Adina Mercedes Bastidas Castillo (born 11 June 1943)
Vicepresidencia de la Republica Bolivariana de Venezuela. is a

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

, formerly active in politics. She was appointed the

vice president of Venezuela The vice president of Venezuela ( es, Vicepresidente de Venezuela), officially known as the Executive Vice President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, Vicepresidente Ejecutivo de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is the second ...

on 24 December 2000 by President

Hugo Chávez Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician who was president of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013, except for a brief period in 2002. Chávez was also leader of the Fifth Republ ...

, and served in the post until 13 January 2002, the first woman to hold the job in the country's history. She was later appointed Production and Commerce Minister.Bamrud, Joachim.
Investors in Venezuela: Waiting for Change.
''Latin Business Chronicle'' (April 4, 2002). Bastidas was also the Director for the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela at the

Inter-American Development Bank The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB or IADB) is an international financial institution headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States of America, and serving as the largest source of development financing for Latin America and the Caribb ...

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

Views

According to the ''BBC'', Bastidas is considered a controversial

left wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

er;Venezuelan church rejects Chavez talks.
''BBC'' (January 29, 2002). she is also considered a prominent critic of Venezuela's private sector. Her appointment as Commerce Minister, coming after weeks of protests against President Chávez's economic policies, was seen as a further radicalization of Chávez's government, according to the ''BBC''. Chávez called her "a first class revolutionary,"
'Revolutionary' appointed as new Venezuelan vice president," Telegraph, June 19, 2001. and deemed her work "exceptional.""Chavez Dismisses Vice President ," Associated Press, Jan 13, 2002. At the Latin American and Caribbean Encounter on the Dialogue of Civilizations, held in Caracas on November 8, 2001, Bastidas said: :"The terrorism of the oppressed is a perverse and lamentable byproduct of a WASP dominance that has become unbearable for the most radical and violent of the subjugated peoples ... Supplications and reason will not suffice to impose dialogue on countries of the North. The South must achieve a capacity to unite, resist, and persevere until it attains a new world order that is truly an order, not an immense disorder, under the heavens."

Personal life

On 13 January 2015, Bastidas was subject to burglary and robbery at her penthouse in

Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...

, as stated by her son on his

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account. She refused to make any public statements regarding the event.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bastidas, Adina 1943 births Living people Vice presidents of Venezuela Venezuelan women economists Communist Party of Venezuela politicians 21st-century Venezuelan women politicians 21st-century Venezuelan politicians Government ministers of Venezuela Women government ministers of Venezuela Women vice presidents Venezuelan expatriates in the United States Venezuelan guerrillas