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The Guardian
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Bolivians go to polls in election that could end 20 years of leftist rule
Bolivians are going to the polls in an election that could mark a shift to the right and the end of nearly 20 years of rule by the leftist Movimiento al Socialismo (Mas). The party, which came to power with the first election of Evo Morales in 2005, risks losing its legal status if it fails to reach 3% of the vote – a threshold it has not hit in polls. Two opposition candidates for the presidency are virtually tied: the centre-right business tycoon and former planning minister Samuel Doria Medina, followed closely by the rightwing former president Jorge 'Tuto' Quiroga. The incumbent president, Luis Arce, 61, deeply unpopular amid the country's worst economic crisis in four decades, decided not to run. A finance minister under Morales for 14 years, Arce took control of Mas gradually in recent years. He nominated his 36-year-old minister of government, Eduardo del Castillo, who has been polling at about 2%, to run for president. Morales, 65, is the target of an arrest warrant for allegedly fathering a child with a 15-year-old and has been entrenched in a coca-growing region of central Bolivia since October in an attempt to run for office again. After registering with another party but being barred by constitutional and electoral court rulings, Bolivia's first Indigenous president called protests that escalated into deadly clashes with police. He is urging supporters to cast null votes on Sunday, claiming that if these outnumber the leading candidate's tally, it would mean he had won. Carlos Toranzo, a political analyst, said: 'Before Morales's call, null votes were about 10%; now they're 12%. Even if it rises, I doubt it will go much higher – and null votes have many causes, not just him.' As polls have historically been unreliable in Bolivia, and many voters remain undecided, Toranzo said there was 'a small chance' that a third person could make it to a potential runoff against Doria Medina or Quiroga – the 36-year-old senator Andrónico Rodríguez. The highest-polling figure on the left, placing between third and fifth, Rodríguez was once seen as Morales's natural heir due to his Indigenous roots and leadership in the coca growers' union, but was called a traitor for launching his own candidacy. A longtime Mas member, the senator chose to leave the party and run with the leftwing coalition Alianza Popular – another sign of how fragmented the left's vote has become. Enrique Mamani, the leader of the Aymara Indigenous organisation Ponchos Rojos, said he would back the senator, calling Morales the real traitor. 'Those calling for null votes are a handful of traitors to the struggle of our grandparents, who shed their blood and gave their lives so that one day we could have this right to vote,' he said. On Sunday, as Rodríguez cast his vote in Entre Ríos, in the Cochabamba tropics – a Morales stronghold in central Bolivia – he was booed by some voters, who threw stones and glass bottles at the candidate. A clash broke out between the senator's supporters and opponents, and he left the scene reportedly unharmed. Despite the incident, the president of the electoral court, Óscar Hassenteufel, said the elections are, overall, taking place in an atmosphere of 'considerable calm'. About 7.9 million Bolivians are eligible to vote, and preliminary results are due at 9pm local time. The central issue of the campaign is the economic crisis, which analysts consider the worst since the hyperinflation of 1985, with shortages of dollars and fuel, long queues and soaring inflation. 'It's a very difficult moment but I hope that after this vote things can improve,' said Silvia Marca, 42, after casting her ballot in La Paz. She runs a small street business and said trade had dropped sharply in recent months. 'I hope the right wins,' she added. If no candidate secures more than 50% of the vote, or at least 40% with a 10-point lead over the runner-up, an unprecedented second round will take place on 19 October. For the analyst Toranzo, one thing is certain: Mas will leave power, although he said it will be 'difficult for them to hand it over, because they have held it for 20 years with near-absolute control of parliament, the judiciary and the electoral authority'. Arce told the Guardian he would respect the result if the right won. Although acknowledging that his government was unpopular, he placed much of the blame for the crisis and Mas's decline on his former mentor, Morales, whose parliamentary allies, he said, had 'sabotaged and boycotted all our laws'. 'As Fidel Castro wrote in his book, history will absolve us, because in the long run the people will understand everything we had to endure,' Arce said. 'I'm sure the population will miss us afterwards.' On a cold Sunday morning in Bolivia's capital, the president was greeted with chants of his nickname 'Lucho' by about a dozen supporters as he arrived to cast his ballot. A voter criticised Arce and was then harassed by the group. 'I only said to him: 'What happened to the country, president?' and those people started to attack me. I bet they are government employees,' said the woman, who asked not to be identified. 'I know I'm not the only one in this country who is fed up with this government. We're all frustrated that our money doesn't stretch.' In Santa Cruz de la Sierra, the country's commercial hub, Arce's candidate was booed. According to the newspaper El Deber, Del Castillo reportedly skipped the queue and was told by a woman: 'Get to the back. Line up like we do at the petrol stations.'
GMA Network
3 days ago
- Politics
- GMA Network
Bolivia votes as support for left wanes and inflation is top of mind
Bolivian presidential candidate Andronico Rodriguez of the Popular Alliance (Alianza Popular) party poses as he votes during the general election, in Entre Rios, Cochabamba, Bolivia, August 17, 2025. REUTERS/ Agustin Marcarian LA PAZ — Voters in Bolivia began taking to the polls in a general election on Sunday that has been overshadowed by inflation at a four-decade high and the absence of former leftist President Evo Morales, who is barred from running. Leading the race are opposition conservative contenders Samuel Doria Medina, a business magnate, and Jorge "Tuto" Quiroga, a former president, but neither commands more than 30% support, opinion polls show, with around a quarter of Bolivians undecided. The August race marks the first time in almost two decades that polling indicates Bolivia's incumbent Movement for Socialism, or MAS, could face defeat. Support for MAS-affiliated and other left-leaning candidates trails the opposition, totaling around 10%, according to the latest August Ipsos CEISMORI survey. If no presidential candidate wins more than 40% support with a 10 percentage point lead, the election will head to a runoff on October 19. Morales, who co-founded MAS and governed the country from 2006 to 2019 under its banner, has been barred from running for another term as president. Early on Sunday Morales took part in the electoral process, casting his vote in the central Cochabamba department, but later criticized the elections for excluding his political movement. Ballot stations opened on Sunday at 8 a.m. local time (1200 GMT) and will close at 4 p.m., with initial results expected after 9 p.m. Full official results are due within seven days. Voters will also elect all 26 senators and 130 deputies, and officials assume office on November 8. Officials on Sunday morning said that the election day was proceeding normally following several minor incidents reported at polling stations. Minister of Government Roberto Rios said that security measures had been effective and warned of misinformation about Sunday's vote. With a crowded field and no dominant MAS party candidate, the election marks a "crossroads moment" for Bolivia, said Southern Andes analyst Glaeldys Gonzalez Calanche of the International Crisis Group. Bolivia's fragile economy is top-of-mind for voters. Price rises have surged past other Latin American countries this year, and fuel and dollars have run scarce. Annual inflation doubled to 23% in June, up from 12% in January, with some Bolivians turning to cryptocurrencies as a hedge. Many Bolivians, especially those who work in the informal economy, were now struggling to make ends meet, said economist Roger Lopez. "Prices of the basic food basket are going up fast," said Lopez. "Suddenly the math doesn't add up anymore." They may choose to punish MAS on Sunday, creating a window of opportunity for centrists, the right, or a leftist faction led by Senate President Andronico Rodriguez. "Every year the situation has got worse under this government," said Silvia Morales, 30, from La Paz, who works in retail. A former MAS voter, she said this time she would cast her vote for the center-right. Carlos Blanco Casas, 60, a teacher in La Paz, said he intended to vote for change. "This election feels hopeful. We need a change of direction," he said. Quiroga has promised "radical change" to reverse what he calls "20 lost years" under MAS rule. He supports deep public spending cuts and a shift away from alliances with Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua. Quiroga was president for a year in 2001-2002 after the then-leader resigned. Doria Medina, meanwhile, offers a more moderate approach, pledging to stabilize the economy within 100 days. On the left, the vote is split between the official MAS party candidate Eduardo del Castillo, who is backed by outgoing President Luis Arce, and Rodriguez, who has distanced himself from the party and is running on his own ticket. Morales, 69, has called for a boycott of the election, but analysts said his influence is waning. "There is widespread support for these elections," said Calanche. "Most Bolivians see them as key to leading the country towards economic recovery." — Reuters
