Center-rightist Rodrigo Paz, who won Bolivia's presidential election with 54.53% of the vote in the second round, was sworn in in parliament.
Center-rightist Rodrigo Paz, who won the second round of the presidential election held on October 19 in the Latin American country of Bolivia, was sworn into the National Assembly for the 2025-2030 term.
Paz officially took office after the presidential sash was presented to him at a ceremony held at the Congress in the administrative capital La Paz. In his speech at the swearing-in ceremony, new President Paz said that previous governments had left them with a collapsed economy, leading to a spiral of inflation and debt.
“Inflation, famine, debt…”
Stating that a difficult time awaits them, Paz said, “The country we inherited has been destroyed. They left us with a collapsed economy, the lowest international reserves in 30 years, inflation, famine, debt and an insecure country.” he said.
Targeting the former leaders of the Movement Toward the Socialist Party (MAS), Paz said: “I want to ask in the presence of international witnesses, the armed forces and the police: Where is the gas? Where is the fertile sea of gas that you promised us? You said that Bolivia would be a sea of gas, where is Evo (former President Morales) lithium? Where is Arce (former President Luis Arce) gas?”
Paz's swearing-in ceremony was attended by Argentine President Javier Milei, Chilean President Gabriel Boric, Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa, Paraguayan President Santiago Pena, Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi, Peruvian Prime Minister Ernesto Alvarez, Brazilian Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, Panamanian Foreign Minister Javier Marteniz, El Salvador Vice President Felix Ulloa, Costa Rican Vice President Stephan Brunner, as well as US Undersecretary of State Christopher Landau.
20 YEAR OLD MAS ENDS HIS GOVERNMENT
Rodrigo Paz, the center-right candidate of the Christian Democratic Party, won the second round of the presidential election held on October 19, receiving 54.53% of the votes.
Paz, who won the second round of elections held for the first time in the country's history, brought an end to 20 years of rule by MAS, known as a leftist movement in Bolivian and Latin American politics.
Rodrigo Paz, son of former Bolivian President Jaime Paz Zamora, who was in power from 1989 to 1993, will take over the country with the responsibility of fighting one of the most serious economic crises in the past 42 years.
