He is the new face of socialism in Bolivia.

Luis Arce was invested, Sunday, November 8, new president while the former head of state, Evo Morales, announced that he would be back in the country on Monday after a year of absence.

"We are entering a new stage in our history and we want to do it with a government for all, without discrimination of any kind: our government will seek to rebuild a united homeland where we can live in peace", declared Luis Arce in his inaugural speech.

"We are committed to correcting where we have gone wrong and moving forward where we have succeeded," he added.

The 57-year-old economist, elected in the first round on October 18 with 55% of the vote, was sworn in by the vice-president, David Choquehuanca, in the presence of new parliamentarians and guests such as King Felipe VI of Spain and the Presidents of Argentina, Colombia and Paraguay.

The inauguration of Luis Arce marks the return to power of the Movement towards Evidence after the resignation of Evil in 2019, after being accused of fraud by the opposition in the October 2019 presidential election. mandate.

Luis Arce will have the tough task of reconciling a country polarized by the post-election crisis that shook the country for a year, and putting back on track an economy severely weakened by the coronavirus pandemic. 

A divided country

Bolivia has been going through a serious political crisis since the presidential election in October 2019 and the confusion that surrounded the results giving the winner the president in office, Evo Morales.

The opposition had cried fraud, the streets had been stormed and the army had finally released Evo Morales, who had taken refuge in Mexico and then in Argentina.

An interim government had been put in place until a new election was organized.

In addition to political polarization, tensions between Andean regions and rich agricultural plains, between towns and countryside, as well as the lack of judicial independence undermine the country of 11 million inhabitants.

Luis Arce will also have to change the "style of government", believes political scientist Carlos Cordero, in an allusion to the "authoritarian" mode of government of the one who was the first indigenous president of the country.

“Let’s get rid of the ideologies that divide us,” urged the Bolivian Catholic Church.

The shadow of Evo Morales

But the new president will also have to deal with the cumbersome figure of his mentor, at the head of the country for 13 years (2006-2019) and who confirmed that he would return to Bolivia on Monday to travel by road from the border. Argentina to its stronghold of Chapare.

The biggest challenge of the new government "is to consolidate its own legitimacy in the face of a figure as strong and aggressive in the media as Evo Morales," said political scientist Ximena Costa. 

According to her, from the start, Luis Arce, who was Minister of the Economy of Evo Morales for almost all of his three mandates, will have to make it clear that he will be the leader of Bolivia and not the man. straw of the former president. 

The return of Evo Morales may well be "a headache for the new government" believes Ximena Costa, who does not exclude that her return makes the new leaders appear "like puppets". 

The other big challenge for the new government will be to respond to the economic crisis.

Luis Arce is considered the architect of the "Bolivian economic miracle" under the Morales presidency, which has seen GDP reach record growth figures, up to 6%, and poverty drop from 60% to 37%.

Growth fostered by the surge in raw materials. 

But the situation is no longer the same, in particular because of the consequences of the pandemic: in June, the Bolivian economy plunged by 11%, the budget deficit is 9%, without counting a widening of the public debt and a decrease in tax revenues.

In this particularly unfavorable context, Luis Arce will once again have to demonstrate his ability to work "miracles", but he will also have to find political support beyond his government, analysts believe.

With AFP

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