CIVICUS discusses political changes and challenges for civil society in Bolivia as a result of its recent election with María Galindo, activist, philosopher and founding member of the Mujeres Creando feminist collective.
On 20 October, Christian Democratic Party leader Rodrigo Paz won the presidential runoff with 54.5 per cent of the vote, ending two decades of leftist rule by the Movement Towards Socialism. His victory came amid the country’s worst economic crisis in a generation, marked by inflation of close to 25 per cent, shortages of dollars and fuel and long queues for basic goods. Paz’s platform combines market liberalisation, social programmes and conservative positions on gender issues that are causing concern among the women’s rights movement. His lack of a majority in Congress will complicate any attempt at reform.
