La Paz, Bolivia, Aug 18 (AP) – Bolivia's presidential election is set for a historic runoff after a Sunday vote that ended over 20 years of leftist rule while highlighting voters' hesitation to move sharply to the right.
Centrist candidate Sen. Rodrigo Paz, a surprising contender, garnered more votes than the right-wing front-runners. However, he fell short of the outright majority needed for victory, according to early results.
Paz, a former mayor advocating a more moderate approach than severe austerity to address Bolivia's economic challenges, will compete against right-wing ex-President Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga, who secured the second spot. Bolivia will hold its first runoff since returning to democracy in 1982 on October 19.
“Always Bolivia, everything for Bolivia,” Paz proclaimed triumphantly to his supporters. “This economic model must change.”
With over 91 percent of the ballots counted, Paz had 32.8 percent of the votes, while Quiroga had 26.4 percent. Candidates needed either over 50 percent or 40 percent with a 10-point lead to avoid a second round.
Addressing his supporters, Quiroga congratulated Paz on leading the race. “What happened is unprecedented. Bolivia told the world that we want to live in a free nation,” he stated. “It's a historic night.”
Decline of the Leftist Stronghold
The election was a significant setback for Bolivia's dominant Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) party, which has ruled largely uninterrupted since its founder, ex-President Evo Morales, came to power during Latin America's early 2000s “pink tide.”
The official MAS candidate, Eduardo del Castillo, finished a distant sixth with only 3.2 percent. Another leftist hopeful, Senate president Andronico Rodriguez, managed to attract just 8 percent of the vote.
Morales, who held power for nearly 14 years, advanced Indigenous rights, protected coca growers from US eradication efforts, and reinvested natural gas revenues into social programs and infrastructure. Yet, his increasingly authoritarian attempts to extend his presidency and scandalous allegations overshadowed his legacy.
Discontent escalated against the MAS party as Bolivia's economy faltered under Morales’ erstwhile ally turned adversary, President Luis Arce. Met with soaring inflation, fuel shortages, and a dire lack of US dollars, Bolivia's economy teetered on the brink, fracturing MAS amid a power struggle between Morales and Arce.
A Centrist's Surprising Ascendancy
Paz's unexpected lead surprised a nation accustomed to opinion polls predicting right-wing candidates Quiroga and businessman Samuel Doria Medina to take the top spots.
After his fourth unsuccessful presidential campaign, Doria Medina, with somber supporters, expressed no regrets. “I wanted to serve Bolivia as president, and it hasn't been possible,” he conceded.
Paz's ascent reflects Bolivian ambivalence towards a dramatic shift to the right. He has distanced himself from Quiroga and Doria Medina's intentions to sell lithium reserves to foreign interests and seek IMF loans, while vocally opposing MAS and its state-driven economic policies.
“I want to congratulate the people because this is a sign of change,” Paz declared. “They want a different future.”
A New Leader with Familiar Roots
Although Doria Medina and Quiroga promised bold change, they struggled to energize voters. Bolivians associate them with past US-backed neoliberal governments opposed by Morales who famously ended the country’s neoliberal experiment in 2006.
Now, after two decades of Morales' populism, Bolivia anticipates a return to fiscal austerity and perhaps renewed ties with the US after years of aligning with China and Russia.
While Paz is portrayed as a fresh figure with innovative ideas, he hails from established political lineage. The 57-year-old senator is the son of former President Jaime Paz Zamora, a once leftist leader turned right-wing ally of the military dictator Hugo Banzer in the late 20th century.
Paz Zamora’s subsequent alliance with Banzer's party allowed him to serve as president from 1989 to 1993, with Doria Medina as his planning minister. (AP)
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