‘Better days ahead’: Bolivians anticipate right-wing’s return

LA PAZ, Aug 20 — Bolivians on Monday looked ahead to a future without the socialists who have ruled for nearly two decades, after the right swept the first round of presidential and parliamentary elections.

The Movement towards Socialism (MAS), in power since Evo Morales first won the presidency in 2005, suffered a crushing defeat in Sunday’s polls amid mounting anger over the country’s economic crisis.

MAS’s presidential hopeful Eduardo del Castillo secured just 3.1 per cent of the vote, while the party also lost nearly all its congressional seats. Taking the lead were centre-right senator Rodrigo Paz and right-wing former president Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga, who will face off in October’s presidential run-off.

For many voters, the shift raised hopes of relief from severe shortages of fuel and US dollars — the currency in which most Bolivians save.

“I think that now, with a change in politics, things will improve,” said Franz Yupangui, 49, a lecturer in sustainable engineering, at a La Paz market.

Clara Rodriguez, a 54-year-old fruit seller, echoed the sentiment, saying rising fuel and food prices had hit her business hard. “For those with very limited means, life has been very difficult. With this change, I believe we’ll move forward,” she said as she packed cherimoyas for a customer.

Many Bolivians also welcomed the peaceful nature of the vote, a stark contrast to the deadly unrest that followed Morales’s disputed 2019 election victory. Fears of violence this year — after Morales was barred from seeking a fourth term — proved unfounded. Instead, his loyal base, known as “Evistos,” expressed frustration at the ballot box, with nearly one in five voters (19.38 per cent) spoiling their ballots in protest.

Calls for unity

Paz emerged as the surprise frontrunner with 32.14 per cent of the vote, ahead of Quiroga’s 26.81 per cent. Millionaire businessman Samuel Doria Medina, once tipped as favourite, trailed in third.

In an interview with El Deber, Paz credited his success to years of grassroots campaigning. “I’ve been travelling for four years; I didn’t arrive three months before the election on a private jet to give speeches,” he said in a jab at Doria Medina and Quiroga, often dismissed as candidates of the business elite.

Both Paz — son of former president Jaime Paz (1989–1993) — and Quiroga, who briefly held the presidency in the early 2000s, launched their run-off campaigns with calls for national unity.

Their platforms align on several points, including cutting fuel subsidies, lowering taxes, and abandoning MAS’s state-heavy economic model.

“We must turn the page and begin building a new Bolivia,” Quiroga declared. — AFP