Pro-business Senator Paz wins Bolivia runoff amid economic chaos

Sergio Mendoza, Bloomberg News on Oct 19, 2025

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Senator Rodrigo Paz won Bolivia’s presidential runoff on Sunday, pledging to repair relations with Washington and curb spending to address the deepest economic crisis in four decades.

Paz led former president Jorge Tuto Quiroga of the Alianza Libre coalition by 54.5% to 45.5%, with 98% of ballots tallied in the preliminary count. Electoral authority head Óscar Hassenteufel said that Paz’s lead was “irreversible”.

Paz, 58, will take office on Nov. 8 in a nation hit by soaring inflation, fuel shortages, a crippling debt load and the risk of unrest from supporters of socialist former president Evo Morales, who are angry that he was barred from running. Paz has said he will phase out expensive fuel subsidies, allow the currency to devalue and seek to attract more foreign investment.

Bolivia is one of the poorest nations in the Americas despite its vast deposits of lithium, a key component in batteries.

But whereas his opponent called for an International Monetary Fund program to address the crisis, Paz says he would first stabilize domestic finances before reaching out to the lender.

The first round of voting in August brought down the curtain on two decades of socialist government, when the ruling party was wiped out amid fuel and food shortages and soaring inflation.

The Andean nation’s sovereign bonds have returned almost 40% this year, among the top performers in emerging-markets, as investors bet that the defeat of the ruling socialists would herald more business-friendly policies.

His team has said that he will continue to service the nation’s debt, but may try to ease the burden through asset swaps, maturity extensions, or currency adjustments.

‘Capitalism for Everyone’

Paz is a former mayor of the small provincial city of Tarija, and son of Jaime Paz Zamora who led the country from 1989 to 1993. On the campaign trail, he promoted what he called “capitalism for everyone” and promised to dismantle the “state roadblock” to economic development.

During the campaign, he visited Washington, heralding warmer relations after decades of friction.

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