Colombia mourns a senator, Bolivia prepares to vote and more top photos this week from Latin America
This photo gallery was curated by photo editor Jon Orbach in Mexico City.
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Yahoo
13 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Elections in Bolivia expected to empower right-wing for first time in decades
Bolivians are voting for a new president and parliament in elections that could see a right-wing government elected for the first time in more than two decades. After a lacklustre campaign overshadowed by a looming economic collapse, the vote – which could spell the end of the Andean nation's long-dominant leftist party – is one of the most consequential for Bolivia in recent times, and one of the most unpredictable. In the run-up to Sunday, some 30% or so of voters remained undecided. Polls showed the two leading right-wing candidates, multimillionaire business owner Samuel Doria Medina and former president Jorge Fernando 'Tuto' Quiroga, locked in a virtual dead heat. Voting is mandatory in Bolivia, where some 7.9 million Bolivians are eligible to vote. 'I have rarely, if ever, seen a situational tinderbox with as many sparks ready to ignite,' said Daniel Lansberg-Rodriguez, founding partner of Aurora Macro Strategies, a New York-based advisory firm. The election is being closely watched across Latin America for its potential impact on the economic fate and political stability of this long-restive, resource-rich nation. It also marks a watershed moment for the Movement Toward Socialism, or MAS, party, whose founder, charismatic ex-president Evo Morales, rose to power as part of the 'pink tide' of leftist leaders that swept into office across Latin America during the commodities boom of the early 2000s. Now shattered by infighting, the party is fighting for its survival in Sunday's elections. The outcome will determine whether Bolivia — a nation of about 12 million people with the largest lithium reserves on Earth and crucial deposits of rare earth minerals — follows a growing trend in Latin America, where right-wing leaders such as Argentina's libertarian Javier Milei, Ecuador's strongman Daniel Noboa and El Salvador's conservative populist Nayib Bukele have surged in popularity. A right-wing government in Bolivia could trigger a major geopolitical realignment for a country now allied with Venezuela's socialist-inspired government and world powers such as China, Russia and Iran. The sombre mood of the election was clear as voting kicked off at polling stations in central La Paz, Bolivia's capital, and a steady stream of voters began to trickle in. Bolivians waiting to vote at three different secondary schools across the city expressed confused, cynical and bitter emotions, fed by an annual inflation rate of more than 16% last month (compared to 2% less than two years ago), a scarcity of fuel and absence of hope for swift improvement. Several said they were voting for 'el menos peor', the lesser evil. The right-wing opposition candidates bill the race as a chance to chart a new destiny for Bolivia. But both front-runners, Mr Doria Medina and Mr Quiroga, have served in past neoliberal governments and run for president three times before — losing at least twice to Mr Morales. Mr Doria Medina and Mr Quiroga have praised the Trump administration and vowed to restore ties with the United States — ruptured in 2008 when Mr Morales expelled the American ambassador. They have also expressed interest in doing business with Israel, which has no diplomatic relations with Bolivia, and called for foreign private companies to invest in the country and develop its rich natural resources. After storming to office in 2006, Mr Morales, Bolivia's first indigenous president, nationalised the nation's oil and gas industry, using the profits to reduce poverty, expand infrastructure and improve the lives of the rural poor. After three consecutive presidential terms, as well as a contentious bid for an unprecedented fourth in 2019 that set off popular unrest and led to his removal, Mr Morales has been barred from this race by Bolivia's constitutional court. Whoever wins faces daunting challenges. Mr Doria Medina and Mr Quiroga have warned of the need for a painful fiscal adjustment, including the elimination of Bolivia's generous food and fuel subsidies, to save the nation from insolvency. Some analysts caution this risks sparking social unrest. All 130 seats in Bolivia's chamber of deputies, the lower house of parliament, are also up for grabs, along with 36 in the senate, the upper house.
CNN
15 minutes ago
- CNN
Polls open in Bolivia's national elections that could end decades of socialist rule
After a lackluster campaign overshadowed by a looming economic collapse, Bolivians voted on Sunday for a new president and parliament in elections that could see a right-wing government elected for the first time in over two decades. The vote, which could spell the end of the Andean nation's long-dominant leftist party, is one of the most consequential for Bolivia in recent times - and one of the most unpredictable. In the run-up to Sunday, a remarkable 30% or so of voters remained undecided. Polls showed the two leading right-wing candidates, multimillionaire business owner Samuel Doria Medina and former President Jorge Fernando 'Tuto' Quiroga, locked in a virtual dead heat. Voting is mandatory in Bolivia, where some 7.9 million Bolivians are eligible to vote. 'I have rarely, if ever, seen a situational tinderbox with as many sparks ready to ignite,' said Daniel Lansberg-Rodriguez, founding partner of Aurora Macro Strategies, a New York-based advisory firm. A right-wing victory isn't assured. Many longtime voters for the governing Movement Toward Socialism, or MAS, party, now shattered by infighting, live in rural areas and tend to be undercounted in polling. With the nation's worst economic crisis in four decades leaving Bolivians waiting hours in fuel lines, struggling to find subsidized bread and squeezed by double-digit inflation, the opposition candidates bill the race as a chance to alter the country's destiny. 'I have rarely, if ever, seen a situational tinderbox with as many sparks ready to ignite,' said Daniel Lansberg-Rodriguez, founding partner of Aurora Macro Strategies, a New York-based advisory firm. The outcome will determine whether Bolivia — a nation of about 12 million people with the largest lithium reserves on Earth and crucial deposits of rare earth minerals — follows a growing trend in Latin America, where right-wing leaders like Argentina's libertarian Javier Milei, Ecuador's strongman Daniel Noboa and El Salvador's conservative populist Nayib Bukele have surged in popularity. A right-wing government in Bolivia could trigger a major geopolitical realignment for a country now allied with Venezuela's socialist-inspired government and world powers such as China, Russia and Iran. Doria Medina and Quiroga have praised the Trump administration and vowed to restore ties with the United States — ruptured in 2008 when charismatic, long-serving former President Evo Morales expelled the American ambassador. The front-runners also have expressed interest in doing business with Israel, which has no diplomatic relations with Bolivia, and called for foreign private companies to invest in the country and develop its rich natural resources. After storming to office in 2006 at the start of the commodities boom, Morales, Bolivia's first Indigenous president, nationalized the nation's oil and gas industry, using the lush profits to reduce poverty, expand infrastructure and improve the lives of the rural poor. After three consecutive presidential terms, as well as a contentious bid for an unprecedented fourth in 2019 that set off popular unrest and led to his ouster, Morales has been barred from this race by Bolivia's constitutional court. His ally-turned-rival, President Luis Arce, withdrew his candidacy for the MAS on account of his plummeting popularity and nominated his senior minister, Eduardo del Castillo. As the party splintered, Andrónico Rodríguez, the 36-year-old president of the senate who hails from the same union of coca farmers as Morales, launched his bid. Rather than back the candidate widely considered his heir, Morales, holed up in his tropical stronghold and evading an arrest warrant on charges related to his relationship with a 15-year-old girl, has urged his supporters to deface their ballots or leave them blank. Voting is mandatory in Bolivia, where some 7.9 million Bolivians are eligible to vote. President Arce appealed to the population to reject Morales' calls, arguing that those spoiling their ballots were doing damage to democracy. 'We urge the population to go out and vote,' he said while casting his vote in Bolivia's capital of La Paz. 'We must demonstrate unity and commitment to democracy.' Doria Medina and Quiroga, familiar faces in Bolivian politics who both served in past neoliberal governments and have run for president three times before, are struggling to stir up interest as voter angst runs high. 'There's enthusiasm for change but no enthusiasm for the candidates,' said Eddy Abasto, 44, a Tupperware vendor in La Paz torn between voting for Doria Medina and Quiroga. 'It's always the same, those in power live happily spending the country's money, and we suffer.' Whoever wins faces daunting challenges. Doria Medina and Quiroga have warned of the need for a painful fiscal adjustment, including the elimination of Bolivia's generous food and fuel subsidies, to save the nation from insolvency. Some analysts caution this risks sparking social unrest. 'A victory for either right-wing candidate could have grave repercussions for Bolivia's Indigenous and impoverished communities,' said Kathryn Ledebur, director of the Andean Information Network, a Bolivian research group. 'Both candidates could bolster security forces and right-wing para-state groups, paving the way for violent crackdowns on protests expected to erupt over the foreign exploitation of lithium and drastic austerity measures.' All 130 seats in Bolivia's Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of Parliament, are up for grabs, along with 36 in the Senate, the upper house. If, as is widely expected, no one receives more than 50% of the vote, or 40% of the vote with a lead of 10 percentage points, the top two candidates will compete in a runoff on Oct. 19 for the first time since Bolivia's 1982 return to democracy.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Two Decades of Socialist Rule May End as Bolivians Start Voting
(Bloomberg) -- Bolivians are voting in presidential and congressional elections that may end years of socialist rule and herald warmer relations with Washington. The US-Canadian Road Safety Gap Is Getting Wider Festivals and Parades Are Canceled Amid US Immigration Anxiety A Photographer's Pipe Dream: Capturing New York's Vast Water System Princeton Plans New Budget Cuts as Pressure From Trump Builds A London Apartment Tower With Echoes of Victorian Rail and Ancient Rome The election takes place amid unrest, shortages and the steepest inflation in more than three decades. The economic crisis has undermined support for the ruling MAS party, which has held power almost without interruption since 2006. Two pro-business candidates are battling for the upper hand in a field of eight presidential aspirants. Samuel Doria Medina made a fortune in cement, then invested in fast food chains such as Burger King and Subway. Jorge Tuto Quiroga served as president in 2001-2002 when President Hugo Bánzer Suárez stepped down due to ill health. Both candidates say they would cut spending and seek international loans to inject capital into the economy. Both also would seek foreign investment in oil and gas exploration and in lithium production — Bolivia is home to the world's largest deposits of the metal. The highest-profile leftist candidate is former senate chief Andrónico Rodríguez. A socialist, Rodríguez has distanced himself from both the current president, Luis Arce, and former President Evo Morales, whose feud split the ruling party. Arce opted not to run for a second term. Polls are open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and preliminary results are expected Sunday evening. Under Bolivian election rules, a candidate can win in the first round with just 40% of the vote, provided there's a margin of more than ten percentage points over the runner-up. If no one wins in the first round, there'll be a runoff on Oct. 19. The new president will be sworn in on Nov. 8. The economy has been struggling for a decade amid declining natural gas production and dwindling central bank dollar reserves. Bolivia's dollar bonds have been among the top performers in emerging markets this year, on optimism that the election will herald a government able to unlock international loans and implement economic reforms. Under Morales and Arce, Bolivia had close links with Venezuela, Nicaragua, Russia and China but often had sour relations with Washington. What Declining Cardboard Box Sales Tell Us About the US Economy Americans Are Getting Priced Out of Homeownership at Record Rates How Syrian Immigrants Are Boosting Germany's Economy Bessent on Tariffs, Deficits and Embracing Trump's Economic Plan Dubai's Housing Boom Is Stoking Fears of Another Crash ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
