Bolivia elects center-right president Rodrigo Paz, ending two decades of socialism
LA PAZ: Bolivians on Sunday elected a pro-business center-right senator as their new president, ending two decades of socialist rule that left the South American nation deep in economic crisis.The news was greeted with joy, music and fireworks on the streets of La Paz. “We came to celebrate the victory with great hope of a new direction for Bolivia,” Julio Andrey, a 40-year-old lawyer, told AFP.
Paz, the 58-year-old son of a former president, has vowed a “capitalism for all” approach to economic reform, with decentralization, lower taxes and fiscal discipline mixed with continued social spending.
In his victory address, Paz said Bolivia was “reclaiming its place on the international stage.”Paz also said he had received a congratulatory message from US President Donald Trump, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington “stands ready to partner with Bolivia on shared priorities.”
“After two decades of mismanagement, President-elect Paz’s election marks a transformative opportunity for both nations,” Rubio said.After the results were announced, Paz’s vice-presidential running mate, Edmand Lara, made a call for “unity and reconciliation” after a bitter campaign.
While Bolivia is enduring its worst economic crisis in decades, he promised improvements are on the horizon.Sunday’s election closes out an economic experiment marked by initial prosperity funded by Morales’s nationalization of natural gas reserves.Successive governments under-invested in the country’s hydrocarbons sector, once the backbone of the economy.We hope the country improves,” said homemaker Maria Eugenia Penaranda, 56, bundled up against the cold as she cast her vote in La Paz, about 3,600 meters (11,800 feet) above sea level. “We cannot make ends meet. There is a lot of suffering. Too much,” she told AFP.
Successive governments under-invested in the country’s hydrocarbons sector, once the backbone of the economy.
Production plummeted and Bolivia almost depleted its dollar reserves to sustain a universal subsidy for fuel that it can also no longer afford to import.
The boom was followed by bust, notably with critical shortages of fuel and foreign currency under outgoing leader Luis Arce.
“We hope the country improves,” said homemaker Maria Eugenia Penaranda, 56, bundled up against the cold as she cast her vote in La Paz, about 3,600 meters (11,800 feet) above sea level. “We cannot make ends meet. There is a lot of suffering. Too much,” she told AFP.
“We must ensure the supply of diesel and gasoline. People are suffering. We need to stabilize the prices of the basic food basket, and we must put an end to corruption,” he said.
Under ex-president Evo Morales, Bolivia took a sharp turn to the left: nationalizing energy resources, breaking ties with Washington and making alliances with China, Russia and fellow leftists in Cuba, Venezuela and elsewhere in Latin America
With 97.8 percent of ballots counted, Rodrigo Paz had 54.6 percent of the vote to 45.4 percent for his rival, right-wing former interim president Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal said.