LA PAZ: Bolivians on Sunday elected a pro-business center-right senator as their new president, ending two decades of socialist rule that have left the South American nation deep in economic crisis.
With 97 percent of ballots counted, Rodrigo Paz had 54.5 percent of the vote compared to 45.4 percent for his rival, right-wing former interim president Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) said.
Paz, the 58-year-old son of a former president, has vowed a “capitalism for all” approach to economic reform, with decentralization, lower taxes and fiscal discipline mixed with continued social spending.
With dollars and fuel in short supply and annual inflation at more than 20 percent, weary voters snubbed the Movement Toward Socialism party founded by former president Evo Morales in a first electoral round in August.
Bolivia is enduring its worst economic crisis in decades, with long queues now a common sight at gas stations.
