Marco Rubio meets with Bolivian President-elect Rodrigo Paz in Washington

The president-elect of Bolivia, Rodrigo Paz, held on Friday an official meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the State Department in Washington. The meeting is part of Paz's visit to the U.S., aimed at negotiating access to U.S. dollars and maintaining contacts with multilateral organizations, in a context of a severe economic and energy crisis in Bolivia.

During a video broadcast on his social media, Paz assured that the fuel shortage in Bolivia has been resolved in terms of supply, and that only logistical aspects are pending to guarantee the distribution of gasoline and diesel throughout the country. Accompanied by his economic advisors, Gabriel Espinoza and José Luis Lupo, the president-elect emphasized that his administration is being carried out in coordination with the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the CAF and the IMF.

In Washington, Paz also addressed the need to restore the flow of foreign currency, especially U.S. dollars, in a country suffering cash shortages and falling natural gas production since 2023, the main source of income. The president-elect said he is willing to "knock on all the necessary doors" to solve Bolivia's immediate and structural problems.

The meeting with Rubio marks a first step in the redefinition of Bolivian foreign policy and anticipates the restoration of diplomatic relations with the United States, after two decades of estrangement during the Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS) governments.

Rubio congratulated Paz on his electoral victory, calling it a transformative opportunity and a closing of a cycle of "mismanagement" under the leftist governments of Evo Morales and Luis Arce.