Roberto Rojas
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Roberto Rojas Herrera (25 November 1966 – 17 October 2022) was a Bolivian accountant, politician, and trade unionist who served as a member of the
Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...
from
La Paz La Paz (), officially known as Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Spanish pronunciation: ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With an estimated 816,044 residents as of 2020, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities ...
, representing circumscription 15 from 2010 to 2015. A member of the
Movement for Socialism The Movement for Socialism–Political Instrument for the Sovereignty of the Peoples ( es, Movimiento al Socialismo–Instrumento Político por la Soberanía de los Pueblos, abbreviated MAS-IPSP, or simply MAS, punning on ''más'', Spanish for ...
, Rojas entered political activity as a member of El Alto's
neighborhood council A neighborhood council (also known as a community league) is a governmental or non-governmental body, whose purpose is to promote citizen participation in local government.Martin Minogue, ''Documents on Contemporary British Government: Volume 2, L ...
s, serving as secretary of sports for the city's San Pablo Zone before presiding over the District 3 council from 2000 to 2009. One rung above, he served as secretary of organization of the Federation of Neighborhood Councils from 2008 to 2010. The organization's alliance with the Movement for Socialism facilitated Rojas' entry into the Chamber of Deputies. Following his tenure in the legislature, he returned to El Alto, briefly serving as regional manager of the
state-owned State ownership, also called government ownership and public ownership, is the ownership of an industry, asset, or enterprise by the state or a public body representing a community, as opposed to an individual or private party. Public ownersh ...
water and sanitation company before finally retiring from public life.


Early life and career

An ethnic Aymara, Roberto Rojas was born on 25 November 1966 in Warisata, a minor hamlet situated in western
La Paz La Paz (), officially known as Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Spanish pronunciation: ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With an estimated 816,044 residents as of 2020, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities ...
's
Omasuyos Province Omasuyos (Hispanicized spelling) or Uma Suyu (Aymara ''uma'' water, ''suyu'' region, "water region") is a province in the La Paz Department in Bolivia. Its capital is Achacachi (Jach'a Q'achi). The province is situated in the Altiplano bordered ...
. Raised in
rural poverty Rural poverty refers to poverty in rural areas, including factors of rural society, rural economy, and political systems that give rise to the poverty found there.Janvry, A. de, E. Sadoulet, and R. Murgai. 2002“Rural Development and Rural Pol ...
to a merchant mother and a farmer father, Rojas attended the Elizardo Pérez School, where he graduated in 1984. The following year, he moved to El Alto in search of better economic opportunity, a common destination among the department's rural inhabitants, whose exodus from the Altiplano in the latter decades of the twentieth century exponentially increased the city's demographic growth. Rojas worked for some time as a police officer while continuing his studies at various universities in
La Paz La Paz (), officially known as Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Spanish pronunciation: ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With an estimated 816,044 residents as of 2020, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities ...
, finally graduating as a general accountant with a diploma in governance. Later, he studied to become an auditor at the Public University of El Alto but could not afford to finish the degree, switching his major to law sometime thereafter. Around this time, Rojas became active in local community leadership, joining his district's
neighborhood council A neighborhood council (also known as a community league) is a governmental or non-governmental body, whose purpose is to promote citizen participation in local government.Martin Minogue, ''Documents on Contemporary British Government: Volume 2, L ...
. He got his start as secretary of sports for El Alto's San Pablo Zone before later presiding over the city's District 3 Neighborhood Council from 2000 to 2009. He served as secretary of organization of the Federation of Neighborhood Councils from 2008 to 2010 and was a member of the body's citizen security commission. The neighborhood councils served as organizations of particular import in El Alto, taking charge of negotiating with public officials for the provision of basic services—electricity, water, and so on—and organizing community events. In that sense, they constituted one of the main spaces in the city for figures like Rojas to gain political notoriety. To that end, the sector's solid alliance with the nascent
Movement for Socialism The Movement for Socialism–Political Instrument for the Sovereignty of the Peoples ( es, Movimiento al Socialismo–Instrumento Político por la Soberanía de los Pueblos, abbreviated MAS-IPSP, or simply MAS, punning on ''más'', Spanish for ...
(MAS-IPSP) allowed many prominent community leaders to access political positions. Such was the case with Rojas, who in 2009 was made vice president of the La Paz Departmental Autonomous Council, a body established to aid in implementing the department's newly-granted
political autonomy Political freedom (also known as political autonomy or political agency) is a central concept in history and political thought and one of the most important features of democratic societies.Hannah Arendt, "What is Freedom?", ''Between Past and F ...
.


Political career

Beyond minor political posts, the MAS's alliance with El Alto's neighborhood councils granted the organizations a quota on the party's parliamentary lists. For the 2009 general elections, the Federation of Neighborhood Councils was granted the ability to designate two candidates to represent them in the
Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...
. Rojas was among those selected, being run to represent circumscription 15 of El Alto, the district with the largest number of registered voters in the country. He won by an overwhelming majority, attaining over 100,000 votes, the highest single vote count for any candidate running in a uninominal constituency that cycle. Even so, upon the conclusion of his term, Rojas was not presented for reelection, reflecting the preference of the neighborhood councils towards rotating out their sector's parliamentary representatives. This mechanism of nomination, in which the choice of candidates corresponds to allied social organizations and not the party itself, is the primary reason why so few MAS parliamentarians ever attained reelection. Though his legislative tenure had concluded, Rojas continued in public service. In mid-2016, a year after leaving the lower chamber, he was appointed to serve as regional manager of the
state-owned State ownership, also called government ownership and public ownership, is the ownership of an industry, asset, or enterprise by the state or a public body representing a community, as opposed to an individual or private party. Public ownersh ...
Public Social Water and Sanitation Company in El Alto, charged with guaranteeing the city's drinking water supply. His tenure coincided with a local water crisis that affected the cities of La Paz and El Alto in late 2016, leading Rojas to implement rationing measures in the city. The decision was criticized by the Federation of Neighborhood Councils, which demanded Rojas' resignation, culminating in his dismissal at the end of November. After that, Rojas retired from public life, dying on 17 October 2022 from undisclosed health complications.


Electoral history


References


Notes


Footnotes


Bibliography

* * *


External links


Deputies profile
Vice Presidency .
Biographic profile
ERBOL . {{DEFAULTSORT:Rojas, Roberto 1966 births 2022 deaths 21st-century Bolivian politicians Aymara politicians Bolivian people of Aymara descent Bolivian politicians of indigenous peoples descent Bolivian trade unionists Evo Morales administration personnel Members of the Bolivian Chamber of Deputies from La Paz Movement for Socialism (Bolivia) politicians People from El Alto People from Omasuyos Province