Centrist Rodrigo Paz won Bolivia’s presidential runoff on Sunday, defeating conservative rival Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga, as the country’s worst economic crisis in a generation helped propel the end of nearly two decades of leftist rule. Paz, a senator from the Christian Democratic Party, won 54.5% of the vote, beating Quiroga’s 45.5%, according to early results from Bolivia’s electoral tribunal, as per CNN. But Paz’s party does not hold a majority in the country’s legislature, which will force him to forge alliances to govern effectively. The new president takes office on November 8. The 58-year-old senator’s win marks a historic shift for the South American country, governed almost continuously since 2006 by Bolivia’s Movement to Socialism, or MAS, which once enjoyed overwhelming support from the country’s Indigenous majority. Paz’s moderate platform—pledging to maintain social programs while promoting private sector-led growth—appeared to resonate with left-leaning voters disillusioned by the ruling MAS, founded by former President Evo Morales, but wary of Quiroga’s proposed austerity measures.
Who is Rodrigo Paz?
Jaime Paz, son of former President Jaime Paz Zamora who led Bolivia from 1989 to 1993, commenced his political career in Tarija after his family’s return to Bolivia in the 1980s, Reuters reported. Born in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, during the family’s exile under Bolivia’s military dictatorship, Paz received his education at various Jesuit schools and later graduated from the American University in Washington. His father survived a plane crash in Bolivia—later identified as a targeted attack preceding the country’s 1980 coup—and his mother also survived a mysterious car crash while in exile. Paz has stated that these experiences shaped his formative years and political ambitions. Throughout his career, Paz has been affiliated with political parties across the spectrum, ranging from his father’s Revolutionary Left Movement to right-leaning alliances, progressively advancing from city councilor to senator.
