Bolivia to hold presidential run-off between centrist and right-winger

According to the electoral council of Bolivia, a centrist and a right-wing candidate will face off in a presidential run-off, confirming the Movement for Socialism (MAS)’s two decades of rule.

With 32.8 percent of the vote counted on Sunday night, preliminary results revealed that centrist Rodrigo Paz of the Christian Democratic Party (PDC) was in the lead.

With 26.4 percent of the vote, conservative former interim president Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga of the Alianza Libre coalition will face Paz, the son of former left-leaning president Jaime Paz, in a run-off election on October 19.

To avoid a run-off, candidates had to earn at least 50%, or 40%, with a 10-point victory margin.

Bolivia’s Santa Cruz de la Sierra, which has ruled the nation since 2005, is “out of the picture,” according to Lucia Newman, a Latin America editor for Al Jazeera.

The “biggest surprise,” according to Newman, is that the frontrunner is someone who has been polling between fourth and fifth place up until now.

Paz is “more in the center” than his father, according to Newman.

In the far-right to the political left, eight presidential candidates were running for president on Sunday.

Samuel Doria Medina, a wealthy businessman and former planning minister, was one of the two front-runners in the polls, along with Quiroga, who served as interim president and vice president under Hugo Banzer, a former military leader.

Former leftist President Evo Morales was prohibited from running, and retiring socialist President Luis Arce, who had a disagreement with Morales, decided against running.

Few expected MAS to win back control of their leftist coalition, which coincided with the country’s severe economic crisis.

Within a week, official results will be released. Officials take office on November 8th, and voters will also elect all 26 senators and 130 deputies.

Spiraling inflation

The Andean nation has experienced its worst economic crisis in a generation, which has resulted in severe US dollar and fuel shortages and annual inflation of almost 25%.

In the days leading up to Sunday’s election, Bolivians have frequently taken to the streets to protest skyrocketing prices and hours-long waits for essential items like food.

Under Morales, who nationalized the gas industry and invested the money in social initiatives that halved extreme poverty during his time in power between 2006 and 2019, Bolivia experienced more than a decade of robust growth and Indigenous empowerment.

However, a lack of new gas projects under Morales’ leadership, who was open about climate change and environmental issues, saw gas revenues decline from a previous high of $ 6.1 billion to $1.6 billion last year.