The Bolivians, fed up with the economic crisis, voted this Sunday to choose a new president, with the right as a favorite to end the two decades of leftist governments that Evo Morales began.
A country with a shortage of dollars and fuels and an year -on -year inflation of almost 25%, the largest in 17 years, went to the polls willing to punish the movement to socialism (more) that governs since 2006, first with Morales and then with Luis Arce, today adversaries.
“I want a change. I think the left has done a lot of damage (…) there is no job, there is no gasoline, the market is recar.
The voting day, which started at 08h00 local (12h00 GMT premises), concluded at 4:00 p.m. (20h00 GMT). The first results of Boca URNA will be disclosed around 20h00 local (00h00 GMT).
The businessman Samuel Doria Medina66, and the former president Jorge Tuto Quiroga65, they have a comfortable advantage among the eight candidates to happen to Arce.
In London, Tuto Quiroga won the seven tables of the electoral district with 608 votes (more than 65% of valid votes). He was followed by the PDC of Rodrigo Paz Pereira with 154 votes, Unit by Samuel Doria Medina with 152 and Admate de Manfred Reyes Villa with 123. The null vote promoted by Evo Morales reached 116 votes, although it will not be counted, while the left forces obtained marginal results: Popular Alliance of Andrónico Rodríguez achieved 25 votes and the MAS-PSP of Eduardo del Castillo barely 9.
Practically tied in the surveys, both would play a second round on October 19 in an unprecedented right -wing duel. The official Eduardo del Castillo and the leftist and head of the Senate, Andrónico Rodríguez, march lagging.
Alba Luz Arratia, 18 and and the point of entering the university, she suffered confident in the change. “We are in a very difficult situation, but we do hope that everything goes well,” he said after voting for the first time.
More than 7.9 million Bolivians are also called to renew the Congress of 166 members.
The end of a cycle
Both Doria Medina and Quiroga promised this Sunday to end the difficult economic situation that most blames the Arce government.
During its administration, Bolivia, once a rich gas producer and with important lithium resources for exploiting, almost exhausted its dollar reserves in fuel subsidies that reach 11.3 million inhabitants.
“Today is a very important day for Bolivians because through the vote we can get out of this economic crisis in a peaceful way, democratically,” said Doria Medina after voting in La Paz.
Quiroga also promised a stage that, according to him, will be peaceful and democratic.
“Bolivia will be an example for the world, for the way we are going to change peacefully and democratically after 20 years of abuse,” said the candidate for free movement when voting.
The favorites to move on to a second round converge in their proposals: implant a market economy and disassemble the model that implanted the MAS.
Doria Medina promises a 100 -day shock plan to combat fuel shortage, dollars and some basic products. The entrepreneur made a fortune in the cement industry, the hotel sector and in the fast foods.
Quiroga was a president between 2001 and 2002, when being vice president he assumed power in replacement of Hugo Banzer, a ex -daler of the 70s who was later democratically chosen but resigned from getting sick with cancer.
Both failed in more than one attempt to reach the presidency. The two want Evo Morales to accounts before justice.
“Without legitimacy”
Morales, the first indigenous president of Bolivia who ruled between 2006 and 2019, tried to compete in this election for a fourth mandate.
A failure prevented it by prohibiting re -election for more than once. In addition, it faces an arrest warrant for the alleged detention of a minor when he was president, an accusation he denies.
