Former, former mayor, economist by profession and born in Spain for the exile of his parents, the opposition presidential candidate Rodrigo Paz Pereira gave surprise in the general elections in Bolivia By first appearing in rapid counts with more than 30 % of valid votes.
Paz Pereira57, is the main revelation of the current electoral process, as it went from the last places in the surveys Pre-election to play a second round with former president Jorge ‘Tuto’ Quiroga (2001-2002), whom rapid counts give 27 %.
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The candidate Rodrigo Paz Pereira, of the Christian Democratic Party, greets supporters at the close of his presidential campaign in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. (EFE/ Juan Carlos Torrejón).
Your formula partner in the Christian Democratic Party (PDC) is the former policeman Edman Lara, who became popular on social networks for his revelations of various cases of alleged corruption in the police institution, until in 2024 he was discharged.
Son of the Spanish Carmen Pereira and of the Bolivian President Jaime Paz Zamora (1989-1993), Paz Pereira was born in Santiago de Compostela in 1967 and lived his childhood in several countries because his parents were persecuted during military governments.
The politician is an economist and has studies at International Relationsin addition to extensive experience in the public sector having been deputy, councilor, mayor of the southern city of Tarija between 2015 and 2020 and is currently senator by the opposition force Citizen Community (CC), by former president Carlos Mesa (2003-2005).
To get to the City Hall of TarijaPaz Pereira defeated the governmental movement of Socialism (MAS), then led by former President Evo Morales (2006-2019) in the municipal elections of 2015.
In 2019, it was part of the call Coordinator of Defense of Democracy which demanded that there be a second electoral round, in the midst of the complaints of a fraud in favor of the then president Morales and at the expense of Carlos Mesa in the failed general elections of that year, subsequently annulled.
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The presidential candidate of Bolivia for the Christian Democratic Party (PDC), Rodrigo Paz Pereira, votes in Tarija. (Photo by Marcelo Gomez / AFP).
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In the current electoral process, the senator had a modest campaign Faced with the great deployment made by Quiroga and the also opponent Samuel Doria Medina, to whom the surveys had placed between the first places and with the possibility of disputing the second round.
In statements to Efe, Paz Pereira defined himself as “A man who has two huge congratulations, love the homeland and love his family. ”
“From this, (Paz) builds a vision with other men and women who love peace, the whole of the country and their families with Christian values, and we are in a job of generating a great agreement, a consensus”he said.
To win the elections, PAz Pereira promised to meet the proposed agenda with Laraincluding their offers to end the “Train state” To give more resources to the Bolivian regions, cut the “Superflux expenses” in the state and apply “firm hand” against corruption and judicial reform.
“Bolivia needs stability, it needs governance, but it needs to end the tranca state for the State to work for us and us for the State”He said.
It is also clear that to launch your plans you must achieve consensus in the Legislative that would be chaired by the ‘Capi Lara’ if the duo achieves the victory in the second round.
Paz Pereira trusts his Experience as a legislator and as the head of an executive body having been mayor.
