Bolivians on Sunday, October 19, elected a pro-business center-right senator as their new president, ending two decades of socialist rule that have left the South American nation deep in economic crisis. With 97% of ballots counted, Rodrigo Paz had 54.5% of the vote compared to 45.4% for his rival, right-wing former interim president Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) said.

The news was greeted with joy, music and fireworks on the streets of La Paz. “We came to celebrate the victory with great hope of a new direction for Bolivia,” reveler Julio Andrey, a 40-year-old lawyer, told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Paz, the 58-year-old son of a former president, has vowed a “capitalism for all” approach to economic reform, with decentralization, lower taxes and fiscal discipline mixed with continued social spending.

In his victory address, Paz said Bolivia was “reclaiming its place on the international stage.”

Washington congratulated Paz on his election win, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying the United States “stands ready to partner with Bolivia on shared priorities.” He added in a statement that “after two decades of mismanagement, President-elect Paz’s election marks a transformative opportunity for both nations.”

Economic crisis

He takes over a country that under ex-president Evo Morales took a sharp turn to the left: nationalizing energy resources, breaking ties with Washington and making alliances with China, Russia and fellow leftists in Cuba, Venezuela and elsewhere in Latin America.

After the results were announced, Paz’s vice-presidential running mate, Edmand Lara made a call for “unity and reconciliation” after a bitter campaign. While Bolivia is enduring its worst economic crisis in decades, he promised improvements are on the horizon. “We must ensure the supply of diesel and gasoline. People are suffering. We need to stabilize the prices of the basic food basket, and we must put an end to corruption,” he said.

Long queues for fuel have become a way of life in Bolivia, with dollars in short supply and annual inflation over 20%. In a first electoral round in August, crisis-weary voters snubbed the Movement Toward Socialism party founded by Morales. “A new chapter is coming. Enough with corruption. Enough with injustice. Structural changes are on the way,” said Lara.

‘A lot of suffering’

Sunday’s election closes out an economic experiment marked by initial prosperity funded by Morales’s nationalization of natural gas reserves. The initial economic boom was followed by bust, notably critical shortages of fuel and foreign currency under outgoing leader Luis Arce.

“We hope the country improves,” homemaker Maria Eugenia Penaranda, 56, told AFP Sunday, bundled up against the cold as she cast her vote in La Paz, about 3,600 meters (11,800 feet) above sea level. “We cannot make ends meet. There is a lot of suffering. Too much,” she told AFP.

Successive governments under-invested in the country’s hydrocarbons sector, once the backbone of the economy. Production plummeted and Bolivia almost depleted its dollar reserves to sustain a universal subsidy for fuel that it also can no longer afford to import.

Paz faces an uphill task, inheriting an economy in recession, according to the World Bank. He had promised to maintain social programs while stabilizing the economy, but economists have said the two things are not possible at the same time. Like Quiroga, Paz also proposed cutting the universal fuel subsidy, keeping it only for public transportation.

‘Difficult to heal’

He vowed before the results came out Sunday that his governance style will be one of “consensus.” Paz will not have a party majority in Congress, meaning he will need to make concessions to get laws passed. Outside of Congress, the new president will also face stiff opposition from Morales, who remains popular, especially among Indigenous Bolivians, but was constitutionally barred from seeking another term.

On Sunday, Morales told reporters the two candidates each represent only “a handful of people in Bolivia, they do not represent the popular movement, much less the Indigenous movement.” Arce is due to leave office on November 8 after serving a single presidential term that began in 2020. Bolivia’s constitution allows for two terms, but he did not seek reelection.

Quiroga on Sunday said his team would review the official results but congratulated Paz on his victory nevertheless.