"Bolivia has been crippled by a shortage of US dollars since 2023, resulting in the country's worst economic crisis in decades locking Bolivians out of their savings accounts and hampering imports. Meanwhile, Bolivia's currency, the Boliviano, has lost nearly half its value. Last month inflation hit 23% its highest level since 1991. What have Bolivia's presidential hopefuls promised? Both Quiroga and Paz have sought to sell themselves as candidates of change and promise to pivot the country away from two decades of populist economic policy."
"Quiroga has proposed securing a quick loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) coupled with drastic spending cuts, reductions in the size of government and the privatization of industries the state is currently involved in. Paz wants to avoid help from the IMF by tackling corruption and the country's burgeoning black market while slowly phasing out things such as government fuel subsidies over time, rather than capping them immediately."
"Bolivians headed to the polls Sunday in a presidential run-off election that will change the country's trajectory after two decades of one-party rule by the leftist Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) party. The choice they have before them pits two conservative capitalists right-wing former President Jorge Quiroga and centrist Senator Rodrigo Paz against one another. The election comes after MAS, founded by former President Evo Morales, was voted out of government in an August 17 election."
A presidential run-off pits conservative ex-President Jorge Quiroga against centrist Senator Rodrigo Paz after two decades of MAS rule. Bolivia faces a severe dollar shortage since 2023 that has triggered the country's worst economic crisis in decades, frozen savings, constrained imports, halved the Boliviano's value, and produced 23% inflation, the highest since 1991. Both candidates pledge to stabilize the exchange rate, restructure state-owned enterprises, and attract foreign investment while preserving social welfare programs. Quiroga advocates a quick IMF loan, deep spending cuts, and privatizations. Paz prefers avoiding the IMF, targeting corruption and the black market, and phasing out subsidies gradually.
Read at www.dw.com
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