LA PAZ: Bolivia's President Evo Morales swore in a new cabinet Friday, one day after he was sworn in to a third term likely to be shaped by the impact of falling oil prices.
Morales kept on two ministers who have been with him since he first came to power in 2006, Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca, and Economy Minister Luis Arce.
The 55-year-old former coca-grower presided over an economic boom during his first two terms, reaping the benefits of high natural gas and commodities prices.
But the sharp drop in oil prices over the past six months presents a challenge to Morales, a lefist populist who nationalized the country's oil and gas and other strategic industries earlier in his presidency.
In an inaugural speech Thursday, he vowed to maintain high rates of growth and bring the percentage of population living in poverty down to single digits by the end of his mandate in 2020.
Bolivia projects 5.9 percent growth this year, a gain similar to 2014. The country's economy grew 6.8 percent in 2013.
With control of the national assembly, Morales should have a free hand to undertake reforms, possibly including a constitutional amendment to allow him to run for a fourth term.
Morales says he has not considered changing the constitution to open a way for a fourth term.
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