Bolivians elect a center-right president for the first time in two decades
The World
PRX
4.6 • 943 Ratings
🗓️ 20 October 2025
⏱️ 50 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Bolivians have elected a center-right candidate, Rodrigo Paz, as their new president, ending 20 years of leftist political leadership. Paz’s victory puts the 12-million-strong nation on a notably uncertain path as he attempts to implement significant changes for the first time since 2005. Also, authoritarian governments are increasingly using ‘foreign agent’ laws to intimidate and silence civil society groups and journalists. And, a new study reports that cancer rates in Lebanon are rising faster than anywhere else in the world. Plus, Hindus worldwide are celebrating Diwali today. The festival of lights involves oil lamps, fireworks ... and a bit of friendly gambling.
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| 0:00.0 | What the hell is going on right now? And why is it happening like this? At Wired, we're obsessed with getting to the bottom of those questions, and maybe you are too. I'm Katie Drummond, the global editorial director of Wired, and I'm hosting our new podcast series, The Big Interview. Each week, I'll sit down with some of the most interesting, provocative, and influential people who are shaping our right now. |
| 0:24.4 | Listen to the big interview right now in the same place you find Wyard's Uncanny Valley podcast. |
| 0:35.2 | After years of leftist leadership in Bolivia, a new president from the center right. |
| 0:40.3 | Things could change fast. |
| 0:41.3 | He has said that he has over 200 executive decrees prepared for the first week. |
| 0:48.3 | I'm Marco Werman. |
| 0:50.3 | And I'm Carolyn Beeler, also the growth of foreign agent laws used to suppress dissent. |
| 0:56.4 | These laws are actually emerging all over the world. |
| 0:59.4 | And tourists visiting Antarctica follow the rules to protect the environment. |
| 1:03.7 | You can't sit on the snow, you can't kneel on the snow, you can't put your backpack on the snow. |
| 1:08.5 | Those rules still might not be enough. |
| 1:10.3 | And it is a tradition during |
| 1:12.1 | Duwale with positive associations. Connection, happiness, a lot of nostalgia, and I would say |
| 1:18.9 | very good vibes. He's talking about gambling. We'll hear why today on the world. |
| 1:27.4 | This is The World. I'm Carolyn Beeler. And I'm Marco Wurman. Great to have you with us on this Monday. |
| 1:33.5 | Bolivia has been led by leftist leaders for 20 years. Election after election, voters went to the |
| 1:40.0 | polls and reaffirmed the political direction they wanted for their country. But this weekend, |
| 1:45.0 | the people made clear they want a new path. The winner of yesterday's presidential elections in |
| 1:50.4 | Bolivia, Rodrigo Paz, is a right-leaning centrist. He won the runoff with 54% of the vote. |
| 1:56.6 | This is a significant shift in Bolivia's political evolution, and it tracks with changes in other Latin American countries. |
| 2:02.8 | We asked Catherine Ledaber with the Andean Information Network in Washington, D.C. to explain what looks like a turning point. |
| 2:11.5 | Rodrigo Paz ran on a platform of economic change, of what he perceives as dramatic reform, reduction of the |
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