriving at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
A passenger stands at the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius after its arrival at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Civil Guard officers patrol next to the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius after its arrival at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
View from the bridge of the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius after its arrival at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo)
A passenger checks his camera inside his cabin on the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship, MV Hondius, during the voyage to Spain's port of Tenerife, May 6, 2026. (AP Photo)
A passenger on the the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship, MV Hondius, takes a photo of the ship's weighing anchor in Praia, during the voyage to Spain's port of Tenerife, May 6, 2026. (AP Photo)
Passengers on the the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship, MV Hondius, watch epidemiologists board the boat in Praia, during their voyage to Spain's port of Tenerife, May 6, 2026. (AP Photo)
The hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius is seen at anchor after arriving at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
The hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius is seen at anchor after arriving at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
The hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius is seen at anchor after arriving at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Workers set up temporary shelters in the area where passengers from the MV Hondius cruise ship are expected to arrive at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Saturday, May 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, speaks to the media near the area where passengers from the MV Hondius are expected to arrive at the port of Port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Saturday, May 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
The hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius is seen at anchor after arriving at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
