Roberto Laserna, director of the Center for the Study of Economic and Social Reality (CERES) in Cochabamba, Bolivia: “Rodrigo Paz’s candidacy was a personal endeavor. Over the last five years, he traveled around the country and engaged with people. He made use of his position as senator and took advantage of Bolivia’s abundant calendar of local, religious and civic festivities. He refused to take part in the unity initiatives against MAS and managed to secure a party label (the Christian Democratic Party, PDC) almost at the registration deadline. His personal profile is therefore more important than his platform or his ‘party.’ He was raised in a politically active, social-democratic-oriented household, attended elite schools and universities, and has had a long career ranging from the local level (Tarija) to the national stage. He handles and combines several political discourses and has presented himself as very pragmatic and flexible. But he has inherited a country in a crisis that is accelerating due to the lasting…”