María Josefina Bolívar (born 1975) is a Venezuelan politician and perennial candidate. She was presidential candidate twice for the United Democratic Party for Peace and Freedom (PDUPL) in the presidential elections of 2012 and

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

. She also ran for the same party in the regional elections of 2012 and was candidate for the mayoralty of Maracaibo in the municipal elections of 2013. In 2015 she was nominated as candidate for the 4th circuit of

Zulia State Zulia State ( es, Estado Zulia, ; Wayuu language, Wayuu: ''Mma’ipakat Suuria'') is one of the States of Venezuela, 23 states of Venezuela. The state capital is Maracaibo. As of the 2011 census, it has a population of 3,704,404, the largest popu ...

in the

parliamentary elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

, and in 2017 she stood as candidate for the Constituent National Assembly.

Biography

Bolívar was born in

Maturín Maturín () is a city in Venezuela, the capital of the Venezuelan state of Monagas and a centre for instrumental exploration and development of the petroleum industry in Venezuela. The metropolitan area of Maturín has a population of 401,384 inha ...

and moved to

Maracaibo ) , motto = "''Muy noble y leal''"(English: "Very noble and loyal") , anthem = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_alt = ...

with her parents. She completed her elementary education in

Fe y Alegría Fe y Alegría is a federation of local organizations which offer educational opportunities to the poorest sectors of society, along with teacher training and educational radio, in 19 countries. From its main office in Bogota, Colombia, Fe y Alegr� ...

and the Epifanía School. In 2002 she graduated from the

University of Zulia The University of Zulia ( es, La Universidad del Zulia, also known as LUZ literally meaning "light" in Spanish), is a public university whose main campus is located in the city of Maracaibo, Venezuela. LUZ is one of the largest and most important ...

as a lawyer. Years later she married Portuguese immigrant Mario Vieira, and together they opened the "Mayami" bakery in Maracaibo.

Political career

2012 presidential elections

In February 2012 she registered her candidacy for United Democratic Party for Peace and Freedom (PDUPL) for the 2012 presidential elections. On 23 August 2012, during an interview for the news channel

Globovisión Globovisión is a 24-hour television news network. It broadcasts over-the-air in Caracas, Aragua (state), Aragua, Carabobo and Zulia on Ultra high frequency, UHF channel 33. Globovisión is seen in the rest of Venezuela on cable or satellite ( ...

, she gained notoriety for her inability to understand a question from journalist Aymara Lorenzo about how the candidate was going to control

inflation In economics, inflation is an increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy. When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services; consequently, inflation corresponds to a reductio ...

in the country, as well as for her phrase ''dame una ayudaíta'' (give me a little help). Bolívar finished in the fifth place in the elections, obtaining 7308 votes, 0.04% of the total.

2013 presidential elections

After the death of 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 the announcement of new presidential elections on 14 April 2013, Bolívar confirmed her new candidacy for PDUPL for the presidency of Venezuela. During her campaign, which started 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 ...

, her platform included access to foreign currency for all Venezuelans and free education and other services. She denounced the "media war" waged by candidates

Nicolás Maduro Nicolás Maduro Moros (; born 23 November 1962) is a Venezuelan politician and president of Venezuela since 2013, with his presidency under dispute since 2019. Beginning his working life as a bus driver, Maduro rose to become a trade unio ...

and

Henrique Capriles Henrique Capriles Radonski (; born 11 July 1972) is a Venezuelan politician and lawyer, who served as the 36th Governor of Miranda from 2008 to 2017. Born in Caracas, he received a degree in law from the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello, ...

. Bolívar received 13 227 votes in the elections, 0.08% of the total, doubling her votes for the same position six months before and finishing in fourth place.

Candidacy for governor of Zulia

On 12 October 2012 she registered her candidacy for the PDUPL for the regional elections held on 16 December 2012, in which Bolívar competed against Pablo Pérez (

Democratic Unity Roundtable The Democratic Unity Roundtable ( es, Mesa de la Unidad Democrática, MUD) was a catch-all electoral coalition of Venezuelan political parties formed in January 2008 to unify the opposition to President Hugo Chávez's United Socialist Party of ...

incumbent), Iris Rincón (candidate for NUVIPA) and

Francisco Arias Cárdenas Francisco Javier Arias Cárdenas (born 20 November 1950) is a Venezuelan politician and career military officer, and was the governor of Zulia state. He participated in Hugo Chávez's unsuccessful February 1992 coup attempt, being pardoned in ...

(candidate for the

PSUV The United Socialist Party of Venezuela ( es, Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela, PSUV) is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left Socialism, socialist political party which has been the ruling party of Venezuela since ...

). Bolívar again finished in fourth place, with 620 votes, 0.04% of the total.

Candidacy for mayor of Maracaibo

Bolívar announced in 2013, on the

Zulia Zulia State ( es, Estado Zulia, ; Wayuu: ''Mma’ipakat Suuria'') is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. The state capital is Maracaibo. As of the 2011 census, it has a population of 3,704,404, the largest population among Venezuela's states. It ...

n television channel ''Aventura Televisión'', that she would run as a candidate again, this time for the mayoralty of Maracaibo. She obtained fourth place in the election with 1723 votes, 0.30% of the total.

2015 parliamentary elections

In 2015 the politician announced that she would run as PDUPL candidate for the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

for circuit 4 of Zulia, which comprises the Venancio Pulgar, Idelfonso Vásquez, and Antonio Borjas Romero parishes of Maracaibo.

2017 Constituent National Assembly

María Bolívar pre-registered and was accepted by the National Electoral Council as a candidate for the 2017 Constituent National Assembly in the Banking-Commerce sector, declaring that we must not abandon "the spaces that open the way to the changes that Venezuelans are demanding".

References

External links

Programa De Gobierno, Presidencia De La República

Entrevista de María Bolívar en Globovisión
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bolívar, María 1975 births Living people Venezuelan women lawyers Venezuelan women in business People from Maturín University of Zulia alumni 21st-century Venezuelan women politicians 21st-century Venezuelan politicians