Carmen Leonor Rodríguez Bolaños (born 15 July 1949) is a Bolivian economist, politician, and trade unionist who served as a

party-list An electoral list is a grouping of candidates for election, usually found in proportional or mixed electoral systems, but also in some plurality electoral systems. An electoral list can be registered by a political party (a party list) or can c ...

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 Bourb ...

from

La Paz La Paz, officially Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Aymara language, Aymara: Chuqi Yapu ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With 755,732 residents as of 2024, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities by populati ...

from 2010 to 2015. Raised in the mines of Quechisla, Rodríguez studied economics at the

Higher University of San Andrés Universidad Mayor de San Andrés or UMSA () is the leading public university in Bolivia, established since 1830 in the city of La Paz. UMSA is the second-oldest university in Bolivia, after the University of San Francisco Xavier de Chuquisaca ( ...

, during which time she involved herself in

student activism Student activism or campus activism is work by students to cause political, environmental, economic, or social change. In addition to education, student groups often play central roles in democratization and winning civil rights. Modern stu ...

. After leaving university, she dedicated herself to a long career in the private sector, only assuming positions in

trade unionism A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

after retirement. She held roles within the National Confederation of Retirees and was executive of the Light, Strength, Telephones National Federation of Retirees from 2008 to 2010. In 2009, Rodríguez was nominated for a seat in the Chamber of Deputies, a product of the solid alliance between the

Movement for Socialism Movement for Socialism – Political Instrument for the Sovereignty of the Peoples (; MAS or MAS-IPSP), is a socialist political party in Bolivia. Its followers are known as ''Masistas''. In the 2005 Bolivian general election, December 2005 el ...

and the country's leading retirees unions. Elected to represent La Paz, she primarily performed her parliamentary duties from the lower chamber's Social Policy Commission until the conclusion of her term in 2015. She was not nominated for reelection.

Early life and career

Early life and education

Carmen Rodríguez was born on 15 July 1949 to Carlos Rodríguez and Elena Bolaños. Although born in

, Rodríguez spent the majority of her childhood residing in the

mining community A mining community, also known as a mining town or a mining camp, is a community that houses miners. Mining communities are usually created around a mine or a quarry. Historical mining communities Australia * Ballarat, Victoria * Bendi ...

of Quechisla,

Potosí Potosí, known as Villa Imperial de Potosí in the colonial period, is the capital city and a municipality of the Potosí Department, Department of Potosí in Bolivia. It is one of the list of highest cities in the world, highest cities in the wo ...

, where her father was employed as a mineworker in the service of the Quechisla Mining Company, a subsidiary of the . Her mother, likewise, also worked in the mines as a rural school professor. Rodríguez received only a

primary education Primary education is the first stage of Education, formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary education. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first schools and middle s ...

, completing up to fifth grade as part of the first class of students to attend Quechisla's newly founded schoolhouse. In 1965, Rodríguez left her family and moved back to La Paz to pursue

higher education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...

. She studied economics at the

, where she became active in the

student movement Student activism or campus activism is work by students to cause political, environmental, economic, or social change. In addition to education, student groups often play central roles in democratization and winning civil rights. Modern stu ...

, first as a member of various student centers before later acceding the Local University Federation, where she performed secretarial tasks. Her involvement in student activism came during a period of

political radicalism Radical politics denotes the intent to transform or replace the principles of a society or political system, often through social change, structural change, revolution or radical reform. The process of adopting radical views is termed radica ...

for the movement, oriented toward

left-wing politics Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...

and social struggle. At a time of dictatorial rule in the country, such activism was often met with

reprisals A reprisal is a limited and deliberate violation of international law to punish another sovereign state that has already broken them. Since the 1977 Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions (AP 1), reprisals in the laws of war are extremel ...

, and Rodríguez even endured arrest at one point.

Career and trade unionism

Shortly after leaving university, Rodríguez returned to the mines, where she briefly worked as a mathematics professor. Realizing the job wasn't for her, she moved back to La Paz and dedicated herself to a career in business, first as an employee for a local textile company, then as a member of the

mutual organization A mutual organization, also mutual society or simply mutual, is an organization (which is often, but not always, a company or business) based on the principle of mutuality and governed by private law. Unlike a cooperative, members usually do not ...

La Primera, and finally as a worker at the (COTEL). Rodríguez's entry into union activity did not occur until after she retired, an atypical circumstance, given the relative youth of most individuals who initiate trade union careers. She first joined the COTEL Retirees Federation before later becoming a member of the National Confederation of Retirees, where she focused her efforts on activities relating to

social control Social control is the regulations, sanctions, mechanisms, and systems that restrict the behaviour of individuals in accordance with social norms and orders. Through both informal and formal means, individuals and groups exercise social con ...

, overseeing the work of state-run hospitals to ensure they met basic standards for her sector. By 2008, Rodríguez had risen to the position of executive of the Light, Strength, Telephones National Federation of Retirees, a position she held until early 2010.

Chamber of Deputies

Election

Since the 2005 elections, the union sector representing retirees and

pensioner A pensioner is a person who receives a pension, most commonly because of retirement from the workforce. This is a term typically used in the United Kingdom (along with OAP, initialism of old-age pensioner), Ireland and Australia where someone of p ...

s had aligned itself with the ruling

(MAS-IPSP), a pact that procured positions for affiliated members on the party's parliamentary lists. In 2009, the National Confederation of Retirees' political arm selected Rodríguez as their candidate for that year's general election, through which she acceded to a seat in the

in representation of

Tenure

In parliament, Rodríguez's work focused on legislating from the lower chamber's Social Policy Commission. She held seats on the commission's committees for four of the five years she was in office, serving on the Social Welfare Committee for one term and on the Labor Committee for three, including chairing said body from 2012 to 2013.^{�/sup> During her tenure, non-contributory pension coverage in Bolivia reached ninety-seven percent of the retired populationthe highest in the region. At the end of her term, Rodríguez was not nominated for reelection.

Commission assignments

* Plural Justice, Prosecutor's Office, and Legal Defense of the State Commission
** Ordinary Jurisdiction and Magistracy Council Committee (2013–2014)
* Social Policy Commission
** Labor and Employment Law Committee (2010–2012; Secretary: 2012–2013)
** Social Welfare and Protection Committee (2014–2015)

Electoral history

References

Notes

Footnotes

Works cited

Online and list sources

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Digital and print publications

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Books and encyclopedias

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External links

Parliamentary profile
Office of the Vice President .

Biographic profile
ERBOL .

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez, Carmen
1949 births
Living people
21st-century Bolivian politicians
21st-century Bolivian women politicians
Bolivian economists
Bolivian women economists
Bolivian student activists
Bolivian women activists
Bolivian women educators
Bolivian trade union leaders
Bolivian women trade unionists
Higher University of San Andrés alumni
Bolivian mathematics educators
Members of the Bolivian Chamber of Deputies from La Paz
Movimiento al Socialismo politicians
Politicians from La Paz
Women members of the Chamber of Deputies (Bolivia)}