Do we like them?Do we like Rodrigo Paz?
Our score: 5 out of 10. Nothing harmful in his own words turned up, but a bruising first year and thin evidence on LGBTQ+ and climate leave this squarely in the middle.
Rodrigo Paz is the son of a former Bolivian president, a senator and former mayor of Tarija, and he came from the pack to win the 2025 runoff and end two decades of left-wing government. He ran as a pro-business, centre-right candidate with a slogan of “capitalism for all”. He took office on 8 November 2025 without a majority in Congress.
On the campaign trail he promised to cut the universal fuel subsidy and keep it only for public transport, and said “my format will be that of consensus.” A December 2025 decree then ended the subsidies, petrol prices jumped, and unions, miners and others took to the streets. Whether he's a bold reformer or a bloke who skipped the talking first depends on where you stand on the economics.
By May 2026 La Paz was under blockade, food and fuel were short, and protesters were demanding his resignation. The government declared a 90-day state of emergency in June so the military could help clear roads. Reports put the death toll in the dozens at worst, and the government said some deaths were linked to blockades cutting off medical care, with investigations ongoing.
On the harm check, I found no anti-LGBTQ+, anti-women or climate-denial statements from him, but I also found nothing at all from him on LGBTQ+ rights, so that's a gap rather than a pass. On the planet, he has pitched Bolivia as a bigger lithium exporter and has been reviewing deals with Chinese and Russian firms, while Indigenous communities in the lithium region have asked for environmental studies and proper consultation first.
He has also drawn fire for a decree letting him exercise full powers remotely while abroad, which critics called illegal, and for a very public stoush with his own vice president. The good stuff is thinner: he is credited with reopening ties with Washington and with a push to stabilise a broke economy, but the record on how people have actually fared is still being written.