Bolivians head to the polls on Sunday in a presidential election that will change the country’s direction after two decades of one-party rule by the leftist Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) party.
The choice they face pits two conservative capitalists – right-wing former President Jorge Quiroga and centrist Senator Rodrigo Paz – against each other.
Bolivia is facing a US dollar shortage through 2023, resulting in the country’s worst economic crisis in decades – with Bolivians locked out of their savings accounts and imports hampered.
Meanwhile, Bolivia’s currency, the boliviano, has lost nearly half its value. Inflation reached 23% last month – its highest level since 1991.
What have Bolivia’s presidential candidates promised?
Both Quiroga and Paz have tried to sell themselves as candidates for change and have promised to move the country away from two decades of populist economic policy.
The election comes after MAS, founded by former President Evo Morales, was ousted from government in the August 17 election.
The result was seen as an expression of party infighting as well as voter frustration over national fuel shortages.
Both Quiroga and Paz have promised to fix the exchange rate, restructure state-owned businesses and attract foreign investment.
Quiroga has proposed drastic cuts in spending, reduction in the size of government, and privatization of industries currently involved in the state, as well as securing quick loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Paz wants to avoid IMF help by tackling corruption and the country’s growing black market, while gradually eliminating things like government fuel subsidies over time rather than limiting them immediately.
Economists say the budget cannot be balanced if welfare programs remain closed.
Both Quiroga and Paz say they want to maintain social welfare programs because they stabilize Bolivia’s economy, something economists say cannot be mastered together.
Both also agree that ending fuel subsidies – which account for more than $2 billion (€1.72 billion) in government funding each year – is vital to Bolivia’s economic survival.
But they will both be well aware of how difficult this will be, with citizens and trade unions already threatening unrest should either of them touch fuel subsidies.
Although gas led Bolivia to great wealth in the early 2000s, exploration and production has since collapsed.
The next opportunity for Bolivia to change its economic trajectory will be to exploit its vast lithium reserves, the largest in the world.
Who is the presidential candidate of Bolivia?
The former president’s son, Paz, an unknown despite two decades in politics, surprised observers by winning the August election.
Although he defeated Quiroga and all other contenders, he did not win an absolute majority, hence a run-off.
Much of Paz’s popularity in the vote can be traced to her running mate Edmund Lara, who lost his job in the police after a TikTok video of him speaking out against corruption went viral. Among those attracted by his message were working-class residents of the Bolivian highlands.
Paz and Lara took the country by storm during their campaign, promising “capitalism for all” and portraying themselves in contrast to wealthy Quiroga and his wealthy donors.
What will the elections mean for Bolivia’s coalitions?
Both candidates have turned to the US – a major change after 20 years of anti-American MAS leadership – and each is flying to Washington for a meeting with President Donald Trump.
“Both candidates running in the election want a stronger and better relationship with the United States, so this is another transformative opportunity,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at a press conference on Tuesday.
No matter who wins, Sunday’s election will herald a seismic shift in alliances away from China and Russia that will likely reverberate across the hemisphere economically and geopolitically.
Polls open at 8:00 am (1200 GMT) and close at 4:00 pm
Voting in Sunday’s poll is mandatory for the country’s 7.9 million eligible voters.
Edited by: Carl Sexton