Bolivia President Rodrigo Paz advances 50/50 decentralization with governors

On Wednesday in Sucre, President Rodrigo Paz met with the governors of Bolivia's nine departments at the Casa de la Libertad to advance the "50/50" agenda, a decentralisation proposal that would shift authority and resources from the central government to the regions.

Paz said the plan aims to cut the size of the central state – he previously reduced ministries from 21 to 12 – and to strengthen the institutional capacity of governorships and municipalities. The agenda includes financial autonomy, a new formula for resource distribution, debt relief for sub‑national entities and a review of the legal framework governing them.

Governors discussed concrete projects such as investments in San Ignacio de Velasco and road links with Brazil and Peru. Santa Cruz governor Juan Pablo Velasco stressed that the meeting is about demanding, not merely requesting, decentralisation, while La Paz governor Luis Revilla said the talks should lead to concrete agreements.