Pierbattista Pizzaballa. Foto: Reuters

La chimenea de la Capilla Sixtina. Foto: EFE

El peso de un estadounidense

El presidente del Senado en Bolivia anunció el sábado 3 de mayo su candidatura para las próximas elecciones presidenciales del 17 de agosto. Frente a una multitud de mineros cooperativistas en la ciudad de Oruro (oeste), Andrónico Rodríguez, de 36 años, dijo “acepto” al pedido de postular a la presidencia que varios sectores sociales le han hecho en el último tiempo.

Rodríguez, que para muchos fue considerado el sucesor natural del ex presidente Evo Morales (2006-2019) y con quien está distanciado desde hace algunos meses, justificó en redes sociales su decisión y la atribuyó al mandato de las organizaciones sociales de izquierda. “Siempre he manifestado que seré orgánico y respetaré las decisiones de nuestras bases, y hoy, al recibir a numerosas delegaciones que llegaron con tanto esfuerzo a esta convocatoria espontánea para entregarnos sus resoluciones de respaldo, tomé la decisión de aceptar este mandato y pedido popular, asumiendo la gran responsabilidad que se me encomienda en nombre de la unidad de todos nuestros sectores y organizaciones sociales del país”, escribió.

Rodríguez es la tercera alternativa de la izquierda boliviana que hasta hace poco disputaban Morales y el presidente Luis Arce, quienes sumidos en una disputa por el poder, dividieron el oficialista Movimiento Al Socialismo (MAS). El ex presidente está inhabilitado para ser candidato y el primer mandatario enfrenta las horas más bajas de su Gobierno, con un nivel de aprobación que se desplomó en las encuestas por la crisis económica que atraviesa el país.

En ese marco, los analistas ven que Rodríguez puede reagrupar el voto de ambas alas del MAS y seducir a los sectores de centro, gracias a su perfil moderado y conciliador. Las encuestas también le son favorables, es el que tiene mejores posibilidades de ganar las elecciones.

Su anuncio ha provocado reacciones en la oposición y el masismo. Varios opositores han cuestionado su vínculo con el ex presidente y con los sindicatos cocaleros, donde se forjó como líder y de los cuales llegó a ser vicepresidente, bajo la dirección de Morales.

En el entorno del ex presidente lo han tildado de “traidor” porque aunque Morales está inhabilitado para ser candidato, sus seguidores más radicales insisten con forzar su registro con una marcha y vigilias en los tribunales electorales. El ex presidente, a quien Rodríguez dejó plantado en al menos dos ocasiones en el último mes, le envió un mensaje en tono paternal el domingo a través de su programa de radio: “Tienes tiempo para reflexionar y volver con el pueblo”.

En tanto, el presidente Arce -que asiste a varios actos de “proclamación” de su candidatura pero aún no la confirma- ha manifestado su deseo de “unidad” en la izquierda boliviana para derrotar a “la nueva derecha”. Si hacer referencia a Rodríguez, el jefe de Estado pidió “seguir intentando conformar el bloque de unidad que beneficia al pueblo boliviano”.

La candidatura de Rodríguez mueve el tablero electoral en Bolivia. Por un lado, se proyecta como el candidato más competitivo de la izquierda y con posibilidades de “jubilar” a la generación anterior y, por otro, porque complica las aspiraciones presidenciales de los candidatos de derecha, a quienes la implosión del MAS y la crisis económica les ofrece un escenario más favorable para vencer en la votación.

En lo inmediato, Rodríguez debe armar sus listas parlamentarias hasta el 18 de mayo y conseguir el respaldo de algún partido político para disputar la presidencia, pero no tendrá dificultades porque al menos dos le han ofrecido su sigla. Su desafío mayor será resistir los embates de la oposición y de los “radicales” de ambas facciones del MAS.

EXCLUSIVE – BOSTON – He is out of power, but former Vice President Mike Pence does not feel powerless. 

Pence, the once loyal vice president who broke with President Donald Trump as he defied his one-time boss’s request to throw out the results of the 2020 presidential election, pledged to be a vocal GOP critic when Trump, during his second tour of duty in the White House, veers from the «conservative agenda» that defined the Trump-Pence administration.

«When you look at those Trump-Pence years, they were years that we governed on a conservative agenda,» the former vice president said in an exclusive national digital interview with Fox News minutes after receiving the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award in Boston on Sunday night.

Pence said he gives «President Trump all the credit in the world for an historic victory last November, and for sparing the country one more liberal Democrat administration.»

WHY TRUMP’S FIRST VICE PRESIDENT WAS HONORED BY THE KENNEDY FAMILY

He also praised Trump «not only for his victory, but for securing our southern border, for restoring morale and recruitment in our military, for taking the fight to the Houthis.»

However, he argued that «I truly do believe that some of the other steps the president is taking away from that conservative agenda should be a concern that would work against his legacy and ultimately the success of our party or our country. And so we’re going to continue to be a voice against them.

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«I really do believe that for prosperity…for the success of our country, we need to stick to those time-honored principles of strong defense, American leadership on the world stage, less government, less taxes, traditional moral values, and the right to life, and I’m going to be a voice for that,» added Pence, long a champion of social and fiscal conservative values.

Former Vice President Al Gore, left, watches as former Vice President Mike Pence, center, shakes hands with then-President-elect Donald Trump before a State Funeral Service for former President Jimmy Carter at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 9, 2025. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / POOL / AFP)

On the suggestion in recent weeks by some House Republicans to raise taxes on the wealthy to help pay for Trump’s second-term agenda, an idea some in the White House contemplated before the president came out against the proposal, Pence was clear in his opposition.

«Any suggestion that I’ve heard among some in and around the administration that we raise the top margin rate, the so-called millionaires tax, would be an enormous tax increase on small business owners across America,» Pence said.

He additionally emphasized that «It needs to be opposed. Let’s make all the Trump-Pence tax cuts permanent. That’s a way to really lay a foundation to grow the economy in the days ahead.»

The former vice president, a proponent of a muscular U.S. foreign policy, has criticized the president’s upending of longstanding U.S. foreign policy and has urged Trump to stand with longtime international allies.

Pence received a standing ovation from the audience at Boston’s JFK Presidential Library when, in his acceptance address, he stressed that the U.S. «must continue to stand with Ukraine.»

Pence ran on a traditional conservative platform, framing the future of the Republican Party against what he called the rise of «populism» in the party, as he bid for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, as part of a large field that unsuccessfully challenged Trump.

Former Vice President Mike Pence formally announced his run for president in Ankeny, Iowa. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)

While Pence, who became the first running mate in over 80 years to run against their former boss, regularly campaigned in the crucial early-voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, his White House bid never took off. 

Struggling in the polls and with fundraising, he suspended his campaign just four and a half months after launching it.

When asked if there was another political chapter ahead, and possibly another bid for national office, Pence told Fox News Digital, «I leave that up to the American people.»

He reiterated that he intends to «be a voice» for traditional and conservative values and «we’ll let the future take care of itself.»

As for Trump’s repeated flirtations the past three months with seeking a third term in office in 2028 – which is forbidden by the 22nd Amendment in the U.S. Constitution – Pence said, «I think there’s no higher priority for a president or any elected official to keep faith with the Constitution of the United States.»

«Every single one of us takes the same oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States and my hope and my prayer is for the president on down, Republicans and Democrats, will take that oath to heart, because that’s the pathway forward for our country and all the American people,» he added.

Former Vice President Mike Pence, second from right, stands with his wife, Karen Pence, far right, as he is presented with the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award by Jack Schlossberg and his mother, Caroline Kennedy, at a ceremony at the JFK Library on Sunday, May 4, 2025 in Boston. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Pence spoke with Fox News Digital after receiving the Profile in Courage Award, which is named for a book the late John F. Kennedy published in 1957 before he became president.

The annual award honors public officials who take principled stands despite the potential political or personal consequences. Among the previous recipients were former Presidents Barack Obama, George H.W. Bush and Gerald Ford.

Pence was honored with the award for his actions on Jan. 6, 2021, during the attack on the U.S. Capitol by right-wing extremists — including some chanting «hang Mike Pence» — who stormed the U.S. Capitol aiming to upend congressional certification of the 2020 election.

Hours later, after the rioters were cleared from the Capitol building, Pence resumed his constitutional duties by overseeing congressional certification of former President Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory.

«Vice President Pence put his life, career and that of his family on the line to execute his constitutional responsibilities. His actions preserved the fundamental democratic principle of free and fair elections, and we are proud to honor him,» former Ambassador Caroline Kennedy, the late President Kennedy’s daughter, said in presenting Pence with the award.

Pence, in accepting the annual award, emphasized that it is a «distinction that I will cherish for the rest of my life.»

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The former vice president, pointing to his actions on Jan. 6, said to a standing ovation, «I will always believe by God’s grace that I did my duty that day.»

Additionally, Pence, in his interview, noted that «in all my travels across the country in the last four years, I’ve been deeply humbled by how many Americans have come up to me and just taken a point to encourage us and support us, and it convinces me that the American people know that what ever differences we may have, the Constitution is the common ground on which we stand.»