Bolivians are expected to bring the curtain down on two decades of left-wing rule in Sunday’s presidential elections, with two right-wing frontrunners promising radical changes to end a deep economic crisis.
Nearly 20 years after South America’s longest-serving president, Evo Morales, was elected on a promise of socialist revolution, the Andean country is running on empty.
Widespread shortages of dollars, fuel and basic foodstuffs have left some Bolivians worse off than before Morales took over, from 2006 to 2019.
Center-right tycoon Samuel Doria Medina and ex-president Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga lead the polls with about 20%, promising to cut subsidies, close failing state companies, attract foreign investment, and improve ties with the U.S. while distancing from leftist allies like Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua.
