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Bolivia\u2019s first conservative president-elect in 20 years, Rodrigo Paz,<\/a><\/span> injected a sharp note of realism into his plans to tackle Bolivia\u2019s economic crisis on Monday, a day after his surprise electoral victory<\/a><\/span> signaled the end of decades of leftist rule in the South American nation.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n After years of government antipathy<\/a><\/span> toward the U.S. under the Movement Toward Socialism party, Paz pledged to rebuild relations with Washington \u2014 and attract foreign investment to a country long locked out of international markets.<\/p>\n U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement that Paz\u2019s victory Sunday \u201cmarks a transformative opportunity for both nations\u201d to work on investment, immigration, security and other matters.<\/p>\n \u201cThe message from Mr. Trump\u2019s administration itself is a very clear and open signal,\u201d Paz said at a news conference. \u201cWe will have a fluid relationship and commitments to cooperation and joint work between both nations.\u201d<\/p>\n In another sign of the dramatic regional shift, Paz on Monday held a video call with Venezuelan opposition leader Mar\u00eda Corina Machado, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize this month<\/a><\/span>. After years of Bolivia aligning itself with Venezuela\u2019s increasingly repressive<\/a><\/span> President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, Paz told Machado that his country was \u201chere to join in the fight for Venezuela and for Latin American democracies.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThese are very difficult times; here we have achieved a great step,\u201d he said of Bolivia\u2019s break with socialism.<\/p>\n Paz won 54.5% of the vote, according to preliminary results.<\/p>\n Warming long-frosty ties to the US<\/strong><\/p>\n Paz defeated right-wing former President Jorge \u201cTuto\u201d Quiroga in Sunday\u2019s presidential election runoff after a campaign in which both candidates reached out to Washington, though Quiroga was seen as having warmer ties with the Trump administration.<\/p>\n Quiroga pitched having the International Monetary Fund<\/a><\/span> impose a fiscal shock package to right the economy, an unpopular move with many voters. Sensitive to the country\u2019s deep-seated resentment of such international organizations under leftist rule, Paz rejected an IMF bailout.<\/p>\n He did reveal on Monday that he was talking to the Trump administration \u2014 among \u201cother friendly countries\u201d \u2014 to ensure Bolivia would have fuel imports after he takes office on Nov. 8.<\/p>\n \u201cThe process is underway. We are coordinating in the best way possible so that the much-needed fuel \u2014 gasoline and diesel \u2014 can arrive, and from that, we can bring calm to the population,\u201d Paz said, without elaborating.<\/p>\n The commodities boom of the early 2000s sent money flowing into Bolivia under then- President Evo Morales<\/a><\/span> as natural gas exports surged. But production slumped and, amid profligate spending on subsidies, the central bank has practically run out of U.S. dollars<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n Without the cash to pay for imports, fuel lines stretch along the streets of major cities. Year-on-year inflation soared<\/a><\/span> to 23% in September, the highest rate since 1991.<\/p>\n An underdog lures former leftists to the right<\/strong><\/p>\n Paz \u2014 the son of former leftist President Jaime Paz Zamora \u2014 was a political unknown in the early stages of the campaign despite his two decades in politics, first as a mayor, then as a senator.<\/p>\n But his pick as a running mate of Edman Lara,<\/a><\/span> a social media-savvy former police captain, transformed his campaign, solidifying his appeal to working-class and rural voters who saw themselves in Lara\u2019s own humble origin story and in his public struggles against what they see as a corrupt establishment.<\/p>\n Lara gained fame on TikTok in 2023 after being fired from the police force for denouncing corruption in viral videos.<\/p>\n Lara made populist promises like pension increases and cash handouts for the poor that flew in the face of Paz\u2019s grim economic arithmetic, but he helped differentiate Paz from Quiroga and whipped up excitement among many Bolivians who once belonged to the MAS party.<\/p>\n Morales, who governed for 14 years and was barred from this race due to a contentious court ruling on term limits<\/a><\/span>, warned Paz and Lara on Monday that winning the votes of his former followers comes at a price.<\/p>\n \u201cIt does not give you a blank check,\u201d Morales said. \u201cIt is a vote with a mandate … not to apply neoliberal measures, not to submit to imperialism, not to be repressive, not to criminalize protest.\u201d<\/p>\n Saving finances from the brink of disaster<\/strong><\/p>\n On Monday, Paz spoke soberly about the importance of cleaning house and restoring faith in Bolivia\u2019s corruption-riddled institutions before making any splashy promises.<\/p>\n The leader of Paz\u2019s economic team, Jos\u00e9 Gabriel Espinoza, told the AP that cash handouts for the poor were still financially feasible to help cushion the blow of lifting the country\u2019s expensive fuel subsidies.<\/p>\n Espinoza said that Congress had already approved a $3.5 billion loan to be disbursed over the coming months and that Paz is working on another $600 million to balance the books within the first 60 days of his presidency.<\/p>\n \u201cToday we have a blind subsidy, we subsidize fuel for everyone. So what we\u2019ll do is target the subsidy to poorer families through direct cash transfers, while keeping gasoline prices stable for transport workers,\u201d said Espinoza.<\/p>\n Putting the house in order<\/strong><\/p>\n When asked how he would draw foreign investment and take on foreign debt, Paz repeated: \u201cFirst you put the house in order quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n That involves changing Bolivia\u2019s Constitution, he said, a prospect that has stirred fears among the country\u2019s Indigenous majority who finally found political representation in the 2005 election of MAS party founder Morales as the country\u2019s first Indigenous president<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n Under Morales, a 2009 constitution gave Indigenous and other grassroots groups a bigger role in electoral politics and decision-making after years of being treated as second-class citizens by Bolivia\u2019s largely white and mestizo, or mixed-race, minority. The constitution also overhauled the judicial system, making it more vulnerable to political influence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n