Who is Rodrigo Paz? First conservative to become Bolivian president in nearly 20 years

Bolivia’s Christian Democratic Party (PDC) leader Rodrigo Paz has become the country’s new president, becoming the first conservative to win a presidential election in nearly two decades. Paz takes office on November 8. However, his party does not have a majority in Bolivia’s legislature, so he will be expected to form alliances with other parties to govern the country effectively. With 97 percent of the ballots counted, Paz captured 54.5 percent of the vote in Sunday’s runoff, well ahead of former President Jor-na Quiu. Here’s everything you need to know about Rodrigo Paz, the new president of Bolivia. Who is Rodrigo Paz? The 58-year-old centrist senator and economist Rodrigo Paz is the first non-socialist leader to win the post of Bolivia’s president. He is the son of President Jaime Paz Zamora, who ruled from 1989 to 1993, and Spaniard Carmen Pereira. Rodrigo Paz was born in Santiago de Compostela, Spain and spent his early childhood there. His father, one of the founders in the 1960s of the Marxist-inspired Revolutionary Left Movement, went into exile in Spain to escape the oppressive rule of General Hugo Bánzer, one of a series of dictators who ruled Bolivia from 1964 to 1982. Rodrigo Paz had previously studied economics in Bolivia upon his return. While Paz returned to Bolivia to join the leftist party founded by his father, he later recast himself as a conservative committed to pragmatic, business-friendly reforms. His career began as a legislator in the lower house of Congress. He then became mayor of the southern city of Tarija, his hometown, from 2015-2020. Rodrigo Paz has been a Bolivian senator ever since. On the campaign trail, he promoted what he called “capitalism for all” and promised to dismantle the “state roadblock” to economic development. In his victory speech, Paz said that Bolivia was “regaining its place on the international stage”. “Bolivia is blowing in winds of change,” he told supporters. “Ideology does not put food on the table. What does is the right to work, strong institutions, legal security and private property.” Bolivia has suffered an economic crisis, including annual inflation of nearly 25 percent and critical shortages of US dollars and fuel.