Centrist Rodrigo Paz Wins Bolivian Presidency, Ending Nearly 20 Years of Leftist Rule

Centrist Rodrigo Paz Wins Bolivian Presidency, Ending Nearly 20 Years of Leftist Rule
Centrist senator and presidential candidate Rodrigo Paz of the Christian Democratic Party (PDC), speaks onstage during a celebration following preliminary results on the day of the presidential runoff election, in La Paz, Bolivia, on Oct. 19, 2025. Claudia Morales/Reuters
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LA PAZ—Centrist Rodrigo Paz won Bolivia’s presidential runoff on Sunday, defeating conservative rival Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga, as the country’s worst economic crisis in a generation helped propel the end of nearly two decades of leftist rule.

Paz, a senator from the Christian Democratic Party, won 54.5 percent of the vote, beating Quiroga’s 45.5 percent, according to early results from Bolivia’s electoral tribunal. But Paz’s party does not hold a majority in the country’s legislature, which will force him to forge alliances to govern effectively.