1985: New Brazilian President Elected, Acts to Improve Economy

Hernan Siles Zuazo is defeated in Bolivian elections by Paz Estenssoro, who promptly moves to curb the extremely high inflation levels, which at one point reach 35,000 percent annually. He imposes austerity measures under pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in exchange for temporary relief of Bolivia’s large foreign debt. [Library of Congress, 1991; Green Left Daily, 7/24/2002]