Bolivia elects president: leftists defeated, centrist and right-wing representative in second round
Kyiv • UNN
Polling stations have closed in Bolivia, and the country is preparing for the second round of presidential elections. The left suffered a heavy defeat, failing to advance to the final round.
Bolivia will decide who will be the country's new president in the second round. In the final round - representatives of centrists and right-wingers. But without the representative of the "Movement for Socialism" (MAS) party, Eduardo del Castillo, who received less than 3.2 percent of the votes.
UNN reports with reference to El Nuevo Herald and DW.
Details
In the Bolivian presidential elections, centrist senator Rodrigo Paz showed the best result, gaining almost 32.2% of the votes. Meanwhile, the ruling socialists suffered a heavy defeat. According to the first official results, the "Movement for Socialism" (MAS) party with its candidate Eduardo del Castillo gained only 3.2% of the votes.
In second place is conservative ex-president Jorge "Tuto" Quiroga with 26.9%.
Therefore, the new situation pits Senator Rodrigo Paz Pereira of the Christian Democratic Party (PDC) against former President Jorge "Tuto" Quiroga of the Libre alliance. They will face each other in the second round on October 19.
Bolivia was at a political and economic crossroads. At the same time, Paz's triumph came as a surprise. In the polls, the PDC representative lagged significantly behind Quiroga, gaining only 10% of the votes.
What are the main reasons for the defeat of the left in Bolivia? As Deutsche Welle writes, among the key reasons, the main one is the inability to overcome the economic crisis.
Bolivians are tired of the economic crisis.
The country, facing a dollar and fuel deficit, as well as an annual inflation of almost 25%, the highest in 17 years, went to the polls determined to punish the Movement for Socialism (MAS)
Recall
Voting has ended in Ecuador in the presidential elections, which could significantly change the country's political course.