What were the highlights, key points, priorities and notable excerpts and quotes in Rodrigo Paz Pereira's speech at the UN General Assembly?

Here are the highlights and key excerpts from Rodrigo Paz Pereira's first address as Bolivia's head of state to the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Highlights

• Narco-terrorism as the central threat. Paz addressed the 81st General Assembly holding a coca leaf, and called on multilateralism to act "immediately" against the threats of narco-terrorism and organized crime that he said seek to destabilize democracies around the world. Setting aside his written notes, he warned the Assembly of a "fundamental" danger to Bolivian democracy, telling delegates that the nearly 50 days of road blockades and protests calling for his resignation were financed by "narco-terrorism" with the aim of "breaking the democratic order."

• A political reckoning with the socialist left. His 18-minute address opened with a reference to Venezuela's Hugo Chávez, who in 2006 stood at that same podium and said he smelled sulfur, and to former Bolivian President Evo Morales, both of whom Paz accused of having installed a "political and ideological line" across South America. Holding a coca leaf, he pointed at Morales directly, saying that a leader of his nation had taken a traditional, historic leaf that is part of Bolivian culture and turned it into a betrayal of the country's progress and development.

• Ideology does not feed people. He said Bolivia "was an energy power, in gas, hydrocarbons and mining," and that the country now has to negotiate credits with international organizations and different nations. His verdict on why: "Socialism and ideology do not feed people."

• A hard economic inheritance, with early gains. Paz told the Assembly that Bolivia had been through a contracted economy with inflation above 20 percent in 2025, and that when he took office the country's reserves did not exceed $21 million. "Today we have close to $1.2 billion and we are aiming for close to $4 billion," he said. Bolivia's Senate ratified a $1.9 billion IMF loan just before his departure for New York, sealing a program that requires Bolivia to fully eliminate fuel subsidies by January 2027, and officials say the credit is designed to unlock roughly $5 billion more in financing from the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank and CAF.

• Open for business, not on its knees. Paz signaled that part of getting out of the crisis depends on Bolivia having partners who understand that "an investment is not just a transfer of money." He said Bolivia wants "a long-term relationship with training, technology, infrastructure, productivity, and a future," adding: "Bolivia is open to the world and we want the world to come to Bolivia." He closed that section with a defiant note: "We are just starting, but Bolivia is never on its knees. It always stands, it rises and walks again."

• Natural resources for the energy transition. Paz said Bolivia wants to be part of an "energy diversification" among countries in the region that contributes to development through multilateral cooperation. He pointed to Bolivia's ecological and cultural diversity and said the country holds natural resources that could be strategic for the global energy transition, adding: "We have the capacity to give the world the resources it needs."

• A plea to the UN on democracy. Paz held the coca leaf visibly as he spoke, and closed his address by urging the Assembly to build a new agenda in the face of technological advances, and calling on the UN not to abandon "our democracies."

In his own words

All quotations below come from reporting by Infobae and EFE out of New York, drawing on the speech as delivered.

On ideology and economic failure: "El socialismo y la ideología no dan de comer." ("Socialism and ideology do not feed people.")

On coca and Morales: "Un líder de mi nación hizo de una hoja tradicional, una hoja histórica, una hoja que es parte de nuestra cultura, una traición para con la construcción y el desarrollo y la visión de progreso de una nación." ("A leader of my nation turned a traditional leaf, a historic leaf, a leaf that is part of our culture, into a betrayal of the construction, development and vision of progress of a nation.")

On Bolivia's resilience: "No todo está resuelto, recién estamos comenzando, pero Bolivia nunca está de rodillas, siempre está de pie, se levanta y vuelve a caminar." ("Not everything is resolved, we are just beginning, but Bolivia is never on its knees. It always stands up, it rises and walks again.")

On what Bolivia needs from the world: "Queremos una relación a largo plazo con capacitación, tecnología, infraestructuras, productividad, futuro, por eso Bolivia está abierta al mundo y queremos que el mundo venga a Bolivia." ("We want a long-term relationship with training, technology, infrastructure, productivity, a future. That is why Bolivia is open to the world and we want the world to come to Bolivia.")

On the fight ahead: "Bolivia está peleando para que, superando esa crisis, podamos producir, exportar, queremos inversiones, empleo, tecnología, queremos recursos, queremos integrarnos al mundo." ("Bolivia is fighting so that, overcoming this crisis, we can produce, export. We want investment, jobs, technology. We want resources. We want to integrate into the world.")

His closing words: "Viva la patria carajo, viva Bolivia, gracias Naciones Unidas." ("Long live the homeland, long live Bolivia, thank you United Nations.")

Worth knowing

Paz was sworn in as the 68th President of Bolivia following the 2025 general election. The trip to New York caps a foreign-policy reset that began the day after his October 2025 runoff win, when he pledged to restore diplomatic ties with Washington after a 17-year rupture.

The protests Paz described ran for weeks, involving widespread demonstrations, blockades and strikes across multiple regions of Bolivia, led largely by indigenous groups, miners, teachers, farmers and other workers. They were sparked by Law 1720, which allows land to be used as collateral for loans, against the backdrop of a wider economic downturn.

The coca leaf he held at the podium was a pointed rebuke of Morales, a former coca-growers union leader who rose to Bolivia's presidency. Morales, as head of the federation of coca growers of Chapare, has long been associated with individuals linked to narco-trafficking activities. Bringing the leaf to the UN General Assembly podium inverted a gesture Morales had famously made there in 2006, turning what was then a symbol of indigenous pride into what Paz framed as evidence of a political betrayal.

On the sidelines of High-Level Week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Paz, welcoming Bolivia's efforts to stabilize its economy through IMF support, multilateral bank funding, and fuel, mining and energy sector reforms, while also discussing regional security cooperation against narco-terrorists.

Watch and read the full speech

President Paz was the tenth speaker on Day 3 of the general debate. His own video is not on YouTube yet; the whole Day 3 session is:

Watch Day 3 of the UNGA 81 general debate on YouTube

Watch the session on UN Web TV. The UN posts each country's statement on the general debate website.