Rodrigo Paz Sworn In as Bolivia’s President, Signaling Market-Oriented Shift

Overview

• Paz took the oath of office in La Paz with more than 50 foreign delegations in attendance, including Chile’s Gabriel Boric, Argentina’s Javier Milei, Uruguay’s Yamandú Orsi and U.S. deputy foreign minister Christopher Landau.
• He pledged to cut fuel subsidies by more than half, prioritizing diesel reductions for agriculture and business and phasing gasoline support more gradually.
• Bolivia enters the new term in its worst economic crisis in decades, with October inflation at 19% after a July peak of 25%, near-empty reserves and acute shortages of fuel and U.S. dollars.
• The IMF and the Inter-American Development Bank signaled readiness to support the program, though any external financing must be approved by the Plurinational Legislative Assembly.
• Paz’s PDC holds the most seats but lacks a majority; by incorporating figures from the pro-market Alliance for Unity, his allies claim a functional majority even as uncertainty lingers over lawmakers with past ties to the MAS.