The second poll reveals a tight race between Doria Medina and Quiroga | La segunda encuesta revela una pugna cerrada entre Doria Medina y Quiroga

By Mauricio Quiroz, El Deber:

Segunda encuesta

The contest is close between Samuel (21.76%) and Tuto (20.70%). The study, conducted for EL DEBER by Spie Consulting, also shows a high number of blank votes (14.76%) and undecided voters (5.31%), both key to determining the electoral outcome.

One month before the August 17 elections, the EL DEBER Group presented the results of its second national poll conducted by the consulting firm Spie Consulting, offering an updated snapshot of the electoral landscape.

According to the voting intention data collected between July 5 and 10, Samuel Doria Medina leads with 21.76%, followed closely by Jorge Tuto Quiroga with 20.70% — a difference smaller than the ±2.2% margin of error. Both candidates are emerging as the frontrunners in a highly competitive race. In third place is Manfred Reyes Villa with 10.01%, followed by Andrónico Rodríguez of the Popular Alliance with 8.26%.

Other candidates with lower voting intention percentages include the candidate from New Political Generation (NGP) with 4.81%. That party was left without a candidate after Jaime Dunn was disqualified, and on July 4, during the polling period, the party withdrew from the electoral race.

Rodrigo Paz (4.04%), Jhonny Fernández (2.45%), Eduardo del Castillo (1.92%), Eva Copa (1.14%), and Pavel Aracena (0.36%) are at the bottom of the electoral list.

For sociologist and political analyst Franco Gamboa, this poll confirms a developing phenomenon: “The MAS’s electoral strength has been broken, even in Cochabamba, where Evo Morales was once a natural leader. Now Jorge Tuto Quiroga and Samuel Doria Medina are battling for victory. The same is happening in the west, where Tuto has more traction.”

Gamboa also highlighted Rodríguez’s drop to fourth place and Manfred’s rise to third, who—according to his analysis—may be attracting the votes that previously went to Dunn. He also points out that “the NGP candidate, although no longer on the ballot, ranks above Rodrigo Paz, Jhonny, Eva Copa, and Del Castillo, which reflects a clear demand for new candidates completely distanced from all forms of MAS.”

He warned that the current trend could continue until election day, driven by the economic, social, and political crisis. “It’s up to the two strongest candidates to convince voters dissatisfied with the MAS model and make a ‘leap’ to reach 25% or 30%.”

The sociologist predicted that no one will win in the first round, “but with the caveat that MAS may have ceased to be a power player in the democratic system. These data explain why Evo is threatening to sabotage the elections if he’s not a candidate—because his political legacy is broken.”

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