LA PAZ, Aug 18, 2025 (AFP) - A right-wing ex-president and a senator from Bolivia's richest regions will go head-to-head in the country's presidential runoff in October after leading the first round of voting on Sunday.

Center-right senator Rodrigo Paz came from behind to take 32.15 percent of the vote, ahead of ex-president Jorge "Tuto" Quiroga on 26.87 percent, according to preliminary official results.

The election, held against the backdrop of a deep economic crisis, saw the ruling socialists crash out after 20 years in power.

Here is a look at the two finalists:
- Rodrigo Paz: 'Capitalism for all' -

The 57-year-old son of former president Jaime Paz Zamora (1989-1993) spent his early years in exile in Spain where his family fled successive military dictatorships.

He began his political career in the southern city of Tarija, Bolivia's main gas-producing region, becoming an MP for the area in 2002.

In 2020, he was elected to the Senate.

In AFP interviews, voters described him as untainted by association with either the widely discredited socialists or the traditional right, represented by Quiroga and Samuel Doria Medina, a millionaire businessman who was tipped for victory but came in only third.

In an election marked by mudslinging and disinformation, Paz appeared calm and consensus driven.

He has promised to cut taxes, eliminate all import duties and ensure "capitalism for all, not just for a few."

He has also advocated a large degree of decentralization.

Part of his popularity has been attributed to his running mate, highly popular former police captain Edman Lara, known for his broadsides against corruption.

- Jorge Quiroga: 'small state' advocate -

A US-trained engineer from the central city of Cochabamba, Jorge "Tuto" Quiroga has worked at IBM, the IMF and the World Bank as well as major Bolivian banking and mining firms in between stints in politics.

He served as vice president under former military dictator Hugo Banzer when Banzer, who ruled with an iron fist in the 1970s, returned to power through the ballot box.

When Banzer stepped down in 2001 due to cancer, Quiroga served out the remainder of his term.

The blunt-spoken 65-year-old with a knack for snappy soundbites is a favorite of many wealthier Bolivians of European descent.

"I think this Tuto has something. He's an economist, he's a businessman. But he has a way with people," Paul Chacon D-az, a 56-year-old entrepreneur, told AFP.

The 65-year-old ran unsuccessfully for president against socialist firebrand Evo Morales in 2005 and 2014 and also put himself forward in 2020, but dropped out at the last minute because of his poor standing in polls.

He vowed to go further than other hopefuls in liberalizing the economy after what he calls "20 years of suffering, of pain, of shame, of corruption."

He has also vowed to break off ties with authoritarian leftist governments in Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua.