Cecilia Requena Explained

Cecilia Requena
1Namedata:Porfirio Menacho
Term Start:3 November 2020
Predecessor:Ancelma Perlacios
Birth Name:Cecilia Isabel Requena Zárate
Birth Date:5 March 1967
Birth Place:Munich, West Germany[1] [2]
Spouse:José Antonio Quiroga
Alma Mater:Bolivian Catholic University
Signature:(Signature) Cecilia Requena.svg
Signature Alt:Cursive signature in ink

Cecilia Isabel Requena Zárate (born 5 March 1967) is a Bolivian academic, environmentalist, and politician serving as senator for La Paz since 2020. Educated at the Bolivian Catholic University with postgraduate experience at institutes in Europe and the Americas, Requena got her career start as an environmental activist, holding leadership positions in prominent environmental rights agencies. She later did consulting and research work for non-government organizations such as the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, even directing the Bolivian branch of Transparency International.

A critic of the extractivist policies of President Evo Morales, in 2019, Requena ran for a seat in the Senate as part of the opposition Civic Community's all-female roster of senatorial candidates. Following the annulment of those results, Requena was re-nominated for the 2020 general election and won the seat, becoming the first opposition senator to represent La Paz in over a decade. Requena's tenure focused its work on environmental policy, particularly calling out the continued support for extractive industries under Morales's successor, Luis Arce.

Early life and education

Cecilia Requena was born on 5 March 1967 in La Paz.[3] She completed her primary and secondary studies at the city's German international school, from which she graduated in 1985.[4] [5] She later attended the Bolivian Catholic University, where she completed a bachelor's in communication studies and a master's in public policy and administration.[6] During this time and after, Requena also undertook graduate studies at home and abroad; she received a postgraduate diploma in socio-environmental projects from the Latin American Forum of Environmental Sciences in Argentina and completed a second master's in diplomacy and international relations at the Diplomatic Academy of Bolivia.[7]

Requena additionally holds a postgraduate diploma in contemporary art critique,[8] having also taken courses at various institutes and universities in Europe and the Americas, including in leadership for the twenty-first century at the Harvard Kennedy School and others in environmental and human resource management and environmental and citizen journalism. In addition to Spanish, Requena is also fluent in English, French, and German; she received a sprachdiplom while in high school, attained an equivalent certificate from the Goethe-Institut, and took perfectionment courses in Freiburg; completed the Test of English as a Foreign Language; and took classes in French at academic institutes in Paris.

Academia and environmental activism

An avid environmentalist from a young age, Requena served on the directorate of the Bolivian Association for the Defense of Nature between 1992 and 1993, first as coordinator for communication, lobbying, and public awareness and later as the organization's executive secretary. In 1995, she was brought on as a consultant for the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Environment, where she also served as coordinator for communication within the ministry's National Directorate for the Conservation of Biodiversity.

In education, Requena served as a docent at the Bolivian Catholic University, where she taught courses on ethics and leadership as well as on environmental issues, including climate change, ecological impact, and political ecology.[9] Outside of academia, Requena worked as a researcher and held managerial positions for multiple national and international non-governmental organizations operating in the country, including the Friedrich Ebert Foundation and Transparency International Bolivia. During this time, she directed the Bolivian branches of the Canadian Executive Service Organization and Transparency International.

Chamber of Senators

Election

See also: 2019 Bolivian protests and 2019 Bolivian political crisis. During the presidency of Evo Morales, Requena established herself as a vocal critic of the administration's support for and expansion of extractive industries. "The government of Evo Morales, which presents itself internationally as a defender of Mother Earth, will remain in Bolivian history as the regime that promoted radical and devastating extractivism," she stated.[10] Requena attributed these faults to Morales's allegedly anti-democratic practices, stating: "where there is no democracy, it is even more difficult to defend nature." She became increasingly politically active following the abolishment of presidential term limits, joining more than 180 other prominent intellectuals in penning a roadmap for the country's transition from an "authoritarian and corporate" state towards a more democratic one.[11]

In the leadup to the 2019 general election, Requena participated in the formation of the Civic Community (CC) alliance, which promoted the presidential candidacy of Carlos Mesa. Among the primary pillars of CC's political platform were democracy0 and environmentalism but also feminism and women's rights,[12] a fact that led the alliance to nominate an all-female slate of senatorial candidates.[13] Requena was selected to represent the La Paz Department in the Senate,[14] [15] a choice potentially brought about at the suggestion of her spouse, José Antonio Quiroga, CC's then-campaign coordinator.[16] [17]

A few days after the election date, Requena was projected as one of La Paz's winning senatorial candidates, alongside three from the ruling Movement for Socialism (MAS-IPSP).[18] As a result of the annulment of the 2019 results, Requena was prevented from being seated but was re-nominated to contest the 2020 election,[19] where she repeated the previous year's victory.[20] In being elected, Requena became the first non-ruling party candidate to win a Senate seat in La Paz since 2005,[21] bucking the trend of 2009 and 2014, when the MAS swept all four of the department's Senate seats.[22] [23] She is thus the first opposition senator to represent La Paz in the Plurinational Legislative Assembly; the last, Luis Vásquez Villamor, served in the now-defunct National Congress.[24]

Tenure

Once in office, Requena dedicated much of her senatorial term to environmental causes, as she had done throughout her career. Given her minority caucus's limited ability to craft and pass legislation, much of this work revolved around her powers of parliamentary oversight. As a member and chair of the Senate's various environmental committees, Requena oversaw multiple investigations into the government's pro-extraction policy, especially corruption in the Mining Administrative Jurisdictional Authority, the state-run mining activity supervisor.[25]

In particular, Requena sought to highlight the lack of action against illegal mining in protected areas such as La Paz's Madidi National Park, one of the most biodiverse areas in the world.[26] [27] She attributed this lack of enforcement to the government's acquiescence before politically powerful mining cooperatives, whom she accused of promoting "terror and violence" against those who investigate illegal activity.[28] [29] In one instance, Requena herself was attacked with firecrackers and dynamite while conducting an in-person inspection of the park.[30] In mid-2022, she and other CC legislators presented an actio popularis against mining activities that damage the environment in Madidi.[31] The appeal was largely accepted by a court in La Paz later that year, which ruled that legislative and executive authorities should pass new legislation regulating the use of mercury in gold mining, given the immense pollution and environmental damage it causes.[32]

Commission assignments

Electoral history

Year! style="background-color:#EAECF0;" rowspan=2
OfficeAllianceVotesResult.
Total%.
2019SenatorCivic Community497,84429.83%2nd[37]
2020Civic Community486,13928.58%2nd[38]
Source: Plurinational Electoral Organ Electoral Atlas

Publications

References

Footnotes

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Protagonistas . 2023-10-23 . Coordinadora de la Mujer.
  2. Web site: Cecilia Isabel Requena Zarate . 2023-11-22 . Cámara de Senadores.
  3. News: 2019-07-15 . ¿Quiénes son las candidatas a primeras senadoras de Comunidad Ciudadana? . es . . La Paz . live . subscription . 2023-02-01 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190715234732/www.paginasiete.bo/nacional/2019/7/15/quienes-son-las-candidatas-primeras-senadoras-de-comunidad-ciudadana-224273.html . 2019-07-15.
  4. News: Carrillo . Liliana . 2021-12-05 . Requena: 'Al MAS le lleva demasiada energía el acaparar abusivamente el poder' . es . . La Paz . live . subscription . 2023-02-01 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211207002107/https://www.paginasiete.bo/nacional/2021/12/5/requena-al-mas-le-lleva-demasiada-energia-el-acaparar-abusivamente-el-poder-317210.html . 2021-12-07.
  5. Web site: Curriculum Vitae: Cecilia Isabel Requena Zárate . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230201165803/https://www.iisec.ucb.edu.bo/assets_iisec/investigador/CV_CECILIA_REQUENA_72c17.doc . 2023-02-01 . 2023-02-01 . iisec.ucb.edu.bo . . es . La Paz.
  6. News: Calle . Esperanza . 2019-07-16 . Cecilia Requena a primera senaturía de La Paz por CC . es . El Alteño . live . 2023-02-01 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190811153336/http://www.elalteno.com.bo/index.php/ciudad/20190716/cecilia-requena-primera-senaturia-de-la-paz-por-cc . 2019-08-11.
  7. Web site: Cecilia Requena: Docente en la UCB y la Escuela para la Producción y la Competitividad . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20170907201223/http://desarrollos.epc-ucb.edu.bo/cecilia-requena/ . 2017-09-07 . 2023-02-01 . desarrollos.epc-ucb.edu.bo . . es . La Paz.
  8. News: 2019-07-15 . Estos son los perfiles de las 9 candidatas a primeras senadores por CC . es . Urgente.bo . La Paz . live . 2023-02-01 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230201201217/https://www.urgente.bo/noticia/estos-son-los-perfiles-de-las-9-candidatas-primeras-senadores-por-cc . 2023-02-01.
  9. News: 2019-07-31 . Requena: Propuesta de CC es replantear idea de desarrollo . es . . Cochabamba . live . 2023-02-01 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230201231201/https://www.opinion.com.bo/articulo/escenario-politico/requena-propuesta-cc-es-replantear-idea-desarrollo/20190731213400656633.html . 2023-02-01.
  10. Web site: 2018-07-31 . Alertan sobre los riesgos ambientales frente al uso del fracking en Bolivia . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20211023101307/https://ipdrs.org/index.php/noticias/que-pasa/5817-alertan-sobre-los-riesgos-ambientales-frente-al-uso-del-fracking-en-bolivia . 2021-10-23 . 2023-02-01 . ipdrs.org . Instituto para el Desarrollo Rural de Sudamérica . es . La Paz.
  11. News: Rojas . Lorena . 2017-09-08 . Nace la agenda 21F para un cambio de régimen . es . . La Paz . live . subscription . 2023-02-01 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170908064708/http://www.paginasiete.bo/nacional/2017/9/8/nace-agenda-para-cambio-regimen-estatal-151272.html . 2017-09-08.
  12. News: 2019-07-18 . 'Planteamos democracia, feminismo y ecología' . es . . La Paz . live . 2023-02-01 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230202011146/https://www.pub.eldiario.net/noticias/2019/2019_07/nt190718/politica.php?n=65&-planteamos-democracia-feminismo-y-ecologia . 2023-02-02.
  13. News: 2019-06-26 . Mesa decide que mujeres sean las primeras candidatas a senadoras . es . . Santa Cruz de la Sierra . live . registration . 2023-02-01 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230202011413/https://eldeber.com.bo/bolivia/mesa-decide-que-mujeres-sean-las-primeras-candidatas-a-senadoras_143877 . 2023-02-02.
  14. News: 2019-07-15 . CC: 8 profesionales y una indígena aspiran a senadoras . es . . . Cochabamba . live . 2023-02-01 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230202011703/https://www.opinion.com.bo/articulo/el-pais/cc-8-profesionales-ind-iacute-gena-aspiran-senadoras/20190715211800655205.html . 2023-02-02.
  15. News: Juárez . Ivone . 2020-09-20 . Una abogada exministra y una comunicadora ecologista pugnan por el voto en La Paz . es . . La Paz . dead . 2023-02-26 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201006125622/https://www.paginasiete.bo/especial02/2020/9/20/una-abogada-exministra-una-comunicadora-ecologista-pugnan-por-el-voto-en-la-paz-268673.html . 2020-10-06.
  16. News: 2019-05-09 . Leo Choque renuncia y debilita a CC en El Alto . es . El Alteño . live . 2023-02-01 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230202072845/http://www.elalteno.com.bo/index.php/ciudad/20190905/leo-choque-renuncia-y-debilita-cc-en-el-alto . 2023-02-02.
  17. News: 2021-06-29 . Conozca a los cinco actores-clave convocados por la Fiscalía y los documentos que les salpican con el Caso Golpe de 2019 . es . . La Paz . live . 2023-02-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230202202337/https://www.abi.bo/index.php/reportajes2/38-notas/noticias/seguridad/7955-Conozca-a-los-cinco-actores-clave-convocados-por-la-Fiscal%C3%ADa-y-los-documentos-que-les-salpican-con-el-caso-golpe-de-2019 . 2023-02-02.
  18. News: 2019-10-23 . Cierra cómputo en La Paz y el MAS obtiene tres de los cuatro senadores . es . ERBOL . La Paz . live . 2023-02-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191024012542/https://erbol.com.bo/el-%C3%A1nfora-1/cierra-c%C3%B3mputo-en-la-paz-y-el-mas-obtiene-tres-de-los-cuatro-senadores . 2019-10-24.
  19. News: 2019-12-18 . Mesa ratifica lista de mujeres candidatas a primeras senadoras por CC para las elecciones 2020 . es . . . Cochabamba . live . 2023-02-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201009024710/https://www.lostiempos.com/actualidad/pais/20191218/mesa-ratifica-lista-mujeres-candidatas-primeras-senadoras-cc-elecciones . 2020-10-09.
  20. News: Paredes . Ivan Alejandro . 2020-10-24 . El MAS tendrá en el Senado una bancada sindical y sin 'invitados' . es . . Santa Cruz de la Sierra . live . registration . 2023-02-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201101104614/https://eldeber.com.bo/pais/el-mas-tendra-en-el-senado-una-bancada-sindical-y-sin-invitados_205797 . 2020-11-01.
  21. Book: Informe al H. Congreso Nacional: Elecciones Generales 2005 . . 2006 . La Paz . 245 . es.
  22. News: 2009-12-07 . Representantes electos para la Asamblea Legislative Plurinacional . es . . Cochabamba . live . 2023-02-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230202164408/https://www.opinion.com.bo/articulo/el-pais/representantes-electos-asamblea-legislativa-plurinacional/20091207214038330854.html . 2023-02-02.
  23. News: Barriga . Daymira . 2014-10-13 . El partido del gobierno se queda con los 4 escaños en el Senado . es . . La Paz . live . 2022-12-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221228045844/https://www.la-razon.com/nacional/2014/10/13/el-partido-del-gobierno-se-queda-con-los-4-escanos-en-el-senado/ . 2022-12-28.
  24. News: Condori . Betty . 2009-12-07 . Del Congreso a la Asamblea Plurinacional . es . . Cochabamba . live . 2023-02-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230202164542/https://www.opinion.com.bo/articulo/el-pais/congreso-asamblea-plurinacional/20091207004855330738.html . 2023-02-02.
  25. News: 2022-10-18 . Requena: 'El MAS funciona como una maquinaria de ecocidio' . es . El Mundo . Santa Cruz de la Sierra . live . 2023-02-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221201170030/https://elmundo.com.bo/requena-el-mas-funciona-como-una-maquinaria-de-ecocidio/ . 2022-12-01.
  26. News: 2022-04-04 . Senadora Requena exige frenar la minería descontrolada en Madidi . es . . La Paz . live . 2023-02-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220406045306/https://www.eldiario.net/portal/2022/04/04/senadora-requena-exige-frenar-la-mineria-descontrolada-en-madidi/ . 2022-04-06.
  27. News: 2022-09-07 . Cecilia Requena: 'Me llamaron asesina por un accidente de bus con gente a favor de la minería en el Madidi' . es . Brújula Digital . La Paz . live . 2023-02-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220907231620/https://www.brujuladigital.net/economia/cecilia-requena-me-llamaron-asesina-por-un-accidente-de-bus-con-gente-a-favor-de-la-mineria-en-el-madidi . 2022-09-07.
  28. News: 2022-06-03 . Senadora denuncia 'terror' minero en el norte de La Paz . es . . Cochabamba . live . 2023-02-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220603195208/https://www.lostiempos.com/actualidad/economia/20220603/senadora-denuncia-terror-minero-norte-paz . 2022-06-03.
  29. News: Graham . Thomas . 2022-10-19 . Bolivian gold miners push into national park despite country's green rhetoric . en . . La Paz . London . live . 2023-02-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230113014938/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/19/bolivia-gold-miners-amazon-madidi . 2023-01-13.
  30. Web site: Ruiz Leotaud . Valentina . 2022-04-03 . Bolivian senator, Indigenous representatives attacked by illegal miners . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221130071143/https://www.mining.com/bolivian-senator-indigenous-representatives-attacked-by-illegal-miners/ . 2022-11-30 . 2023-02-02 . mining.com . . en . Vancouver.
  31. News: 2022-09-02 . Parque Madidi: Conceden en parte la acción popular e instruyen regular el uso del mercurio . es . . La Paz . live . subscription . 2023-02-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220903012420/https://www.paginasiete.bo/sociedad/parque-madidi-conceden-en-parte-la-accion-popular-e-instruyen-regular-el-uso-del-mercurio-CF3968589 . 2022-09-03.
  32. News: 2022-09-02 . Acción Popular por el Parque Madidi: Sala Constitucional instruye regular el uso del mercurio en la minería aurífera . es . ERBOL . La Paz . live . 2023-02-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220903013205/https://erbol.com.bo/medio-ambiente/acci%C3%B3n-popular-por-el-parque-madidi-sala-constitucional-instruye-regular-el-uso-del . 2022-09-03.
  33. Web site: 2021-11-09 . La Cámara de Senadores conformó sus 10 Comisiones y 20 Comités: Gestión Legislativa 2021–2022 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20211109232223/https://web.senado.gob.bo/prensa/noticias/presidente-del-senado-destaca-consenso-en-conformaci%C3%B3n-de-comisiones-y-comit%C3%A9s-para . 2021-11-09 . 2023-02-01 . web.senado.bo . . es . La Paz.
  34. Web site: 2020-11-10 . La Cámara de Senadores conformó sus 10 Comisiones y 20 Comités: Gestión Legislativa 2020–2021 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220110062911/https://web.senado.gob.bo/prensa/noticias/c%C3%A1mara-de-senadores-conforma-sus-comisiones-y-comit%C3%A9s-para-la-legislatura-2020-%E2%80%93 . 2022-01-10 . 2023-02-01 . web.senado.bo . . es . La Paz.
  35. Web site: 2022-11-03 . La Cámara de Senadores conformó sus 10 Comisiones y 20 Comités: Gestión Legislativa 2022–2023 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221104100508/https://web.senado.gob.bo/prensa/noticias/c%C3%A1mara-de-senadores-aprueba-resoluci%C3%B3n-en-sesi%C3%B3n-preparatoria-y-conforma-comisiones . 2022-11-04 . 2023-02-01 . web.senado.bo . . es . La Paz.
  36. Web site: 2022-12-22 . La Cámara de Senadores conformó su Comisión de Ética y Transparencia: Gestión Legislativa 2022–2023 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221222133927/https://web.senado.gob.bo/prensa/noticias/c%C3%A1mara-de-senadores-conforma-la-comisi%C3%B3n-de-%C3%A9tica-y-transparencia . 2022-12-22 . 2023-02-01 . web.senado.gob.b . . es . La Paz.
  37. Web site: 2019 . Publicación de Resultados Nacionales: Elecciones Generales 2019 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20200524142746/https://www.oep.org.bo/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Separata_Resultados_Nacionales_EG_2019.pdf . 2020-05-24 . 2022-06-02 . www.oep.org.bo . . 9; 19 . es.
  38. Web site: Elecciones Generales 2020 Atlas Electoral . live . https://ghostarchive.org/archive/IWEdM . 2023-02-01 . 2022-06-05 . atlaselectoral.oep.org.bo . . es . La Paz.

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