Luis Arce


Luis Alberto Arce Catacora is a Bolivian politician who served as the Minister of Economy and Public Finance under President Evo Morales. He is the presidential candidate of MAS-IPSP in the 2020 Bolivian general election.

Minister of Economics

Appointed in 2006, he oversaw the nationalization of hydrocarbon, telecommunications, and mining companies in the country, as well as the creation of the Bank of the South. He oversaw the rapid expansion of the Bolivian economy, with GDP increasing by 344% and extreme poverty being reduced from 38% to 15%.
In 2011, the American Economy Magazine ranked Minister Arce Catacora as the 8th best Minister of the Economy in the region, from a total of 18.
Crowded International Organization have highlighted his work driving the Bolivian Economy since 2006. The Wall Street Journal considered him the calling card in the Bolivian Leader's Re-Election.

Academic history

Arce has a Master's degree in Economics Sciences from Warwick University in the United Kingdom, where he lived between 1996 and 1997. In 1991, he graduated with a Bachelor in Economics from the Higher University of San Andrés. He also graduated as an accountant from the Bank Education Institute in 1984 and speaks English, Spanish and Portuguese.
He has been invited to speak in highly-regarded Universities around the world: Harvard University, Columbia University, American University, Pittsburgh University.
Arce Catacora has published several books and articles on economics, including “The Bolivian Economic Social Communitarian Productive Model”, "Uncertainty and Dollarization in Bolivia", “Is it Appropriate the Mechanism of Bolsin ?”, “Brief Assessment of Bolivian Exchange Rate Regime, Contribution to the Debate on Dollarization”, “Demand for Money in Bolivia”, “Financial Liberalization and Concentration in the Banking System”.

Personal life

Arce has three children: Luis Marcelo, Rafael Ernesto and Camila Daniela.