By Brújula Digital:

Ronald MacLean: “Rodrigo Must Be Saved; His Presidency Must Be Saved”

“Rodrigo must replace this cabinet with a broad national unity cabinet, not one made up of friends and relatives,” said former foreign minister Ronald MacLean, who also questioned Paz’s team and political alliances.

File photo of President Rodrigo Paz.

Ronald MacLean has called for “saving” Rodrigo Paz’s government, arguing that it faces at least two serious threats: the president’s inner circle and a series of questionable alliances forged during the first nine months of his administration. In his view, both issues stem from a single problem: Paz must be far more careful about the people surrounding him.

The former minister, who held several cabinet positions in the late 20th century, spoke Tuesday morning on Brújula Streaming, where he expressed deep concern about consolidating the new political direction that emerged after the MAS defeat. He warned of risks in decisions being made by the executive branch, particularly by the president, and lamented that there appear to be “other priorities” that “are not the same as ours for building a prosperous, modern, liberal—or at least semi-liberal—Bolivia.”

Two Sources of Concern

The first risk MacLean identifies is the questionable suitability of the president’s closest team and senior government officials.

“He has to replace this cabinet with a broad national unity cabinet; not a cabinet of friends and relatives, or political allies whose role we do not understand,” he said.

He immediately pointed to a second concern that, in his view, is closely related: political alliances.

“I believe Rodrigo may be under pressure, and we saw that in the latest negotiations after the 53 days of conflict. He has conceded far too much to groups that have inexplicably acquired and received power they did not have—or at least not visibly.”

On this point, the former mayor of La Paz also referred to Paz’s pre-election agreement with Vice President Edmand Lara. He suggested that this alliance is partly responsible for the president’s confusion.

“Rodrigo is confused. He does not have 55% of the electorate. He had thirty-something percent together with Lara; it was actually a minority alliance,” he said, implying that the rest of the vote came from liberal-minded citizens seeking a change in the country’s direction.

“We Must Save Him”

Against this backdrop, MacLean stressed that his criticism is intended to help put the government back on course.

He lamented the distancing of the Unidad bloc, saying he views the situation “with concern and sadness, because we are leaving Rodrigo alone. Rodrigo must be won back, Rodrigo must be saved, his presidency must be saved. But that cannot be done by being complacent and ignoring what is happening. We must denounce what is happening (…) Rodrigo has to move forward.”

MacLean reiterated that the president’s commitment should be to “a greater Bolivia and a broad anti-Marxist alliance,” rather than what he described as “dark and confusing relationships with people who had nothing to do with the election victory in which we placed our trust and hopes in Rodrigo Paz.”

Elsewhere in the interview, MacLean offered further clues about his concerns, claiming that the Foreign Ministry is being guided by the political line of former foreign minister and MAS vice president David Choquehuanca.

BD/MZS