President of Bolivia Rodrigo Paz condemned socialism after it ravaged his country over the past two decades during his debut speech at the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday.
Paz said that his government is intensely working to rebuild his country, restore trust in Bolivia and its people, and reopen the country to the world after decades of socialism — emphasizing that socialism does not “put food on the table” unlike work and production.
President Paz, a former moderate senator of Bolivia’s Christian Democratic Party (PDC), took office ten months ago in November 2025. His victory last year ended two decades of rule by the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) — held first by failed dictator and fugitive on pedophilia allegations Evo Morales and then by Luis Arce, Morales’ onetime protegé-turned-rival. Immediately upon taking office, President Paz restored Bolivia’s dealings with the United States after Morales unilaterally cut ties with America during the start of his rule. Paz vowed to embrace friendly ties with the U.S. and the free countries of the region after Morales and Arce pivoted his nation towards the authoritarian regimes of Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Iran, among others.
The Bolivian president stated at the beginning of his debut U.N. speech that his country is no stranger to difficult times, as it is a country that has known poverty but also the meaning of work. Describing Bolivia as a nation that knows how to recognize others in unity, Paz said that, although his country has been through economic and political crises, it has never lost sight of the “hope of building a better life.”
While Paz affirmed that the current dire state of Bolivia is a reality that cannot be hidden, he stressed that it is the consequence of 20 years of the construction of an “ideological moment” on the continent.
“In the case of the part of South America where a leader came here and said, ‘This smells like sulfur,’” Paz said, referring to the infamous 2006 speech delivered by Venezuela’s late dictator Hugo Chávez at the U.N. General Assembly, who said the podium “smells like sulfur” after former President George W. Bush spoke.
“It was part of an ideological political line that was being built upon by another leader from my nation, who came and took out a coca leaf,” Paz said, now referring to Evo Morales’ 2006 U.N. General Assembly speech, during which he showed a coca leaf — a plant that, while being the main ingredient used in the production of cocaine, is also an ancestral part of Bolivia’s indigenous culture.
Paz, without directly mentioning Morales, showed a coca leaf to his audience and said that Morales turned the coca leaf into “a betrayal of a nation’s construction, development, and vision for progress.”
President Paz said that his country was once a key power in the fields of gas, hydrocarbons, and mining, but that it now sees itself reduced to having to negotiate with multilateral institutions and nations as a result of its dire economic situation.
“They [Chávez and Morales] said that they were socialists,” Paz said, and reminded those present that he ran for president under the premise of “capitalism for all,” having begun the process of bringing investments and financial capabilities back into the country.
“Socialism and ideology don’t put food on the table, ” President Paz said. “What puts food on the table is employment, the development of our economies, and our production.”
The Bolivian president explained that, by the time he took office, the Bolivian Central Bank’s reserves had been “entirely liquidated” with only $53 million left in the nation’s coffers. Ten months later the country now has nearly $1.2 billion in reserves, and is expected to reach nearly $4 billion by the end of this year — with further projections of “nearly $10 billion” over the next 18 months.
“For many nations, that might not be much,” Paz argued, “but, for Bolivia, it is a record, a milestone, a challenge, and a process of construction to build, strengthen our democracy, and to strengthen our productive model within the country.”
In that line, President Paz declared that Bolivia has decided to change and not look back to the past.
“We are indeed doing this,” he emphasized, detailing that Bolivia is rebuilding its economy, institutions, and putting “our house in order,” while overcoming other pressing issues such as shortages of fuel with the goal of restoring Bolivians’ trust so that the nation can move forward.
President Paz said that his country is fighting to overcome its crises and to become a producer and exporter — stressing that he seeks investment, employment, technology, resources, and for his country to integrate into the world while preserving “something that no economic growth can replace, and that is its people, its territory, and its extraordinary biological diversity.” He emphasized his country’s willingness to engage in critical mineral partnerships such as copper and lithium but in a “responsible” way that sees Bolivia not just as a source of raw materials.
Throughout his speech, President Paz stated that all United Nations members need to give their youth purpose and meaning for their lives, “the very reason for being.” He affirmed that in spite of his country’s difficult times, his government is working to ensure that young Bolivians have a purpose.
President Paz concluded his speech by exclaiming, ” We never give in. Long live the homeland, damn it, long live Bolivia.”
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.