Jeanine Áñez
President of Bolivia from 2019 to 2020 / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Jeanine Áñez Chávez (Spanish pronunciation: [ɟʝeˈnine ˈaɲes ˈtʃaβes] ⓘ; born 13 June 1967) is a Bolivian lawyer, politician, and television presenter who served as the 66th president of Bolivia from 2019 to 2020. A former member of the Social Democratic Movement, she previously served two terms as senator for Beni from 2015 to 2019 on behalf of the Democratic Unity coalition and from 2010 to 2014 on behalf of the National Convergence alliance. During this time, she served as second vice president of the Senate from 2015 to 2016 and in 2019 and, briefly, was president of the Senate, also in 2019. Before that, she served as a uninominal member of the Constituent Assembly from Beni, representing circumscription 61 from 2006 to 2007 on behalf of the Social Democratic Power alliance.
Jeanine Áñez | |||||||||||||||||||
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66th President of Bolivia | |||||||||||||||||||
In office 12 November 2019 – 8 November 2020 | |||||||||||||||||||
Vice President | Vacant | ||||||||||||||||||
Preceded by | Evo Morales | ||||||||||||||||||
Succeeded by | Luis Arce | ||||||||||||||||||
President of the Senate | |||||||||||||||||||
In office 12 November 2019[lower-alpha 1] | |||||||||||||||||||
Preceded by | Adriana Salvatierra | ||||||||||||||||||
Succeeded by | Eva Copa | ||||||||||||||||||
Second Vice President of the Senate | |||||||||||||||||||
In office 18 January 2019 – 12 November 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||
President | Adriana Salvatierra | ||||||||||||||||||
Preceded by | María Elva Pinckert | ||||||||||||||||||
Succeeded by | Carmen Eva Gonzales | ||||||||||||||||||
In office 19 January 2015 – 20 January 2016 | |||||||||||||||||||
President | José Alberto Gonzáles | ||||||||||||||||||
Preceded by | Jimena Torres | ||||||||||||||||||
Succeeded by | Yerko Núñez | ||||||||||||||||||
Senator for Beni | |||||||||||||||||||
In office 18 January 2015 – 12 November 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||
Substitute | Franklin Valdivia | ||||||||||||||||||
Preceded by | Donny Chávez | ||||||||||||||||||
Succeeded by | Pablo Gutiérrez | ||||||||||||||||||
In office 19 January 2010 – 10 July 2014 | |||||||||||||||||||
Substitute | Donny Chávez | ||||||||||||||||||
Preceded by | Mario Vargas | ||||||||||||||||||
Succeeded by | Donny Chávez | ||||||||||||||||||
Constituent of the Constituent Assembly from Beni circumscription 61 | |||||||||||||||||||
In office 6 August 2006 – 14 December 2007 | |||||||||||||||||||
Constituency | Cercado | ||||||||||||||||||
Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||
Born | Jeanine Áñez Chávez (1967-06-13) 13 June 1967 (age 56) San Joaquín, Beni, Bolivia | ||||||||||||||||||
Political party | Social Democratic Movement (2013–2020) | ||||||||||||||||||
Spouse(s) |
Tadeo Ribera
(m. 1990, divorced)Héctor Hernando Hincapié | ||||||||||||||||||
Children | 2, including Carolina | ||||||||||||||||||
Alma mater |
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Occupation |
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Signature | |||||||||||||||||||
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Televised address communicating measures to combat the COVID-19 pandemic in Bolivia, 17 March 2020. | |||||||||||||||||||
Born in San Joaquín, Beni, Áñez graduated as a lawyer from the José Ballivián Autonomous University, then worked in television journalism. An early advocate of departmental autonomy, in 2006, she was invited by the Social Democratic Power alliance to represent Beni in the 2006–2007 Constituent Assembly, charged with drafting a new constitution for Bolivia. Following the completion of that historic process, Áñez ran for senator for Beni with the National Convergence alliance, becoming one of the few former constituents to maintain a political career at the national level. Once in the Senate, the National Convergence caucus quickly fragmented, leading Áñez to abandon it in favor of the emergent Social Democratic Movement, an autonomist political party based in the eastern departments. Together with the Democrats, as a component of the Democratic Unity coalition, she was reelected senator in 2014. During her second term, Áñez served twice as second vice president of the Senate, making her the highest-ranking opposition legislator in that chamber during the social unrest the country faced in late 2019.
During this political crisis, and after the resignation of President Evo Morales and other officials in the line of succession, Áñez declared herself next in line to assume the presidency. On 12 November 2019, she installed an extraordinary session of the Plurinational Legislative Assembly that lacked quorum due to the absence of members of Morales' party, the Movement for Socialism (MAS-IPSP), who demanded security guarantees before attending. In a short session, Áñez declared herself president of the Senate, then used that position as a basis to assume constitutional succession to the presidency of the country endorsed by the Supreme Court of Justice.[4][5] Responding to domestic unrest, Áñez issued a decree removing criminal liability for military and police in dealing with protesters, which was repealed amid widespread condemnation following the Senkata and Sacaba massacres. Her government launched numerous criminal investigations into former MAS officials, for which she was accused of political persecution and retributive justice, terminated Bolivia's close links with the governments of Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, and warmed relations with the United States. After delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing protests, new elections were held in October 2020. Despite initially pledging not to, Áñez launched her own presidential campaign, contributing to criticism that she was not a neutral actor in the transition. She withdrew her candidacy a month before the election amid low poll numbers and fear of splitting the opposition vote against MAS candidate Luis Arce, who won the election.
Following the end of her mandate in November 2020, Áñez briefly retired to her residence in Trinidad, only to launch her Beni gubernatorial candidacy a month later. Despite being initially competitive, mounting judicial processes surrounding her time as president hampered her campaign, ultimately resulting in a third-place finish at the polls. Eight days after the election, Áñez was apprehended and charged with crimes related to her role in the alleged coup d'état of 2019; a move decried as political persecution by members of the political opposition and some in the international community, including the United States and European Union. Áñez's nearly fifteen month pre-trial detention caused a marked decline in her physical and mental health, and was denounced as abusive by her family. On 10 June 2022, after a three month trial, the First Sentencing Court of La Paz found Áñez guilty of breach of duties and resolutions contrary to the Constitution, sentencing her to ten years in prison. Following the verdict, her defense conveyed its intent to appeal, as did government prosecutors, seeking a harsher sentence.