Bolivia was rocked on November 21, 2025, by a dramatic political shake-up that saw President Rodrigo Paz abolish the country’s Ministry of Justice just hours after firing its newly appointed minister. The move, which stunned political observers and citizens alike, came on the heels of a scandal involving Freddy Vidovic, the short-lived justice minister whose undisclosed criminal past sent shockwaves through the administration.
Vidovic, a lawyer by profession, had only been in office for two weeks. According to Barron’s and local Bolivian media, his appointment was abruptly terminated after it emerged that he had been sentenced in 2015 to three years in prison for bribery and for assisting Peruvian businessman Martín Belaúnde in an attempted escape. Belaúnde, a former advisor to ex-Peruvian President Ollanta Humala, was captured in Bolivia about a decade ago and later extradited to Peru over corruption allegations. Vidovic’s role in the scandal, and his failure to disclose the conviction when appointed, proved to be his undoing.
President Paz, who had only inaugurated his five-year term a day before naming Vidovic to the cabinet on November 9, 2025, moved swiftly once the revelations came to light. In a decree published earlier on November 21, Paz dismissed Vidovic and named Jorge Franz García as his replacement. But the day’s events didn’t stop there. In a dramatic escalation, Paz announced in a televised address that he was not merely changing personnel—he was eliminating the entire Ministry of Justice.
“Today I am fulfilling my promise… The ministry of persecution is over, the ministry of injustice is over,” Paz declared, as quoted by Barron’s. He went further, saying, “The ministry that was selling legal verdicts is finished.” The president’s words echoed campaign promises he had made, pledging to shut down the ministry, which he argued had been weaponized by left-wing governments that dominated Bolivia for two decades. According to Paz, the ministry had been used to persecute opposition figures and manipulate the justice system for political ends.
The abolition of the ministry marked one of the most sweeping and controversial moves of Paz’s administration so far. Government officials confirmed that under Bolivian law, a criminal conviction like Vidovic’s would have legally barred him from holding public office regardless of whether he had served his sentence. Yet, the speed and scope of the president’s response—firing Vidovic, appointing García, and then dissolving the entire ministry within hours—left many in government and the public scrambling to understand what would come next.
Jorge Franz García, who was briefly named as Vidovic’s replacement, now finds himself in an uncertain position. President Paz did not clarify what role, if any, García would play following the ministry’s closure. Nor did he specify whether another ministry would assume the wide-ranging responsibilities that the Ministry of Justice had previously held. Traditionally, the ministry has been responsible for promoting legislation, coordinating with Bolivia’s legislative, judicial, and electoral branches, and, in some cases, defending the government in legal matters. Its sudden abolition raises pressing questions about how these functions will be managed moving forward.
Freddy Vidovic’s background adds another layer of intrigue to the story. Before joining the cabinet, Vidovic served as the personal lawyer to Vice President Edmand Lara, according to Barron’s. His ties to high-ranking officials and his involvement in the high-profile case of Martín Belaúnde—a saga that drew international attention when Belaúnde was extradited from Bolivia to Peru—only intensified scrutiny of his appointment. The fact that Vidovic’s conviction had remained undisclosed until media revelations prompted his removal points to potential lapses in vetting procedures at the highest levels of government.
President Paz’s justification for the ministry’s elimination centered on his campaign rhetoric. He has long contended that the Ministry of Justice had become a tool for political persecution under previous left-wing administrations. In his view, its abolition was not simply a reaction to Vidovic’s scandal, but the fulfillment of a promise to dismantle what he described as a corrupt and unjust institution. “I am keeping my word,” Paz said in his televised statement, repeating his condemnation of the ministry as an instrument of injustice and persecution.
The move has sparked debate across Bolivia’s political spectrum. Supporters of Paz’s centrist-right government have applauded the decision as a bold step toward reform and a break with the past. For them, the ministry’s history of alleged abuses justified its dissolution. Critics, however, worry that the abolition could undermine the country’s legal oversight and weaken essential checks and balances. With no clear plan announced for how the ministry’s duties will be redistributed, some fear a vacuum in legal and legislative coordination at a critical moment for Bolivian governance.
International observers have also taken note. The abrupt nature of the ministry’s closure, coupled with the unresolved status of its replacement, has raised questions about the stability and direction of Bolivia’s justice system. The episode has underscored the fragility of institutional trust in a country where political divisions remain sharp and the legacy of past administrations still looms large.
Meanwhile, for ordinary Bolivians, the day’s events have added to a sense of uncertainty about the future of justice and the rule of law in their country. With the Ministry of Justice now shuttered, and no immediate answers about what comes next, many are left wondering how legal disputes, government defense, and legislative coordination will be handled going forward. The Paz administration’s next steps—whether it moves to create a new body, delegate responsibilities to existing ministries, or pursue a different path entirely—will be closely watched both at home and abroad.
As the dust settles from this unprecedented shake-up, Bolivia faces a pivotal moment. The abolition of the Ministry of Justice, triggered by a scandal but rooted in deeper political grievances, represents both a break with the past and the start of an uncertain new chapter for the country’s legal and political institutions.
