President Paz Defends His Management in First Nine Months Leading Bolivia

Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz asserted Thursday that his center-right administration is successfully guiding the nation out of its most severe economic crisis in 40 years. Speaking in Sucre, the constitutional capital, on Bolivia's 201st independence anniversary, Paz declared that his government inherited a "devastated and dying homeland."

"They left us a devastated and dying homeland," Paz stated, accusing his left-wing predecessors, Evo Morales and Luis Arce, of plunging Bolivia into a situation where it "could barely breathe." He acknowledged that his government has made "unpopular" but "necessary" decisions to stabilize the economy and secure the nation's future.

The administration faced significant challenges between May and June, when widespread road blockades disrupted the supply of food, fuel, and medicine in several cities. The government blames former President Evo Morales for orchestrating these blockades and has issued an arrest warrant for him. "We have just overcome 53 days of resistance from the past that refuses to accept that a new Bolivia is being born," Paz declared, framing the recent unrest as a struggle against the old guard.

Paz highlighted the return of market confidence, the implementation of reforms, and the country's renewed diplomatic engagement. He also praised his government's efforts in combating corruption and drug trafficking, citing the expulsion of "17 leaders of criminal organizations who lived in Bolivia with protection and absolute impunity," including notorious Uruguayan drug trafficker Sebastián Marset.