The Diplomat
King Felipe VI concluded his brief tour of South America this Thursday in Bolivia, where he was received by President Rodrigo Paz. The monarch was unable to attend the Bolivian president’s inauguration in November 2025, where he was replaced by the President of Congress, Francina Armengol.
After arriving at El Alto Airport in La Paz, following his attendance at the inauguration of Chilean President José Antonio Kast, the King was received by Bolivian Foreign Minister Fernando Aramayo and the Spanish Ambassador to Bolivia, Fernando García Casas. He then traveled to the ambassador’s residence in Bolivia, where he met with representatives of the Spanish community in the country, concluding his visit. The Spanish community in Bolivia comprises approximately 20,000 people, most of whom reside in urban centers.
The King then met with a group of Spanish businesspeople working in Bolivia and with representatives of Bolivian business organizations. With them, he learned firsthand about the activities of Spanish companies in the country and exchanged views on the prospects for economic and trade relations between Spain and Bolivia.
At the working breakfast, Felipe VI was accompanied by the State Secretary for Ibero-America and the Caribbean and Spanish in the World, Susana Sumelzo; Ambassador García Casas; and the Diplomatic Advisor to His Majesty the King, Carmen Castiella. Business representatives from Air Europa, Maxam-Fanexa, Santillana Ediciones, Repsol, TSK Electrónica y Electricidad, Grupo Urbas, Eptisa, Sacyr, and BBVA participated, along with members of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Bolivia, the Chamber of Industry, Commerce, Services and Tourism of Santa Cruz (CAINCO), the Federation of Private Business Owners of La Paz, and the Bolivian Chamber of Women Entrepreneurs (CAMEBOL).
Later, the King was received by President Rodrigo Paz at the Presidential Palace. Felipe VI is the first head of state received by the Bolivian president in La Paz since he took office last November. The King and Rodrigo Paz already knew each other personally, having studied together at university in Washington. Rodrigo Paz Pereira was born in Santiago de Compostela on September 22, 1967. The son of President Jaime Paz Zamora and great-nephew of President Víctor Paz Estenssoro, he lived in various countries during his childhood and adolescence during his family’s political exile.
Afterward, the King and the President of Bolivia walked through the historic center of La Paz to the National Museum of Ethnography and Folklore (MUSEF), located in the Palace of the Marquises of Villaverde. There, both leaders paid particular attention to the rooms dedicated to the textile collection and the festive and ritual masks of Bolivia’s cultures and peoples. At midday, the two heads of state returned to the Presidential Palace for a luncheon attended by both delegations, the last item on the King’s agenda during his official visit to Bolivia.