Pro-business centrist Rodrigo Paz was sworn in as Bolivia’s president on Saturday, ending nearly two decades of leftist rule.
The former senator from the centrist Christian Democratic Party won last month against far-right rival Jorge Quiroga, who served as president in 2001-02.
Socialist incumbent Luis Arce, who ruled since 2020, did not seek reelection due to internal party conflicts and the Andean country’s economic crisis.
What did Paz say to the Bolivians?
Speaking at the inauguration in La Paz, the country’s administrative capital, the 58-year-old said: “Today, in the service of the people, a new era of freedom is beginning. This is the new Bolivia, opening itself to the world.”
Referring to the country’s economic crisis, which was 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.”
He said in his swearing-in speech, “Bolivia is rejoining the world, never again to be isolated. The country will never again be held hostage by an ideology; ideology does not put food on the table.”
Paz promised a policy of “capitalism for all” before detailing plans to gradually move toward market-oriented economies, which would require a softening of relations with the United States and other trading partners, as well as cutting government subsidies.
He also stressed the need to form political coalitions domestically as his Christian Democratic Party controls only 39% of the 166 seats in the Legislative Assembly.
“We have been handed a task, not a throne,” Paz said. “This is the time for true democracy and respect for the law; no one is above the law. We will overcome that abusive and shameful past.”
Why is Bolivia in economic crisis?
Bolivia is one of the poorest countries in South America. After two decades of rule by the Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) party founded by former President Evo Morales, the country is mired in an economic crisis.
Morales, who was head of state from 2006 to 2019, moved Bolivia sharply to the left, nationalizing energy resources.
While he oversaw a thriving economy during the commodities boom of the early 2000s, it collapsed due to declining natural gas exports and reliance on state-led policies, generous subsidies, and a fixed exchange rate.
The country is facing a severe shortage of US dollars after the previous government depleted almost all of Bolivia’s hard currency reserves to fuel aid.
Along with high inflation, chronic fuel shortages have made long queues at gas stations a way of life.
Paz has said that free market reforms will happen at a measured pace. He rejected calls for a bailout from the International Monetary Fund and rival Quiroga’s calls for 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 the Paz government is expected to open the sector to foreign investment.
Under Morales, Bolivia broke relations with Washington and moved closer to China, Russia, Cuba and Venezuela. Paz has vowed to restore ties with the US.
Edited by: Sam Dusan Inayatullah