Luis Arce

Luis Alberto Arce Catacora (born 28 September 1963), often referred to as Lucho, is a Bolivian banker, economist, and politician serving as the 67th president of Bolivia since 2020.

Luis Alberto Arce Catacora was born on 28 September 1963 in La Paz.

He is the son of Carlos Arce Gonzales and Olga Catacora, both teachers.

Arce grew up in a middle-class family, beginning his school studies in 1968 and graduating from high school in La Paz in 1980.

He studied at the Institute of Banking Education in La Paz, initially graduating as an accountant in 1984.

Arce spent most of his working life as a public official, beginning in 1987 at the Central Bank of Bolivia, where he spent much of his professional career.

In 1991, he received a bachelor's degree in economics from the Higher University of San Andrés before completing his studies abroad at the University of Warwick at Coventry, United Kingdom, where he graduated in 1997 with a master's in economics.

He also holds an honorary doctorate from the university of los Andes (UNANDES) and the Franz Tamayo Private University (UNIFRANZ) in Bolivia.

From 1992 to 2005, he worked in the International Operations Management of the Central Bank of Bolivia as Deputy Manager of Reserves.

Between 1994 and 1995, he was promoted to head of the Department of Information and Publications, of the Research and Analysis Sub-management, under the Management of Economic Studies of the Central Bank of Bolivia.

Arce also started working in academia as an undergraduate and postgraduate professor at various Bolivian public and private universities.

He has given lectures at universities in Europe, North America, and South America, including Columbia University in New York, the University of Buenos Aires, and Harvard University.

A member of the Movement for Socialism, he previously served as minister of finance—later minister of economy and public finance—from 2006 to 2017, and in 2019.

Born in La Paz, Arce graduated as an economist at the University of Warwick.

His lifelong career in banking and accounting at the Central Bank of Bolivia prompted President Evo Morales to appoint him as minister of finance in 2006.

For over ten years as Morales' longest-serving minister, Arce was hailed as the architect behind Bolivia's economic transformation, overseeing the nationalization of the country's hydrocarbons industry, the rapid expansion of GDP, and the reduction of poverty.

His tenure was only brought to an end by a diagnosis of kidney cancer, which forced him to leave office to seek extended treatment abroad.

On 23 January 2006, President Evo Morales appointed Arce minister of finance.

Three years later, he assumed command of the new Ministry of Economy and Public Finance.

Some Bolivian media called Arce the mastermind of Bolivia's economic resurgence.

He oversaw Bolivia's nationalization of hydrocarbon, telecommunications, and mining companies, as well as the creation of BancoSur.

He oversaw the rapid expansion of the Bolivian economy, with GDP increasing by 344% and extreme poverty reduced from 38% to 15%.

In 2011, the American Economy Magazine ranked Arce the region's 8th-best minister of the economy out of 18.

Crowded International Organization has highlighted Arce's work driving the Bolivian economy.

Ahead of the 2014 Bolivian general election, The Wall Street Journal considered him the calling card in Morales's reelection.

As the minister of economy, Arce maintained a relatively low profile.

Christopher Sabatini, a senior researcher fellow for Latin America at Chatham House and founder of Americas Quarterly, called Arce "one of the few technocrats in MAS".

"He's level headed" and "doesn't engage in inflammatory rhetoric", Sabatini wrote.

Bolivian media often credited Arce with steering the nation through a period of economic growth.

His policies were salient in slashing Bolivia's poverty rate during his terms and facilitating large amounts of economic growth as a result of rising gas exports.

On 24 June 2017, Arce was forced to give up his position and travel to Brazil to undergo surgery to treat severe kidney cancer.

Upon his recovery, Arce was reappointed to his position in January 2019 but resigned from office within the year amid the social unrest the country faced in October and November, culminating in Morales' removal as president soon thereafter amid allegations of electoral fraud.

During the interim government of Jeanine Áñez, Arce sought asylum in Mexico and Argentina, where Morales—barred from running again—nominated him as the Movement for Socialism's presidential candidate in the snap elections scheduled for 2020.

Throughout the campaign, Arce characterized himself as a moderating force, a proponent of his party's socialist ideals but not subservient to its leader, Morales.

These factors ultimately resulted in a substantial victory at the polls, with Arce winning fifty-five percent of the popular vote.

Inaugurated on 8 November 2020, Arce's presidency brought Bolivia back in line domestically and internationally with its traditional position under Morales and away from the rightward shift the Áñez government had taken.

Domestically, Arce's first year in office saw its greatest successes in combating the COVID-19 pandemic through the procurement of vaccines from Russian and Chinese sources.

His government spearheaded an international call for the pharmaceutical industry to waive its patents on vaccines and medications in order to provide greater access to them by low-income countries.

Though he succeeded in stabilizing the economy in the face of the health crisis, Arce's ability to conduct its growth was hampered by a vaccine hesitant population, which prolonged the pandemic's economic ramifications.

Among the biggest challenges of the Arce administration was the urgent need for judicial reform in the country, which he pledged to address but was forced to delay on multiple occasions.