Headline Roundup • August 18th, 2025
Bolivian Socialists Defeated by Center and Right-Wing Candidates After 20 Years in Power
Summary from the AllSides News Team
After nearly 20 years in power, Bolivia’s left-wing Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) party was defeated in Sunday’s election, where right-wing and center-right parties emerged on top.
The Details: According to official state tallies, Sen. Rodrigo Paz of the Christian Democratic Party (PDC) received around 32% of the vote. Former President Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga of the right-wing Freedom and Democracy (Libre) party secured around 27%. The country’s current president, Luis Arce, did not seek reelection, and MAS’ Eduardo del Castillo finished in sixth with just 3%.
For Context: The socialists have ruled Bolivia since Quiroga left office in 2001, and in 2020, Arce won the general election with 55% of the vote. Samuel Doria Medina of the center-left National Unity Front (UN) was leading the polls until a few days before the election but finished in third. The runoff election in the fall between Quiroga and Paz Pereira will be the country’s first-ever runoff vote.
How The Media Covered It: The story was widely covered by the center and left. The only outlet from the right AllSides found coverage from was Voz Media (Right bias). Outlets across the spectrum framed Paz Pereira’s first-place finish as a “surprise.” BBC News (Center) wrote, “The country's turn to the right comes as it is experiencing its worst economic crisis in years, with shortages of fuel, foreign reserves and some food items and high inflation and debt.” It also noted Bolivia’s alliances with Russia, China, and Iran in recent years. The Associated Press (Left) claimed the result demonstrates the country “seems set to reconcile with the United States.”
Coverage Notes: Outlets from the left generally devote more coverage to international stories. Voz Media is also offered in Spanish and, according to its site, has a presence in five South American capitals.
Written by the AllSides staff (of humans). Learn more. Support our mission.
Featured Coverage of this Story
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AP Photo/Freddy Barragan
Bolivia’s presidential vote headed to an unprecedented runoff after elections Sunday that ended more than two decades of left-wing dominance in the Andean nation but signaled voters’ trepidation about a major lurch to the right.
A dark horse centrist, Sen. Rodrigo Paz, drew more votes than the right-wing front-runners, although not enough to secure an outright victory, early results showed.
Paz, a former mayor who has sought to soften the edges of the opposition’s push for tough austerity to rescue Bolivia from a looming economic collapse, will face off against right-wing former President...
Bolivia is set to elect a non-left wing president after nearly two decades of near-continuous rule by the incumbent socialist party, according to official preliminary results.
Senator Rodrigo Paz Pereira and former president Jorge Quiroga came in first and second place respectively in Sunday's presidential elections.
Bolivia is heading for the first time in its history to a presidential runoff, in a scenario that leaves out the Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS), the leftist force that ruled the country for almost 20 years. Preliminary results of the elections held on Sunday place Rodrigo Paz, of the Christian Democratic Party, with around 31% of the votes, and former president Jorge "Tuto" Quiroga, with 27%, as the two contenders who will contest the presidency in a runoff.
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