Bolivia’s President Rodrigo Paz received the presidential sash this Saturday and was sworn into his new cabinet the following day, in a ceremony marked by the presence of old acquaintances from the country’s political circles, a distribution among key partners, and the absence of indigenous representatives for the first time in 20 years.
The 2024 census estimates that 38.7 percent of Bolivia’s population are indigenous, primarily Quechua and Aymara. Mr Paz denied their participation, arguing that for 20 years they had the same representation in government as other sectors and now was the time for “meritocracy”.
“Is Bolivia better?” Paz asked himself this Sunday, anticipating the criticism he would receive. “The time has come to give the nation a transformation that is meritocracy, efficiency, and serves the people,” he said, adding that the door is open to everyone who wants to “serve the country.”
Paz’s historic victories in these elections broke almost two decades of dominance by the Movement for Socialism (MAS) and the power relations that had developed in Bolivian politics, which had become accustomed to a sectoral distribution of positions, first in the Evo Morales government and then in the Luis Arce government.
The new peace government is made up of 14 ministries, three fewer than Arce’s previous administration, but the former administration’s seizure of the portfolio of Palacio Quemado, who had been demoted in recent years in favor of Casa Grande del Pueblo, was another symbol-filled gesture that the new president hopes to bring about change.
In addition to the move, the Wiphala flag representing the indigenous people was removed from the facade of the Quemado Palace, hours after Paz received the presidential sash. For these sectors, this is a highly questionable move, as it is a symbol of the diversity of the Bolivian people.
“The removal from the palace is a violation of the original indigenous peasant movement and an attempt to erase collective memory. We have gone from a state of inclusion to a state of exclusion,” Morales denounced.
new cabinet
Mr Paz warned his new team, made up of representatives from organizations and sectors that offered their support during the election, that their new mandate would require them to work 24/7 to help the country emerge from the economic and social crisis it finds itself in.
Among those elected, the new Presidential Minister José Luis Lupo stands out, and his first task is to restructure the government so that the abolished portfolios become part of other ministries, leading to the modernization of the country and, as already mentioned, “efficient, transparent and rigorous” management.
Lupo, who will take over as secretary of rural development and lands on an interim basis until the portfolio is absorbed into another ministry, has already served as minister five times in the administrations of the new president’s father Jaime Paz Zamora, Hugo Banzer and Jorge Tuto Quiroga.
Former Bolivian central bank governor Gabriel Espinoza has been chosen to curb the economic crisis, while international relations will be left in the hands of Fernando Aramayo, a former Bolivian UN Development Program coordinator.
For now, it appears that Lara has no intention of abolishing the Ministry of Justice, as he promised during his campaign, and has appointed Vice President Edmund Lara’s personal lawyer, Fredi Vidovic, to do so.
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