The break between Evo Morales and Luis Arce, added to the erosion of the indigenous discourse, left the MAS without representation. Today Bolivia decides between two rights.
Mexico City, October 19 (However).- Bolivia faces this Sunday a choice historical: for the first time in two decades, the Motion al Socialism (BUT) will not be in the ticket presidential. The party that brought to power Evo Morales in 2005 was left out of the second vueltaburied by its internal fights, a deep economic crisis and the rise of a new indigenous class that no longer identifies with the left.
The fall of the MAS was not sudden. It was brewing inside, with fights between Evo Morales and President Luis Arce, the blockade of new leaderships and a disconnection with a social base that is no longer the same.
“We are in the twilight of a political project,” said Álvaro García Linera, former vice president. “Because the MAS project and its indigenous leadership do not have proposals to face the new reality that, in part, has been produced by themselves.”
In the first round in August, the right and the center-right added up to 78 percent of the votes. The MAS, under the hegemony of Arce, barely exceeded three percent and lost all representation in Congress.
#SegundaVueltaBolivia I 🗳 🇧🇴 This is how the Covendo Community votes, Palos Blancos municipality, special constituency.
👉 Franz Tamayo Educational Unit, Sud Yungas province of the department of La Paz.#TSEBolivia#GeneralElections2025#WeContinueBuildingDemocracy pic.twitter.com/dsky1dYJP6— TSE Bolivia (@TSEBolivia) October 19, 2025
Morales, confronted with Arce, called for a null vote after removing his support from Andrónico Rodríguez, whom he himself had promoted. Thus, a runoff was reached between Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga, former right-wing president, and Rodrigo Paz, a center-right candidate who surprised in the first round.
The collapse of the MAS is also explained by the social change that Bolivia experienced. Many of the indigenous people who were the basis of Morales’ project today are part of the middle and upper class, and no longer feel summoned by a narrative of struggle. However, the party failed to renew its discourse to connect with a generation that grew up in better conditions and with new aspirations.
The writer Quya Reyna explains it from her experience: “What did the MAS leave? The Indian with capital. People who can enjoy the distribution of wealth that was previously only for the elites. I am talking, for example, about importing Indians who, thanks to the cheap dollar, travel to China as if they were going to another province of Bolivia. These indigenous people no longer subscribe to a left-wing struggle.”
The economic crisis finally broke the bond. Bolivia depleted its gas reserves due to lack of exploration, corruption and inefficiency. Without dollars in its central bank, the peso devalued, inflation exceeded 25 percent and imports plummeted. Fuel lines became part of the urban landscape. The MAS, which once offered redistribution and stability, could no longer support either.
#SegundaVueltaBolivia I 🗳 🇧🇴 I voted the Guarani indigenous people, Yateirenda, the municipality.
👉 Yateirenda Educational Unit in the department of Santa Cruz.#TSEBolivia#GeneralElections2025#WeContinueBuildingDemocracy pic.twitter.com/PfZgRUD8O7— TSE Bolivia (@TSEBolivia) October 19, 2025
The management of Arce, who had been Minister of Economy in the years of greatest growth of the party, failed to reverse the deterioration. His confrontational style and lack of a clear strategy deepened the party’s internal crisis. The MAS did not find a way to transition from Morales’ charismatic leadership to a more institutional leadership.
Today, the Bolivian electorate is defined more by its social class than by its origin. In fact, indigenous sectors voted for right-wing options, which also reveals a diversity that responds to new needs. That is to say, indigenous identity is still present, but it is no longer the axis that orders political decisions.
Meanwhile, Morales remains in Chapare, protected by his base, while he faces an arrest warrant for trafficking in minors. Even so, he considers it an achievement to have concentrated almost a million invalid votes in the first round.
Quiroga proposes lifting restrictions on agricultural exports and obtaining 12 billion dollars from international organizations. Paz proposes using three thousand 500 million already approved in the Assembly and cutting public spending.
Quiroga leads the polls with more than 44 percent voting intention, followed by Paz with 36.5 percent. In addition, it will be the first time that the second round mechanism, established in the 2009 Constitution, is applied.
With the MAS out of the race, Bolivia ends a political cycle that marked twenty years. The left fell apart from within, and today the country faces a decision that redefines its course.
Bolivia closes polls and begins counting
Election day in Bolivia concluded this Sunday at 4:00 p.m. without reports of relevant incidents, as confirmed by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal.
The tables opened on time and the process developed normally, which will expedite the scrutiny and publication of preliminary results through the Preliminary Results System (Sirepre).
With the polls closed, the counting of votes for the second presidential round now begins, in an election marked by the end of the MAS cycle and the dispute between two right-wing candidates.