• Latinometrics
  • Posts
  • ☀ Domingo Brief — Bolivia’s Tumultuous Election

☀ Domingo Brief — Bolivia’s Tumultuous Election

Each Sunday, take two minutes to catch key stories and opportunities shaping Latin America.

Author

Latinometrics
August 17, 2025 • Reading Time: 4 minutes

Welcome back to the Domingo Brief! This week, we’re keeping up with Lula’s tariff relief plan, Maduro’s asset seizures, and more.

Trivia of the Week 🎯

A mere 43% of you correctly guessed the Cruzeiro Real as the currency Brazil replaced in 1994 with its current currency, the real. Lasting just under a year between August 1993 and June 1994, the cruzeiro real replaced the third cruzeiro by cutting off three zeroes. The introduction of the Plano Real was subsequently carried out in response to several years of hyperinflation in Brazil, attempting to impose nominal currency stability in the economy. Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Brazil’s Finance Minister at the time, had identified the root causes of hyperinflation in the country as a combination of volatile fiscal policy and widespread inertial inflation. Adoption of the real, alongside restricted government spending and high interest rates, led Brazil to keep inflation under control for several years thereafter.

Each week, tune back in for the answer to the previous week’s trivia question. No cheating!

Which Latin American country has hosted the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP) more than once already?

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

🇦🇷 President Javier Milei’s recent foreign exchange reforms have fueled the worst streak of corporate defaults in Argentina since the pandemic. Milei removed most exchange controls for individuals earlier in the year, triggering a rise in local borrowing costs, especially for peso-reliant companies, and leading over a half dozen to default or enter debt talks this year. Average interest rates for dollar-linked bonds rose to 11% in 2025, with sales of dollar-linked bonds falling to $2M during the first quarter of the year, down from $165M over the same period in 2024.

🇧🇴 Bolivians head to the polls today for the first round of their country’s presidential election, voting in an incredibly polarized electoral race and amidst a profound economic crisis. President Luis Arce is not seeking re-election, with the current race instead pitting leftist candidate Andronico Rodriguez against center-right businessman Samuel Doria and conservative former president Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga. Evo Morales, another former president who led the country for 14 years, has been barred from running for a fourth term on the grounds of constitutional term limits, triggering significant popular unrest from his supporters.

Latinometrics: As Bolivia’s first Indigenous president, Morales is a towering figure in the country’s political landscape, having poured resources into social programs and public projects to uplift marginalized Bolivians. Ahead of the upcoming election, he has also urged his voters to cast null votes in protest of the court’s decision to bar him from running, citing the reasons for the decision as politically motivated. Morales’s calls for null votes could effectively swing the election to candidates on the right and end twenty years of (nearly) uninterrupted leftist rule.

Unlock Unique Insights with Latinometrics Premium.

Become a paid subscriber of Latinometrics to get access to this data story and other subscriber-only content.

Already a paying subscriber? Sign In.

A subscription gets you:

  • • 📈 Unlimited early access to all of our charts
  • • ☀️ Full access to our Domingo Brief — a must-read for decision-makers.

Reply

or to participate.