Elected this Sunday (19) as, according to preliminary results, the center-right senator Rodrigo Paz is from the Christian Democratic Party (PDC).
Rodrigo brings with him a surname linked to politics, but he gained his own space by presenting himself as a moderate alternative in the midst of the economic crisis that is ravaging the country.
Economist and politician
Born in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, in 1967, Rodrigo grew up between the weight of family tradition and the experience of living in his father’s political exile. He is the son of former president Jaime Paz Zamora (1989-1993).
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Graduated in Economics, he built a public career in Tarija, where he served as deputy, president of the Municipal Council and, in 2015, mayor.
In 2020, he was elected senator and stood out for defending greater decentralization of resources and proximity to the population. His trajectory projected him as a regional leader capable of dialoguing with both conservative sectors and an urban middle class tired of extremes.
Campaign promises and challenges
During the campaign, Paz defended the idea of “capitalism for all”: measures to encourage entrepreneurship and private investment combined with minimum guarantees of social protection.
The speech sought to capture the feeling of change, offering an alternative to the centralizing model of the Movement to Socialism (MAS), the party that dominated Bolivian politics under the leadership of Evo Morales and his successors. His strategy was to exchange large rallies for visits to fairs, markets and remote communities, reinforcing the image of a politician willing to listen.
The challenge now is to transform the discourse into concrete results. Bolivia is facing high inflation, fuel and currency shortages, as well as a currency crisis that threatens the population’s daily lives. Paz will have to deal with high expectations in a fragmented Congress, without a solid basis for approving impactful reforms.
Rodrigo Paz’s ascension symbolizes a turning point in Bolivia’s bicentenary. With deep political roots, but driven by a discourse of novelty, he assumes the presidency as the face of a country that seeks to break with the recent past and rediscover the path to stability.
