Rodrigo Paz, President of Bolivia (since Nov 8, 2025)
Rodrigo Paz Pereira (born 22 September 1967) is a Bolivian politician who has served as the 68th president of Bolivia since November 2025. The son of former president Jaime Paz Zamora and great nephew of former president Víctor Paz Estenssoro, Paz emerged from one of Bolivia’s most prominent political families. Before the presidency, he served as senator for Tarija from 2020 to 2025, mayor of Tarija from 2015 to 2020, and earlier as a deputy in the National Congress representing the Revolutionary Left Movement. His 2025 presidential run under the Christian Democratic Party ended two decades of dominance by the Movement for Socialism, as he won the first ever second round runoff in Bolivian history and defeated former president Jorge Quiroga.
Born in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, during his father’s political exile, Paz spent his youth across several countries before returning to Bolivia after democracy was restored. He graduated from American University in Washington, D.C., with studies in international relations and economics, and later worked in diplomatic roles during the government of Hugo Banzer, including as commercial attaché in Spain and chargé d’affaires to the World Trade Organization. After the collapse of the MIR, he rebuilt his career at the local level in Tarija, eventually winning the mayoralty with nearly 60 percent of the vote. His time in office was marked by ambitious infrastructure projects and later legal scrutiny over the delayed “Million Dollar Bridge,” a case that continued after he had left municipal office.
As president, Paz took office amid a severe socioeconomic crisis marked by fuel shortages and dwindling foreign reserves. In his first days, he authorized emergency fuel imports, sought to replenish reserves, and pledged to stabilize public finances. His administration has leaned toward warmer relations with the United States and regional market oriented governments, restoring ties with Israel, allowing the return of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, and easing visa restrictions. Domestically, he has promoted what he calls “capitalism for all,” combining pro market reforms, decentralization, and privatization initiatives with continued social spending. His government has also moved to distance Bolivia from the governments of Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, signaling a clear geopolitical shift.
In his personal life, Paz’s background is deeply intertwined with politics and exile. He is the son of Jaime Paz Zamora and Carmen Pereira Carballo, and grew up across multiple countries due to his father’s opposition to military rule in Bolivia. Through his mother’s family he is related to figures in Spanish cultural and political life, and he is distantly connected to Argentine independence era general José María Paz. Known as one of Bolivia’s “political heirs,” he has navigated both the privileges and burdens of legacy. Despite his dynastic roots, he has often framed his career as an effort to modernize and decentralize Bolivian politics, blending family inheritance with his own pragmatic brand of leadership.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodrigo_Paz
Luis Arce, Former President of Bolivia (since Nov 2, 2020)
Luis Alberto Arce Catacora (born 28 September 1963), also known as Lucho Arce, is a Bolivian politician who serves as the 67th President of Bolivia since 8 November 2020.[1] He served as Minister of Economy and Public Finance from 2006 to 2017 and in 2019 under President Evo Morales.[2] He is a member of the political party Movement for Socialism.
Arce is married to Lourdes Brigida Durán Romero. They have three children; Luis Marcelo, Rafael Ernesto, and Camila Daniela.
Juan Evo MORALES, Former President of Bolivia (re-elected on Oct 12, 2014; re-elected again on Oct 20, 2019)
Morales, Evo (Juan Evo Morales Ayma) (ā’vō mōrä’lās) [key], 1959–, Bolivian political leader, president of Bolivia (2006–). An Aymara, he became a coca farmer when his family moved to Boliva’s lowlands. In the 1980s Morales became a leader of the coca growers and gained prominence in the 1990s when the growers struggled against the U.S.-supported coca-eradication program. He formed a political party, the Movement toward Socialism, in 1995 and won a seat in the Bolivian congress in 1997. Morales was an outspoken critic of the government in Bolivia’s subsequently turbulent politics, and was expelled from the congress in 2002 on charges relating to violence involving anti-eradication supporters. A populist and socialist who advocates ending the coca-eradication program and establishing national control over Bolivia’s energy resources, Morales finished second in the 2002 presidential elections. In the 2005 presidential race, however, he received more than 50% of the vote, becoming the first person of indigenous descent to be elected president of Bolivia.