Bruising week for Bolivia's President Paz as scandal and setbacks test his presidency

LA PAZ, Bolivia -- In a sign of how things have been going for Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz lately, being forced to fire his economy minister on Friday was not the worst news of his week.

Over seven days, Paz has been besieged on multiple fronts, challenging his capacity and weakening his already fragile political position.

His main congressional ally broke with his party, fracturing support for his agenda as he struggles to pull Bolivia away from nearly two decades of one-party socialist rule . An abrupt fuel price hike threatened to reignite public unrest . And his influential adviser was arrested over the shooting of a woman who claims to have evidence of corruption inside his government.

After a dizzying rise to power last year, Paz has spent his nine months in office growing accustomed to hard times.

Just six of the 15 ministers he originally appointed remain in their posts after a succession of political ruptures, corruption scandals and street protests . His partnership with Vice President Edman Lara — whose populist appeal helped Paz win last year's election — has rapidly deteriorated into open hostility. His efforts to shore up Bolivia’s scarce fuel supplies backfired when contaminated gasoline damaged more than 10,000 vehicles and led to the arrest of his ex-hydrocarbons minister. The seat of his government came under siege for almost eight weeks as dynamite-wielding protesters demanded his resignation.

Paz weathered it all. But analysts say the latest blows could pose his greatest challenge yet.

Paz on Friday dismissed Economy Minister José Gabriel Espinoza, the architect of his government’s pro-market overhaul , days after Congress voted to force Espinoza out.

Lawmakers seized on a scandal surrounding Espinoza’s purchase of a luxury car and his failure to attend a congressional hearing about the economy to channel their mounting frustration over Bolivia’s stubborn inflation and chronic shortages of fuel and foreign currency reserves.

Prosecutors on Monday opened a criminal investigation into allegations that he falsified documents and misrepresented his income in connection with his purchase of an Audi Q4 for $5,000 — far below market value. He has attributed the discrepancy to a clerical error and denied wrongdoing.

Paz initially slammed the congressional vote as unconstitutional and insisted Espinoza would remain in office. But he soon backed down, exposing his weakness in Congress after the center-right National Unity party, a key legislative ally, broke with him last week over his reliance on presidential decrees.

“The vote on Espinoza showed the country what had until then been unclear: the true balance of power,” said Veronica Rocha, a Bolivian political analyst.