Pro-business centrist Rodrigo Paz was sworn in as Bolivia’s president on Saturday, marking the end of nearly two decades of leftist rule.
The former senator with the centrist Christian Democratic Party won last month’s run-off against far-right rival Jorge Quiroga, who served as president in 2001-02.
Socialist incumbent Luis Arce, who ruled from 2020, did not seek reelection due to internal party conflicts and the Andean country’s economic crisis.
What did Paz tell Bolivians?
At the inauguration in the country’s administrative capital, La Paz, the 58-year-old said: “Today, a new era of independence begins, in the service of the people. This is the new Bolivia, opening itself to the world.”
Referring to the country’s economic crisis, widely blamed on the socialist government, Paz told Bolivians: “The country we inherited is devastated, morally and materially indebted, with endless lines for fuel and empty markets.”
“Bolivia is rejoining the world, never again isolated. Never again will the country be held hostage by an ideology; ideology doesn’t put food on the table,” he said in his swearing-in speech.
Paz promised a policy of “capitalism for all,” before detailing plans to move gradually to market-oriented economy, which will require thawed ties with the United States and other trading partners, as well as cuts to government subsidies.
He also alluded to the need to build political alliances domestically as his Christian Democratic Party controls only 39% of the 166 seats of the Legislative Assembly.
“We haven’t been handed a throne, but a task,” Paz said. “This is the time for true democracy and respect for the law; no one is above the law. We will overcome that disgraceful and shameful past.”
Why is Bolivia in economic crisis?
Bolivia is one of South America’s poorest nations. After two decades of rule by the Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) party, founded by former President Evo Morales, the country is mired in economic crisis.
Morales, who was head of state from 2006 to 2019, steered Bolivia sharply to the left, nationalizing energy resources.
While he oversaw a thriving economy during the early 2000s commodities boom, plummeting natural gas exports and state-led policies, reliant on generous subsidies and a fixed exchange rate, have led to collapse.
The country faces acute US dollar shortages after the previous government exhausted almost all of Bolivia’s hard currency reserves to prop up the fuel assistance.
Along with high inflation, chronic fuel shortages have made long queues at gas stations a way of life.
Paz has said the free-market reforms would happen at a measured pace. He rejected rival Quiroga’s calls for a bailout from the International Monetary Fund and aggressive fiscal shock therapy.
With the world’s largest reserves of lithium, a key component in batteries and electric vehicles, Bolivia has struggled to exploit the resource.
But Paz’s government is expected to open the sector to foreign investment.
Under Morales, Bolivia cut ties with Washington and moved closer to China, Russia, Cuba and Venezuela. Paz has vowed to restore ties with the US.
Edited by: Saim Dušan Inayatullah
