Bolivia Ends 20 Years of Socialist Rule
Rodrigo Paz leads with 32% and Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga follows with 27% as Bolivia heads to a presidential runoff.
Bolivian voters ended nearly 20 years of leftist dominance on Sunday, propelling two pro-business opposition figures into the second round of presidential elections. With 95% of ballots counted, opposition senator Rodrigo Paz topped the field with 32%, followed by former president Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga at 27%. The runoff will be held October 19, with the winner sworn in on November 8.
A shock upset at the ballot box
The election took place amid the worst inflation in more than three decades, chronic shortages of food and fuel, and a collapse of support for the ruling Movement Toward Socialism (MAS). Entrepreneur Samuel Doria Medina, who had been leading in polls with backing from billionaire Marcelo Claure, was unexpectedly pushed into third place. He quickly conceded and pledged support for Paz. Socialist senator Andrónico Rodríguez trailed at just over 8%, while the official MAS candidate fell to 3.1%.
Legislative shake-up
Opposition parties also swept the congressional elections. Paz’s Christian Democrats are on course to become the largest party in both houses, followed by Quiroga’s Libre party. MAS, which has held majorities since Evo Morales’s first victory in 2005, is poised to lose nearly all of its seats. Outgoing President Luis Arce chose not to run, marking the first contest in two decades without Morales or his chosen successors on the ballot.
Paz, 57, has promised a “more inclusive capitalism,” including unifying Bolivia’s dual exchange rates and negotiating debt relief. Quiroga, 65, seeks foreign investment in oil, gas, and lithium, a resource Bolivia holds in the world’s largest deposits. Both men have vowed austerity and reform after years of socialist policies that tied the country closely to Venezuela, Nicaragua, Russia, and China, while straining ties with Washington.
The Morales legacy
Evo Morales, Bolivia’s first Indigenous president, had governed from 2006 until being barred from running again. Aided initially by a natural gas boom, Morales slashed poverty and became a global symbol of socialist governance. But declining energy revenues after 2015 set the stage for today’s economic crisis and voter backlash. Morales urged his supporters to spoil their ballots in protest.
