Centrista Senator Rodrigo Paz Pereira, of the Christian Democratic Party (PDC), led the presidential career of Sunday in Bolivia, With 31.3% of the votes, according to a urn mouth survey broadcast on the Unitel television channel.
The conservative president Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga, of the Alianza Libre coalition, was in second place with 27.3% of the votes, according to Unitel.
If no presidential candidate obtains more than 40% of the votes with an advantage of 10 percentage points, the elections will be defined in a second round on October 19.
Bolivia’s fragile economy is the main concern of voters before the elections. Price increases have surpassed those of other Latin American countries this year, and fuel and dollars are scarce.
Annual inflation doubled to reach 23% in June, compared to 12% in January, and some Bolivians have resorted to cryptocurrencies as coverage.
Many Bolivians, especially those who work in the informal economy, now have difficulty arriving at the end of the month, said economist Roger López.
“Now the prices of the family basket are climbing and rising rapidly,” López said.
Many might choose to punish more on Sunday, creating an opportunity for the centrist, the right or a leftist faction led by the president of the Senate, Andrónico Rodríguez.
“Every year the situation got worse and got worse (…) There is no work opportunity,” said Silvia Morales, 30, who works in a retail peace of peace. The ex -man said that this time I would vote for the center -right.
Carlos Blanco Casas, a 60 -year -old professor of La Paz, said he also intended to vote for a change. “There is a need for a helm. I see that these elections are with hope above all,” he said.
Quiroga has promised a “radical change” to reverse what he calls “20 years lost” under the government of Mas and supports deep cuts in public spending and a departure from alliances with Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua. The candidate was president for a year, between 2001 and 2002, after the leader of that moment resigned.
Doria Medina, meanwhile, offers a more moderate approach and has pledged to stabilize the economy in 100 days.
Meanwhile, on the left, the vote is divided between the official candidate of the MAS party, Eduardo del Castillo, backed by outgoing president Luis Arce, and Rodríguez, who has distanced himself from the party and is presented on his own.
Morales, 69, has called the boycott of the elections, but analysts claim that their influence is declining.
“There is a generalized support for the elections,” said Calanche. “The bulk of Bolivians sees it as a key and decisive moment to bring the country to economic recovery,” he added.
