Rodrigo Paz Pereira Secures Victory in Bolivia's Presidential Runoff, Signaling Conservative Turn
Sunday’s Vote Breaks Tradition as First Election Since 2005 Without a MAS Party Candidate
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| Center-Right PDC Candidate Rodrigo Paz Pereira Greets Supporters During Bolivia’s Presidential Runoff |
Centre-Right Senator Rodrigo Paz Pereira Wins Bolivian Presidency, Ending Nearly Two Decades of Leftist Rule
Rodrigo Paz Pereira, a 58-year-old centre-right senator representing the Christian Democratic Party (PDC), has won Bolivia’s presidential runoff, marking a political shift after almost 20 years of dominance by the leftist Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS) party.
With over 97% of ballots counted in the electoral court’s preliminary results, Paz Pereira leads with 54.6% of the vote, ahead of former rightwing president Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga, who trails with 45.4%.
The electoral court emphasized that these results remain provisional. Bolivia’s dual-count system includes a fast-track tally based on ballot images and a slower, definitive count in which each vote is manually verified and publicly documented at polling stations.
Paz Pereira Vows Economic Renewal and Global Reconnection Following Runoff Victory
The electoral court now has up to seven days to finalize and publish Bolivia’s official presidential election results. Meanwhile, President-elect Rodrigo Paz Pereira has already begun outlining his priorities.
“Let’s keep building a future—a new path after 20 years that have left us behind economically and geopolitically. We must create jobs,” Paz Pereira told supporters at a hotel in La Paz, just hours after preliminary results were released.
Rejecting ideological divisions, he added: “Ideology doesn’t put food on the table. What does is the right to work, strong institutions, legal security, respect for private property, and certainty about your future—and that’s what we want to work for.”
Looking ahead to international relations, Paz Pereira referenced U.S. President Donald Trump, expressing a desire to forge strong bilateral ties. “We hope to build a close relationship with one of the world’s most important governments,” he said, noting Bolivia’s need to secure energy resources as his administration prepares to take office on 8 November.
A senator representing the department of Tarija, Paz Pereira is also the son of former Bolivian President Jaime Paz Zamora, who held office from 1989 to 1993.
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| Supporters of Presidential Candidate Rodrigo Paz Pereira Celebrate Victory After Runoff Results |
Rodrigo Paz Pereira’s Surprise Rise to Power Ushers in New Political Chapter for Bolivia
Despite his long career in public service—as a city councillor, mayor, and congressman—Rodrigo Paz Pereira positioned himself as a political outsider during the presidential campaign. His message resonated: after beginning near the bottom of the polls, he surged to the top and secured a win in the first round, surprising analysts and opponents alike.
Election day proceeded peacefully, with no major incidents reported by Bolivia’s electoral court or international observers, including a delegation from the European Union.
His opponent, former president Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga—who governed briefly from 2001 to 2002 and was making his fourth attempt at a comeback—delivered a concession speech at a hotel in La Paz. Though some supporters jeered when he announced he had called Paz Pereira to concede, Quiroga remained firm. “Please, I understand the pain we’re feeling,” he told the crowd. “Believe me, if we had systemic evidence [of electoral fraud], we would put it on the table.” He affirmed his respect for the electoral court’s work and pledged to monitor the final vote count closely.
This election marked two historic firsts: Bolivia’s first-ever presidential runoff and the first time since 2005 that no candidate from the left-wing Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS) party appeared on the presidential ballot. The MAS, once a political juggernaut under Evo Morales and current President Luis Arce, suffered a staggering collapse.
Arce, deeply unpopular amid a worsening economic crisis, declined to run. Instead, he backed Interior Minister Eduardo del Castillo, who received just over 3% of the vote—barely enough to prevent MAS from losing its legal status as a political party. The MAS’s downfall has been widely attributed to a bitter power struggle between Morales and Arce, compounded by Bolivia’s most severe economic downturn in four decades, marked by rising inflation, fuel shortages, and a scarcity of U.S. dollars.
In a controversial moment on election night, an image posted to the official Facebook page of the vice-minister of communication declared: “The Masistas are finally leaving! After 20 years of ruining the country.” The post was later deleted, and responsibility for the message remains unclear.
Once holding two-thirds of Congress, MAS will now be reduced to just two deputies and no senators—a stunning reversal of fortune. However, governing won’t be straightforward for Paz Pereira either. While his Christian Democratic Party (PDC) won the most congressional seats—49 deputies and 16 senators—it still falls short of a majority, posing an immediate challenge to enacting his legislative agenda and broader reforms.
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| People Embrace Following Preliminary Results of Bolivia’s Presidential Runoff Election |
Paz Pereira’s Victory Rooted in Grassroots Strategy and Viral Running Mate
Rodrigo Paz Pereira’s road to the presidency was paved by years of groundwork. By his own tally, he visited around 220 of Bolivia’s 327 municipalities, building a national presence that ultimately paid off—particularly in regions once considered strongholds of the now-crumbling MAS party.
In a country where roughly 80% of the workforce operates in the informal or self-employed sector, Paz Pereira campaigned on a platform he called “popular capitalism.” His economic proposals included low-interest loans for small-scale entrepreneurs, a sweeping cancellation of citizen debts owed to the state, and an ambitious promise to legalize much of the informal market by cutting import tariffs on vehicles, electronics, and other goods. “There will be no more smuggling because everything will be legal,” he declared on the campaign trail.
Yet, many political observers believe one of the keys to his victory was not just his message, but his choice of running mate: 39-year-old former police captain Edman Lara Montaño, better known as “Capt Lara.”
Lara rose to national prominence after publishing viral TikTok videos exposing alleged corruption within the Bolivian police force—an act that led to his dismissal but gained him massive public support. Running on a strongly anti-corruption platform, Capt Lara often appeared to operate as an independent figure, unafraid to hold his own party accountable. “I’m the guarantee—if Rodrigo Paz doesn’t deliver, I’ll confront him,” he told supporters.
After the runoff results were announced, Lara reinforced the urgency of Bolivia’s economic and institutional challenges. “We must rebuild the country’s economy; we must guarantee the supply of diesel and petrol. People are suffering—we need to stabilize the prices of basic goods and put an end to corruption,” he said.
In addition to a deepening economic crisis, President-elect Paz Pereira also inherits a politically charged issue: an outstanding arrest warrant for former president Evo Morales. For the past year, Morales has remained in central Bolivia, shielded by loyal coca farmers, as authorities seek to detain him over allegations that he fathered a child with a 15-year-old during his presidency.
On the campaign trail, Paz Pereira was unequivocal. “The law will apply to Evo Morales just like any other citizen,” he stated.
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