Rodrigo Paz faces Bolivia’s worst economic crisis in 40 years, with high inflation and shortages of fuel and dollars.
Published November 8, 2025
Rodrigo Paz has been sworn in as President of Bolivia, ushering in a new era for the South American nation after nearly 20 years of rule by the Movement for Socialism (MAS) party.
Paz, 58, the son of a former president and a pro-business conservative, drew applause during his swearing-in ceremony at Bolivia’s National Capitol on Saturday.
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“God, my family and my country, yes, I take the oath of office,” said Paz, who won last month’s runoff election.
Later, in his inaugural address, he said Bolivia would open up to the world after 20 years of left-wing rule.
The Socialist Movement Party, founded by charismatic former President Evo Morales, reached its heyday during the early 2000s commodity boom, but natural gas exports slumped and the country’s nationalist economic model of generous subsidies and fixed exchange rates collapsed.
Prime Minister Paz will have to deal with Bolivia’s worst economic crisis in 40 years, with year-on-year inflation exceeding 20% and chronic shortages of fuel and dollars.
The outgoing government of Luis Arce has depleted nearly all of Bolivia’s foreign exchange reserves to support its gasoline and diesel subsidy policy.
During his campaign, Paz, a Christian Democrat, promised a “capitalism for all” approach to economic reform, combining decentralization, tax cuts, fiscal discipline and continued social spending.
He also promised to maintain social programs while stabilizing the economy, but economists say the two cannot be done at the same time.
Mr. Paz promised to restore relations with the United States.
“There will never again be a Bolivia isolated and bound by a failed ideology, a Bolivia that has turned its back on the world,” Paz said at a ceremony attended by delegations from more than 70 countries and local dignitaries.
President Paz also announced after his election that he would cooperate with all international organizations on security issues, including the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, which President Morales expelled from Bolivia in late 2008.
