Bolivia elects centre-right Rodrigo Paz as president

Paz, the lad of a erstwhile president, promises ‘capitalism for all’ arsenic predetermination ends 20 years of socialist government.

Bolivians person elected Rodrigo Paz of the centre-right Christian Democratic Party (PDC) arsenic their caller president, ending astir 20 years of governance by the Movement for Socialism (MAS) party.

With 97 percent of ballots counted, Paz had won 54.5 percent of the ballot successful Sunday’s run-off race, good up of right-wing erstwhile interim President Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga, with 45.4 percent of the vote, according to the country’s Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE).

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Paz, 58, followed his father, erstwhile left-wing President Jaime Zamora, into politics.

After studying economics successful the United States, Paz returned location to Bolivia, wherever helium went connected to go a metropolis councillor and politician of the confederate metropolis of Tarija, earlier becoming a legislator for the portion successful 2020.

He has pledged a “capitalism for all” approach, promising taxation cuts, tariff reductions, and the decentralisation of the nationalist government.

After the results were announced, Paz’s vice-presidential moving mate, Edmand Lara, made a telephone for “unity and reconciliation”.

“We indispensable guarantee the proviso of diesel and gasoline. People are suffering. We request to stabilise the prices of the basal nutrient basket, and we indispensable enactment an extremity to corruption,” Lara said.

Sunday’s run-off came aft the incumbent MAS enactment suffered a large decision successful August’s preliminary election, aft erstwhile left-wing President Evo Morales was barred from moving and outgoing President Luis Arce, who had fallen retired with Morales, opted retired of the race.

Courts had ruled against Morales’s candidacy implicit word limits and technicalities related to enactment affiliation.

The part wrong their left-wing coalition, on with the country’s deep economical crisis, meant fewer expected MAS to instrumentality to power.

Outside of the National Congress, the caller president volition inactive look stiff absorption from Morales, who remains popular, particularly among Indigenous Bolivians.

Supporters of Rodrigo Paz observe aft learning the results of the run-off statesmanlike predetermination successful La Paz, connected Sunday [Martin Bernetti/AFP]

On Sunday, Morales told reporters that the 2 candidates each represented lone “a fistful of radical successful Bolivia”.

“They bash not correspond the fashionable movement, overmuch little the Indigenous movement,” helium said.

Arce is owed to permission bureau connected November 8 aft serving a azygous statesmanlike word that began successful 2020. Bolivia’s constitution allows for 2 terms, but helium did not question re-election.

Economic woes

The Andean state has been struggling done an economical crisis, including yearly ostentation of astir 25 percent and captious shortages of US dollars and fuel.

Bolivians took to the streets to protestation precocious prices and hours-long waits for fuel, breadstuff and different basics successful the lead-up to the August 17 wide election.

Bolivia had enjoyed much than a decennary of beardown maturation and Indigenous upliftment nether Morales, who nationalised the state assemblage and ploughed the proceeds into societal programmes that halved utmost poorness during his stint successful powerfulness betwixt 2006 and 2019.

But aft Morales, who was outspoken connected biology issues and climate change, chose not to grow the country’s state sector, vigor revenues fell from a highest of $6.1bn successful 2013 to $1.6bn successful 2024, seeing the authorities tally retired of overseas speech needed to import fuel, wheat and different foodstuffs.

Meanwhile, Paz has been unclear astir whether helium plans to proceed a substance subsidy that has outgo the authorities billions of dollars, astatine times saying helium volition restrict it to “vulnerable sectors” of the population.