Bolivians expressed hopes of change on Sunday as they voted in elections shaped by an economic crisis, which has given the right its first shot at power in 20 years.

The Andean country is struggling through its worst crisis in a generation, marked by annual inflation of almost 25 percent and critical shortages of fuel and foreign exchange.

Polls show voters poised to punish the ruling Movement Towards Socialism (known by its Spanish acronym MAS), in power since Evo Morales was elected Bolivia's first Indigenous president in 2005.

"We're experiencing a tremendous crisis so we need a change," Alicia Vacaflor, a 62-year-old importer of industrial machines, told AFP after voting in the biting cold at a school in central La Paz.

Karla Coronel, a 46-year-old market analyst, agreed on the need for a new direction.

"Socialism has brought us nothing good," she declared.

More than 7.9 million Bolivians are eligible to vote Sunday, choosing between eight presidential candidates as well as electing 166 members of Bolivia's bicameral legislature.

Center-right business tycoon Samuel Doria Medina and........

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