​​Milei in attendance as Bolivia's new president takes charge

Rodrigo Paz, a pro-business conservative, took office Saturday as Bolivia's president, ending nearly 20 years of socialist rule and inheriting acute economic woes.

Paz, the 58-year-old son of a former president, drew applause at the swearing-in ceremony at the Bolivian seat of Congress as a torrential downpour fell outside.

"God, family and country: yes, I take the oath of office," said Paz, who won a run-off election last month.

Among the foreign dignitaries in attendance was Argentina's President Javier Milei, who has been reluctant to attend inaugurations of regional leaders unless they are allies.

Milei is seeking to reset ties with Bolivia, which have been strained since he took office in December 2023, and form a regional alliance that is in favour of the United States.

For Milei, gaining another ally within the Mercosur trade bloc would be beneficial. While Bolivia is not a full member of the common market, it does hold a position. 

Argentina’s head of state received a standing ovation from some lawmakers in Bolivia's Legislative Assembly prior to the ceremony. He was also seen talking to Uruguay’s President Yamandú Orsi and Paraguay’s Santiago Peña. 

“Javier Milei is causing a sensation in the Bolivian Parliament. Legislators and authorities are all desperate for a selfie with the Argentine leader,” wrote Santiago Oría, a Milei government official who documents the President’s trips, in a post on social media.

After the investiture, Milei and Paz shared a brief meeting, which was also attended by Argentina’s Presidential Chief-of-Staff Karina Milei and Foreign Minister Pablo Quiro.

New path

In his inauguration speech, Paz said Bolivia would now be different and open to the world after two decades of leftist rule that many here blame for the country's economic ills. 

Under Evo Morales, in office from 2006 to 2019, Bolivia took a sharp turn to the left, nationalising energy resources, breaking ties with Washington and making alliances with China, Russia and fellow leftists in Cuba, Venezuela and elsewhere in Latin America.

In one of his first official acts, Paz restored ambassador-level diplomatic relations with the United States after a 17-year break – a rift that came after Morales accused the former US envoy of supporting a right-wing conspiracy.  

"Never again an isolated Bolivia, bound by failed ideologies, or a Bolivia with its back turned to the world," Paz said during a ceremony attended by delegations from more than 70 countries and local VIPs.  

Economic crisis

Paz will have to address Bolivia's worst economic crisis in 40 years, with year-on-year inflation at more than 20 percent and a chronic shortage of fuel and dollars. 

Long queues for motorists seeking to fill their tanks have become a way of life.

The outgoing Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS) government of Luis Arce exhausted almost all of Bolivia's hard currency reserves to prop up gasoline and diesel subsidies.

On the campaign trail, the Partido Demócrata Cristiano (PDC) leader promised a "capitalism for all" approach to economic reform, with decentralisation, lower taxes and fiscal discipline mixed with continued social spending.

He also promised to maintain social programmes while stabilising the economy, but economists have said the two things are not possible at the same time.

– TIMES/AFP/PERFIL