Bolivia was preparing to elect the first non-left president in two decades in two decades

Bolivia is expected to elect a non-left wing president after almost two decades of rule almost contained by the outgoing Socialist Party, according to official preliminary results.

Senator Rodrigo Paz Pereira and former President Jorge Quiroga came respectively in the first and second place in the presidential elections on Sunday.

None of the two received a sufficiently high part of the vote to guarantee a pure and simple victory, therefore the vote will go to respect between these two candidates, in October.

Paz Pereira, of the Christian Democratic Party, was a surprise vote manager, after the opinion polls suggested that Samuel Doria Medina, a businessman, was the favorite.

Electoral authorities said he could take up to three days to finalize the results.

Paz Pereira’s campaign focused on redistribution of more funds far from the central government to regional entities and the fight against corruption – with its slogan “Capitalism for all, not just a few”.

He suggested an accessible credit program, tax reductions to stimulate the formal economy and eliminate import obstacles for products that Bolivia does not make.

Quiroga briefly acted as an acting president from 2001 to 2002 after being vice-president of Hugo Banzer, a military dictator until his elected official later.

The election of an outside president of the left camp will probably see strong changes in the foreign policy of the Latin American country.

In terms of trade, the two capitalist positions of candidates could indicate more support for foreign investments in the vast lithium reserves of Bolivia – the key ingredient for batteries used in many electric cars, laptops and solar panels.

Politically, a change in government could mark closer ties with the United States, after two decades of strengthening links between Bolivia and China, Russia and Iran.

A recent report on the American Congress report described American-bolivia relations as “tense” under the governance of the Socialist Party.

The country’s tour of the country has occurred when he has known his worst economic crisis for years, with fuel shortages, foreign reserves and certain foods and inflation and debt.

Opinion polls before the elections suggested that many voters wanted to vote for change or punish the Socialismo Party (Mas) in place.

The current president, Luis Arce, mired in deep unpopularity, decided not to ask for a re -election.

The punishment of the left is not only electoral, but physical in some cases.

The candidate for Mas, Eduardo del Castillo, was sunk from the school where he voted. The Bolivian media reported that some voter colleagues had told him “to wait as they did for fuel” rather than jumping the queue.

People have also launched stones on the best -pegging left candidate, Andrónico Rodríguez, when he went to vote. Rodríguez was previously a member of Mas before separating from the party.

Authorities in Bolivia also said that an explosive apparatus had been launched to the polling station where Rodríguez voted. There was no report of significant damage or injuries.

Rodríguez described it as an “isolated incident” orchestrated by a “small group” to a Bolivian newspaper.

The left was not only faced with recent unpopularity on the economy. It is also deeply divided.

For the first time in about two decades, the former president, Evo Morales, was not on the ballot.

Morales ruled on the country from 2006 to 2019 and was forbidden to run again, despite attempts to challenge legal and constitutional decisions to let it arise for a fourth term.

He urged his supporters to null of their vote.

Rodríguez was once considered a protégé de morals, but has since moved away from him.

The latest elections in 2019 were disputed and demonstrations broke out. Morales was accused of fraud after the listeners found irregularities with the survey and he resigned under pressure from the army.

In 2020, Luis Arce – a former Minister of Moral Finance – took office as president. Morales then announced that he would return to politics in Bolivia and deprived Arce of a majority – transforming the pair of allies to the rivals.

More and more difficulties and power struggles have existed in the MAS party in power since. The supporters of Morals organized demonstrations and roadblocks against the prohibition of re -election which was imposed on it, which sometimes turned fatal with emergency workers killed.

The judges ordered an arrest warrant against Morals for an alleged sexual intercourse and a rape of a 15 -year -old girl. He described the accusations of politically motivated.

He lived and operated in Chapare in Bolivia, sometimes protected by his supporters.