Bolivia Elections, President Elect Rodrigo Paz, ending nearly 20 years of socialist rule

Marina Chauffaille

Life News Today

LA PAZ, Bolivia (Oct. 21, 2025) — Rodrigo Paz has won Bolivia’s presidential runoff, ending nearly two decades of leadership by the Movement for Socialism (MAS). He is scheduled to take office on Nov. 8.

The election, supervised by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, followed an earlier round on Aug. 17 when no candidate reached the majority needed to avoid a runoff. Paz led that vote with about 32%, while the MAS finished in single digits for the first time since 2005. In the Oct. 19 contest, Paz, 58, won with about 53% of the vote, defeating former president Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga, who trailed with roughly 47%. Quiroga, 65, former president from 2001 to 2002, campaigned on austerity and spending restraint, but his message failed to connect with voters concerned about living costs. The result marked a major political shift as voters sought stability and change after years of economic difficulty. Turnout was high across the country, reflecting Bolivia’s long tradition of civic engagement. The runoff was largely peaceful apart from minor delays in rural provinces, and authorities said ballot delivery was completed on schedule with no major incidents reported.

Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is home to 11 million people and 7.9 million registered voters. The landlocked Andean nation shares borders with Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Chile, and Peru. It gained independence from Spain in 1825 and has since experienced periods of military rule, resource-driven booms, and social reform movements that shaped its modern identity.

Rodrigo Paz, 58, was born in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, while his father, former president Jaime Paz Zamora, lived abroad during Bolivia’s period of military rule. Jaime Paz Zamora, a co-founder of the Revolutionary Left Movement, went into exile after the 1971 coup. The coup, led by General Hugo Banzer Suárez, ousted President Juan José Torres and ended electoral rule for more than a decade. Zamora returned to Bolivia in 1982 after national elections ended military rule and reinstated election-based leadership. He later served as president from 1989 to 1993. Zamora’s son, Rodrigo Paz, now the current president-elect, studied international relations and economics at the American University in Washington, D.C., before beginning his political career representing Tarija in the Chamber of Deputies in 2002. He later served as mayor of Tarija from 2015 to 2020 and was elected senator in 2020.

MAS, founded by former president Evo Morales in the late 1990s and later led by his ally Luis Arce, reshaped Bolivia’s political and economic direction. Emerging from labor unions and Indigenous movements, the party gained power in 2006 by nationalizing energy resources and expanding social welfare programs.

Data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE) show that between 2006 and 2014, high natural gas prices fueled rapid growth and helped reduce poverty. The economy became increasingly dependent on gas exports to Brazil and Argentina, which supplied most of Bolivia’s foreign revenue. Once one of South America’s largest natural gas exporters, when prices fell after 2015, export income declined and fiscal deficits widened. By 2020, INE data showed inflation above 20% and gas output at its lowest level in more than a decade, eroding support for MAS among both urban workers and rural farmers who had formed its core base.

The economy remains heavily dependent on commodities such as gas, zinc, silver, and lithium. Despite a literacy rate above 90% and strong civic participation, rising inflation, a shortage of foreign currency, and pressure on public finances have strained households and small businesses across the country.

Paz’s transition team has released statements outlining plans to invest in infrastructure, broaden exports beyond gas, and stabilize the national currency to contain inflation. Bolivia’s energy and mining sectors remain central to its economy. The country holds some of the world’s largest lithium reserves, and Paz has said he will support joint ventures to expand production while maintaining state ownership of natural resources. He also plans to create jobs through small-business support and technical training. Paz’s victory has drawn recognition from regional governments and international partners. The United States and European Union described the election as orderly and transparent.

For Bolivia, it closes nearly two decades of single-party rule and opens a new chapter shaped by its voters. The promises ahead will be measured not in words but in the price of food, the weight of work, and whether the change they voted for feels real in their daily lives.