The Bolivian populace heads to the polls in a crucial election that has the potential to conclude two decades of socialist rule. | Bolivia

Bolivians are heading to the polls in an election that has the potential to shift the country to the right and mark the end of nearly two decades of rule by the leftist Movimiento al Socialismo (Mas). The party, which came to power with the first election of Evo Morales in 2005, risks losing its legal status if it fails to reach 3% in polls, a threshold it has not yet achieved. Two opposition candidates are virtually tied, with center-right business tycoon and former planning minister Samuel Doria Medina closely followed by right-wing former president Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga. President Luis Arce, who has become deeply unpopular amidst the country’s worst economic crisis in four decades, decided not to run for re-election. Instead, he nominated his 36-year-old minister of government, Eduardo del Castillo, to run for president. Morales, the target of an arrest warrant for allegedly fathering a child with a 15-year-old, has taken refuge in a coca-growing region of central Bolivia since October in an attempt to run for office again. After a series of legal setbacks, he has encouraged supporters to cast null votes on Sunday, claiming that if these outnumber the leading candidate’s tally, it would mean he had won. Despite the potential for null votes to impact the outcome, many voters are still undecided and polling has historically been unreliable in Bolivia. The highest-polling figure on the left, Senator Andrónico Rodríguez, has broken away from the party and is running with the left-wing coalition Alianza Popular. Indicating the fragmentation of the left’s vote, Ensemble Leader Enrique Mamani has called for support of the senator, labeling Morales the real traitor. The central issue of the campaign is the economic crisis, which has been labeled the worst since the 1985 hyperinflation. If no candidate secures more than 50% of the vote or at least 40% with a 10-point lead over the runner-up, an unprecedented second round will take place on October 19th. Analyst Carlos Toranzo believes it is certain that Mas will leave power, but it will be difficult for them to hand over control after 20 years with near-absolute control of parliament, the judiciary, and the electoral authority. Arce has stated that he would respect the result if the right won, but placed much of the blame for the crisis and decline of Mas on his former mentor, Morales.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/17/bolivians-go-to-polls-in-election-that-could-end-20-years-of-socialism