Paz wins Bolivian presidency, signaling end of MAS rule

Rodrigo Paz, a centrist senator, won Bolivia's presidential runoff on Sunday with 54.5 percent of the vote to Jorge Tuto Quiroga's 45.5 percent, preliminary results showed, handing the country its first change of national direction after nearly two decades of rule by the Movement Toward Socialism. Paz is due to take office on November 8, setting the stage for a rapid policy shift as he inherits a deep economic crisis marked by soaring inflation, a severe shortage of U.S. dollars and widespread fuel scarcities.

Óscar Hassenteufel, president of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, called Paz's lead irreversible. Supporters celebrated in the streets of La Paz as Paz declared victory, while Quiroga conceded and urged calm, saying refusing to recognize the result would worsen the country's problems.

Paz campaigned on a promarket agenda aimed at stabilizing public finances and restoring confidence in the currency without immediately resorting to an International Monetary Fund program. He has proposed ending Bolivia's fixed exchange rate, phasing out fuel subsidies, reducing large public investment projects and fighting corruption to coax dollar savings back into the banking system. He said...