Bolivia’s presidential election has sent the country to a runoff after Sunday’s vote ended two decades of left-wing dominance in the Andean nation. The runoff is headed for October 19, pitting conservative centrist senator Rodrigo Paz against former right-wing president Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga.
Paz, who began his career as a radical Marxist-inspired party member and later pivoted towards Bolivia’s technocratic center, has won over voters with his pragmatic approach. He commands over 32% of the vote, despite not aligning strictly to either side, appealing to those looking for change but wary of dramatic lurches.
Quiroga, on the other hand, has promised harsh austerity and a scorched-earth approach to transforming Bolivia’s state-directed economic model. His campaign has attracted young voters and a wealthy entrepreneur as his running mate, but some critics perceive him as out of touch with rural poor in this majority-Indigenous nation.
Analysts say that Paz’s enigmatic pragmatism served him well in Sunday’s election. Bolivian sociologist Renzo Abruzzese notes that there has been a “paradigm shift” and the old cycle is over, marking a change from classical leftist thinking that dominated much of the 20th century.
The outcome of Bolivia’s consequential presidential election is crucial for one of South America’s most resource-rich nations, where inflation has soared to heights unseen in decades. The runoff will determine the fate of this nation, with its economy on the line and growing distrust in major institutions.
Source: https://apnews.com/article/bolivia-elections-things-know-morales-leftist-politicians-d4a92da12189304ce763ad08656a0853