Two Decades of Socialist Rule May End as Bolivians Start Voting
(Bloomberg) -- Bolivians are voting in presidential and congressional elections that may end years of socialist rule and herald warmer relations with Washington.
The election takes place amid unrest, shortages and the steepest inflation in more than three decades. The economic crisis has undermined support for the ruling MAS party, which has held power almost without interruption since 2006.
Two pro-business candidates are battling for the upper hand in a field of eight presidential aspirants.
Samuel Doria Medina made a fortune in cement, then invested in fast food chains such as Burger King and Subway.
Jorge Tuto Quiroga served as president in 2001-2002 when President Hugo Bánzer Suárez stepped down due to ill health.
Both candidates say they would cut spending and seek international loans to inject capital into the economy. Both also would seek foreign investment in oil and gas exploration and in lithium production — Bolivia is home to the world’s largest deposits of the metal.
The highest-profile leftist candidate is former senate chief Andrónico Rodríguez. A socialist, Rodríguez has distanced himself from both the current president, Luis Arce, and former President Evo Morales, whose feud split the ruling party. Arce opted not to run for a second term.
Polls are open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and preliminary results are expected Sunday evening.
Under Bolivian election rules, a candidate can win in the first round with just 40% of the vote, provided there’s a margin of more than ten percentage points over the runner-up. If no one wins in the first round, there’ll be a runoff on Oct. 19. The new president will be sworn in on Nov. 8.
The economy has been struggling for a decade amid declining natural gas production and dwindling central bank dollar reserves.
Bolivia’s dollar bonds have been among the top performers in emerging markets this year, on optimism that the election will herald a government able to unlock international loans and implement economic reforms.
Under Morales and Arce, Bolivia had close links with Venezuela, Nicaragua, Russia and China but often had sour relations with Washington.
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