Latest news with #Rodrigo Paz
Malay Mail
16 hours ago
- Business
- Malay Mail
The two candidates who will duel for Bolivian presidency
LA PAZ, Aug 19 — A right-wing ex-president and a senator from Bolivia's richest regions will go head-to-head in the country's presidential runoff in October after leading the first round of voting on Sunday. Centre-right senator Rodrigo Paz came from behind to take 32.15 per cent of the vote, ahead of ex-president Jorge 'Tuto' Quiroga on 26.87 per cent, according to preliminary official results. The election, held against the backdrop of a deep economic crisis, saw the ruling socialists crash out after 20 years in power. Here is a look at the two finalists: Rodrigo Paz: 'Capitalism for all' The 57-year-old son of former president Jaime Paz Zamora (1989-1993) spent his early years in exile in Spain where his family fled successive military dictatorships. He began his political career in the southern city of Tarija, Bolivia's main gas-producing region, becoming an MP for the area in 2002. In 2020, he was elected to the Senate. In AFP interviews, voters described him as untainted by association with either the widely discredited socialists or the traditional right, represented by Quiroga and Samuel Doria Medina, a millionaire businessman who was tipped for victory but came in only third. In an election marked by mudslinging and disinformation, Paz appeared calm and consensus driven. He has promised to cut taxes, eliminate all import duties and ensure 'capitalism for all, not just for a few.' He has also advocated a large degree of decentralization. Part of his popularity has been attributed to his running mate, highly popular former police captain Edman Lara, known for his broadsides against corruption. Jorge Quiroga: 'small state' advocate A US-trained engineer from the central city of Cochabamba, Jorge 'Tuto' Quiroga has worked at IBM, the IMF and the World Bank as well as major Bolivian banking and mining firms in between stints in politics. He served as vice president under former military dictator Hugo Banzer when Banzer, who ruled with an iron fist in the 1970s, returned to power through the ballot box. When Banzer stepped down in 2001 due to cancer, Quiroga served out the remainder of his term. The blunt-spoken 65-year-old with a knack for snappy soundbites is a favorite of many wealthier Bolivians of European descent. 'I think this Tuto has something. He's an economist, he's a businessman. But he has a way with people,' Paul Chacon Díaz, a 56-year-old entrepreneur, told AFP. The 65-year-old ran unsuccessfully for president against socialist firebrand Evo Morales in 2005 and 2014 and also put himself forward in 2020, but dropped out at the last minute because of his poor standing in polls. He vowed to go further than other hopefuls in liberalizing the economy after what he calls '20 years of suffering, of pain, of shame, of corruption.' He has also vowed to break off ties with authoritarian leftist governments in Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua. — AFP
Associated Press
18 hours ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
What to know about Bolivia's election that elevated a centrist shaking up the political landscape
LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — One candidate is Rodrigo Paz , a conservative centrist senator and son of a neoliberal ex-president who is pitching himself as a moderate reformer. The other is former right-wing president Jorge 'Tuto' Quiroga galvanizing voters largely through promises of harsh austerity and a scorched-earth approach to transforming Bolivia's state-directed economic model after 20 years of leftist dominance. At stake in the outcome of Bolivia's consequential presidential election is the fate of one of South America's most resource-rich nations, where inflation has soared to heights unseen in decades and polls show growing distrust in major institutions. 'There has been a paradigm shift,' said Bolivian sociologist Renzo Abruzzese. 'What is truly historic is that the old cycle is over. It has carried away the classical leftist thought that dominated much of the 20th century.' The shadow of unrest among the fervent supporters of charismatic ex-President Evo Morales , the founder of Bolivia's long-dominant Movement Toward Socialism, or MAS, hangs over the next weeks of campaigning until the men face off in an unprecedented runoff on Oct. 19. Front-runner Rodrigo Paz surprises Screenshots of the Wikipedia entry for Paz's past political allegiances elicited waggish mockery on Bolivian social media Monday about the fluid ideology of this former mayor and governor. Paz began his political career in the Revolutionary Left Movement of his father, former President Jaime Paz Zamora. His movement emerged as a radical Marxist-inspired party and suffered brutal repression under Bolivia's 1964-1982 military dictatorship. Paz was born in exile in Spain. His father pivoted right as a pact with former dictator Hugo Bánzer vaulted him to the presidency in 1989. The younger Paz rose through the political rinks over the past two decades in opposition to Morales' platform of generous subsidies and hefty public investment. He joined Quiroga's right-wing party before drifting toward Bolivia's technocratic center. Analysts say that his enigmatic pragmatism — a focus on specific policies rather than ideological crusades — served Paz in Sunday's election, as it did his father before him. 'Voters don't want hard right or hard left. They want things to function,' said Veronica Rocha, a Bolivian political analyst. 'Ambivalence is a political asset right now.' Even his supporters aren't sure how to describe him politically. 'I don't care about politics, I'm sick of it, I just support the candidate who I think will steal the least,' Emma Gesea Mamani, 57, said from her kiosk, selling snacks to hungry truckers wasting their days in lines for diesel as a result of Bolivia's crippling fuel shortages. Jorge 'Tuto' Quiroga promises spending cuts A former vice president, Quiroga briefly held the presidency after then-President and ex-dictator Bánzer retired for health reasons in 2001. Fluent in English and educated at Texas A&M University, Quiroga has fashioned himself into a pro-business modernizer vowing to save Bolivia from what he calls '20 lost years' under the MAS party. He pledges drastic spending cuts, a bailout from the International Monetary Fund and fire sales of Bolivia's inefficient state-run firms. After years of Bolivia's foreign policy alignment with China and Russia, Quiroga vows to restore relations with the United States and claims to be close with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. 'For years we lived in a time of darkness and lack of opportunities like Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua,' said 60-year-old engineer Jimmy Copa Vargas. 'With Tuto's government, we'll open ourselves to the world.' Quiroga has run for president three times before, losing twice to Morales. Now 65, he hopes the fourth time's the charm. To attract young voters, Quiroga threw flashy concerts and named a wealthy young entrepreneur as his vice president. He appears in campaign posters wearing a stern expression, tailored suit and Apple Watch and often peppers his speeches with wonky macroeconomic data, fueling the perception among some Bolivians that he's out of touch with the rural poor in this majority-Indigenous nation. 'I can't trust that he's not going to be the first one out on a lifeboat when Bolivia starts sinking,' said Luis Quispe, a 38-year-old taxi driver. Paz's unusual campaign — and running mate Paz and his popular running mate, former police captain Edman Lara, crisscrossed Bolivian cities holding modest rallies filled with cheap beer and grilled meat, often recording videos to post on TikTok. Despite undergoing emergency knee surgery earlier in the year, Paz hit dozens of campaign stops in the traditional bastions of Morales' party, engaging with disillusioned voters at once desperate for change but wary of a dramatic lurch to the right after 20 years of the MAS economic model. He has rejected an IMF bailout and proposed 'capitalism for all,' touting accessible loans to boost young entrepreneurs and tax breaks to stimulate the formal economy. Many see his running mate, ex-police captain Lara, known here as El Capitán, as the driving force behind his win. After 15 years in the police force, Lara in 2023 gained national prominence by posting tales of police corruption to his followers on TikTok and Instagram. His videos went viral, becoming must-see dispatches for disgruntled Bolivians and social media-savvy youth who tuned in regularly to watch him talk to the camera. He faced disciplinary measures over the exposés and was fired from the force, solidifying his status as something of a folk hero. After his dismissal, he struggled to scrape by selling secondhand clothing. His wife drove for a ride-hailing app. That has resonated with many workers in Bolivia's vast informal economy who have watched politicians enrich themselves while their own finances collapse and the country's economy spirals. The election may not mark the end of politics for Evo Morales Sunday's presidential election marked the first since 2002 without Morales or a stand-in on the ballot. Still, the outcome confirmed the maverick ex-union leader's enduring influence after serving three straight terms marked by relative prosperity and political stability until his 2019 disputed reelection and subsequent ouster. Disqualified from the race by a court ruling on term limits, Morales called on his followers to spoil their ballots against what he deemed an illegitimate election. He campaigned hard for null votes, at times condemning his leftist rivals — Eduardo Del Castillo, nominated by the unpopular President Luis Arce, and Senate leader Andrónico Rodríguez , a former protégé and coca farming union activist — more than the right-wing opposition. While the election results swept aside those splintered MAS party factions, the null-and-void vote captured third place in Sunday's elections. Spoiled ballots appealed to nostalgic Morales supporters who fault Arce for Bolivia's economic collapse and to voters disillusioned by politicians across the spectrum who they say are more focused more on their own power games than on the people they are supposed to serve. 'Those who say Evo Morales is finished are mistaken,' Abruzzese said. 'Morales and MAS won't disappear.' ___ Associated Press writer Carlos Valdez in La Paz, Bolivia, contributed to this report.
Bloomberg
a day ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
End of Socialist Rule Sends Bolivia Bonds to Over Two-Year High
Bolivia's dollar bonds rallied Monday to the highest in over two years after the weekend's election cemented the chances of significant free-market reforms under a new government. Sovereign notes due in 2028 and 2030 both climbed over 3.5 cents on the dollar to nearly 81 cents, and became the best performers in emerging markets, as Rodrigo Paz and Jorge 'Tuto' Quiroga, both of whom have campaigned on pro-market policies, won the most votes with 95% of ballots tallied. Opposition parties also dominated votes for the lower house and senate.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bolivia heads to a runoff after an election ends two decades of ruling party dominance
LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Bolivia's presidential vote is headed to an unprecedented runoff after Sunday's election ended over two decades of ruling party dominance in the Andean nation. A centrist, Sen. Rodrigo Paz, drew more votes than the front-runners, although not enough to secure an outright victory, early results showed. Paz, a former mayor who has sought to soften the edges of the opposition's push for austerity to rescue Bolivia from a looming economic collapse, will face off against former President Jorge 'Tuto' Quiroga, who finished second. Bolivia holds the presidential runoff — its first since its 1982 return to democracy — on Oct. 19. 'This economic model must change,' Paz declared to crowds who cheered and chanted, 'Renewal!' Paz's campaign had gained unexpected traction as he teamed up with Edman Lara, a social media savvy ex-police captain with evangelical backing whose supporters see him as someone willing to stand up to corruption in the security forces. With over 91% of the ballots counted Sunday, Paz received 32.8% of the votes cast. Quiroga secured 26.4%. Candidates needed to surpass 50%, or 40% with a 10-point margin of victory, to avoid a runoff. Quiroga congratulated Paz on his lead. 'What happened is unprecedented,' he said. 'Bolivia told the world that we want to live in a free nation.' An establishment confronts its demise The results delivered a blow to Bolivia's Movement Toward Socialism, or MAS, party, which has governed almost uninterrupted since its founder, charismatic ex-President Evo Morales, rose to power as part of the 'pink tide' of leaders who swept into office across Latin America during the commodities boom of the early 2000s. The official MAS candidate, Eduardo del Castillo, finished sixth with 3.2% of the vote. A candidate considered to be the party's best hope, 36-year-old Senate president Andrónico Rodríguez, captured 8% of the vote. During his almost 14 years in power, Morales expanded the rights of the country's Indigenous majority, defended coca growers against U.S.-backed eradication programs and poured natural gas profits into social programs. But the maverick leader's increasingly high-handed attempts to prolong his presidency — along with allegations of sexual relations with underage girls — soured public opinion against him. Discontent turned into outrage as Bolivia's once-stable economy imploded under Morales' protégé-turned-rival, President Luis Arce. Annual inflation rate has soared from 2% less than two years ago to 25% as of last month. A scarcity of fuel has paralyzed the country. A shortage of U.S. dollars needed to pay for essential imports like wheat has crippled the economy. As the crisis accelerated, MAS leaders traded blame. A power struggle between Morales and Arce fractured the bloc and handed the opposition its first real shot at victory in decades, even as its uncharismatic candidates failed to unite. Morales' supports heed calls to vote null Blocked from running by a court ruling on term limits, Morales has been holed up in his stronghold of Chapare for months evading an arrest warrant for allegedly impregnating a 15-year-old girl while president. He has branded Rodríguez a traitor for competing and encouraged his supporters to register their anger at his exclusion by casting null-and-void ballots. His followers appeared to heed his call: An unusually high proportion of votes, 19%, were deemed invalid. Usually the share of blank and null votes doesn't exceed 6%. Voting even in the restive jungle largely passed peacefully, authorities said, with only minor disruptions. A dynamite stick went off near the school where Rodríguez planned to cast his ballot in Chapare. When he arrived hours later, pro-Morales crowds assaulted him with bottles and rocks as he voted. Whisked away by guards, Rodríguez later called it a 'difficult moment.' A centrist takes a surprise lead The win for Paz came as a shock to a nation that had been conditioned by weeks of opinion polls to expect that the leading contenders, Quiroga and businessman Samuel Doria Medina, would capture the top two spots. Paz has sought to distance himself from pledges by Quiroga and Doria Medina to sell Bolivia's abundant lithium reserves to foreign companies and turn to the International Monetary Fund for billions of dollars of loans. But he has also launched blistering attacks on the MAS party and its economic model. 'I want to congratulate the people because this is a sign of change,' Paz said. New face, old roots Despite their grand promises, Doria Medina and Quiroga struggled to stir up voter excitement. Bolivians associate them both with the U.S.-backed neoliberal administrations that Morales repudiated when he stormed to office in 2006, declaring an end to Bolivia's 20-year experiment with free-market capitalism. 'If they couldn't govern well before, what makes us think they'll do it now?' asked Yaitzel Poma, 30, as she celebrated in the capital of La Paz. 'We have to learn from the past to make better choices.' Bolivia faces a return to belt-tightening. After years of alignment with world powers like China and Russia, it seems set to reconcile with the United States. Paz supporters have described the former mayor Bolivia's southern town of Tarija as a fresh face with new ideas. But Paz, too, has deep ties to Bolivia's old political elite. The 57-year-old lawmaker is the son of former President Jaime Paz Zamora, who began his political career as a co-founder of the Revolutionary Left Movement, a party persecuted under the bloody military dictatorship of Hugo Banzer in the 1970s. 'What we're doing is moving back in time,' said Kathryn Ledebur, director of the Andean Information Network, a Bolivian research group. 'This is not a new actor with dynamic policies." Isabel Debre, The Associated Press
Associated Press
a day ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
Bolivia heads to a runoff after an election ends two decades of ruling party dominance
LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Bolivia's presidential vote is headed to an unprecedented runoff after Sunday's election ended over two decades of ruling party dominance in the Andean nation. A centrist, Sen. Rodrigo Paz, drew more votes than the front-runners, although not enough to secure an outright victory, early results showed. Paz, a former mayor who has sought to soften the edges of the opposition's push for austerity to rescue Bolivia from a looming economic collapse, will face off against former President Jorge 'Tuto' Quiroga, who finished second. Bolivia holds the presidential runoff — its first since its 1982 return to democracy — on Oct. 19. 'This economic model must change,' Paz declared to crowds who cheered and chanted, 'Renewal!' Paz's campaign had gained unexpected traction as he teamed up with Edman Lara, a social media savvy ex-police captain with evangelical backing whose supporters see him as someone willing to stand up to corruption in the security forces. With over 91% of the ballots counted Sunday, Paz received 32.8% of the votes cast. Quiroga secured 26.4%. Candidates needed to surpass 50%, or 40% with a 10-point margin of victory, to avoid a runoff. Quiroga congratulated Paz on his lead. 'What happened is unprecedented,' he said. 'Bolivia told the world that we want to live in a free nation.' An establishment confronts its demise The results delivered a blow to Bolivia's Movement Toward Socialism, or MAS, party, which has governed almost uninterrupted since its founder, charismatic ex-President Evo Morales, rose to power as part of the 'pink tide' of leaders who swept into office across Latin America during the commodities boom of the early 2000s. The official MAS candidate, Eduardo del Castillo, finished sixth with 3.2% of the vote. A candidate considered to be the party's best hope, 36-year-old Senate president Andrónico Rodríguez, captured 8% of the vote. During his almost 14 years in power, Morales expanded the rights of the country's Indigenous majority, defended coca growers against U.S.-backed eradication programs and poured natural gas profits into social programs. But the maverick leader's increasingly high-handed attempts to prolong his presidency — along with allegations of sexual relations with underage girls — soured public opinion against him. Discontent turned into outrage as Bolivia's once-stable economy imploded under Morales' protégé-turned-rival, President Luis Arce. Annual inflation rate has soared from 2% less than two years ago to 25% as of last month. A scarcity of fuel has paralyzed the country. A shortage of U.S. dollars needed to pay for essential imports like wheat has crippled the economy. As the crisis accelerated, MAS leaders traded blame. A power struggle between Morales and Arce fractured the bloc and handed the opposition its first real shot at victory in decades, even as its uncharismatic candidates failed to unite. Morales' supports heed calls to vote null Blocked from running by a court ruling on term limits, Morales has been holed up in his stronghold of Chapare for months evading an arrest warrant for allegedly impregnating a 15-year-old girl while president. He has branded Rodríguez a traitor for competing and encouraged his supporters to register their anger at his exclusion by casting null-and-void ballots. His followers appeared to heed his call: An unusually high proportion of votes, 19%, were deemed invalid. Usually the share of blank and null votes doesn't exceed 6%. Voting even in the restive jungle largely passed peacefully, authorities said, with only minor disruptions. A dynamite stick went off near the school where Rodríguez planned to cast his ballot in Chapare. When he arrived hours later, pro-Morales crowds assaulted him with bottles and rocks as he voted. Whisked away by guards, Rodríguez later called it a 'difficult moment.' A centrist takes a surprise lead The win for Paz came as a shock to a nation that had been conditioned by weeks of opinion polls to expect that the leading contenders, Quiroga and businessman Samuel Doria Medina, would capture the top two spots. Paz has sought to distance himself from pledges by Quiroga and Doria Medina to sell Bolivia's abundant lithium reserves to foreign companies and turn to the International Monetary Fund for billions of dollars of loans. But he has also launched blistering attacks on the MAS party and its economic model. 'I want to congratulate the people because this is a sign of change,' Paz said. New face, old roots Despite their grand promises, Doria Medina and Quiroga struggled to stir up voter excitement. Bolivians associate them both with the U.S.-backed neoliberal administrations that Morales repudiated when he stormed to office in 2006, declaring an end to Bolivia's 20-year experiment with free-market capitalism. 'If they couldn't govern well before, what makes us think they'll do it now?' asked Yaitzel Poma, 30, as she celebrated in the capital of La Paz. 'We have to learn from the past to make better choices.' Bolivia faces a return to belt-tightening. After years of alignment with world powers like China and Russia, it seems set to reconcile with the United States. Paz supporters have described the former mayor Bolivia's southern town of Tarija as a fresh face with new ideas. But Paz, too, has deep ties to Bolivia's old political elite. The 57-year-old lawmaker is the son of former President Jaime Paz Zamora, who began his political career as a co-founder of the Revolutionary Left Movement, a party persecuted under the bloody military dictatorship of Hugo Banzer in the 1970s. 'What we're doing is moving back in time,' said Kathryn Ledebur, director of the Andean Information Network, a Bolivian research group. 'This is not a new actor with dynamic policies.'
