Jaime Paz Zamora
Jaime Paz Zamora is a Bolivian politician who was the country’s 60th president from 1989 to 1993 and the 32nd vice president from 1982 to 1984. He was born on April 15, 1939, in Cochabamba.
In his youth he studied in Belgium and became a supporter of left-wing causes. He was exiled by dictator Hugo Banzer in 1971 and helped found the Revolutionary Left Movement (MIR) in Chile. He returned to Bolivia in the late 1970s, formed the unity bloc UDP with Hernán Siles Zuazo, and participated in elections that were interrupted by coups. Paz Zamora survived a 1980 plane crash that killed most on board and continued his political work.
He served as vice president under Hernán Siles Zuazo from 1982 to 1984. After MIR left the government in 1984 amid economic turmoil, Paz Zamora ran for president several times. In 1989 he finished behind the top two candidates, but Congress elected him president with the support of General Banzer in a deal known as the Patriotic Accord. He took office on August 6, 1989.
As president, Paz Zamora faced a difficult economy but helped stabilize Bolivia. His administration supported modest privatization, improved education and health services, and negotiated agreements abroad, including a Peruvian port concession. He also moved to soften drug policies and later helped establish unofficial ties with Taiwan. His term was marred by corruption allegations surrounding his close ally Oscar Eid, though Paz Zamora himself completed his four-year term.
After leaving office, the MIR weakened and Paz Zamora’s influence declined. He ran again for president in 1997 and 2002, and in 2005 for a regional governorship in Tarija, but was not elected. He is the nephew of former president Víctor Paz Estenssoro and the father of Rodrigo Paz, who became Bolivia’s president in 2025. Paz Zamora attended his son’s swearing-in in November 2025.
He was married to Carmen Pereira Carballo, from whom he later divorced.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 05:48 (CET).