Leyla Felícita Chihuán Ramos (born September 4, 1975) is a Peruvian politician and former

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

player of

Afro-Peruvian Black Peruvians or Afro-Peruvians are Peruvians of mostly or partially African descent. They mostly descend from enslaved Africans brought to Peru after the arrival of the conquistadors. Early history The first Africans arrived, as enslaved ...

descent, who twice represented her native country at the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

. In 2011, she entered politics, serving as a

Congresswoman A member of congress (MOC), also known as a congressman or congresswoman, is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The t ...

until the dissolution of Congress in September 2019.

Sports career

Chihuán played the

1996 Olympic Games The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

and the

2000 Olympic Games The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

ranking in both in 11th place; the 1998 World Championship, finishing in the ninth place, 2006 World Championship, ranking in 20th place. She ranked 11th in the 2007 FIVB World Cup and fifth in the 2009 Pan-American Cup. She was the captain of the Peruvian volleyball national team from 2005 to 2010. Playing in

Chiapas Chiapas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas, is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises Municipalities of Chiapas, 124 municipalities and its capital and large ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

with her National Senior Team, she won the Best Blocker award and the silver medal at the 2010 Final Four Cup. Chihuán ranked in 15th place in the 2010 World Championship, and stated it would be her last tournament with her team and that she would step down as player and captain. After Peru's final match against China she told reporters in interviews that she did not leave because of some physical or age related issue but due to circumstances that she could not control. She has played in several teams in Spain and Italy.

Clubs

* Winiary Kalisz (1997-1999) * Rio Marsì Palermo (1999-2000) * Mirabilandia Teodora Ravenna (2000-2001) * CV Benidorm (2001-2007) * Gran Canaria Hotel Cantur (2007-2008) * Universidad de Burgos (2008-2009) * CV Miranda (2009-2010) * Regatas Lima (2009-2010) * Universidad César Vallejo (2013-2014)

Awards

Individuals

* '' 2009 South American Championship "Best Scorer"'' * '' 2009 South American Championship "Best Spiker"'' * '' 2010 Final Four Cup "Best Blocker"''

National team

* 2005 Bolivarian Games, Gold Medal * 2007 South American Championship, Silver Medal * 2009 South American Championship, Bronze Medal *

2010 Women's Pan-American Volleyball Cup The 2010 Women's Pan-American Volleyball Cup was the ninth edition of the annual women's volleyball tournament, played by eleven countries from 18–26 June 2010 in Rosarito and Tijuana, Mexico. The intercontinental event served as a qualifier for ...

, Silver Medal * 2010 Final Four Women's Volleyball Cup, Silver Medal

Political career

In 2011, Leyla Chihuán was elected to the

Congress of Peru The Congress of the Republic of Peru () is the unicameral body that assumes legislative power in Peru. Due to broadly interpreted impeachment wording in the Constitution of Peru, the President of Peru can be removed by Congress without cause, ...

on the list of the

fujimorist Fujimorism (, , Hepburn: ) is the policies and the political ideology of former President of Peru Alberto Fujimori as well as the personality cult built around him, his policies and his family, especially Keiko Fujimori. The ideology is defined ...

Fuerza 2011 party, representing the city of Lima. She was one of four female ex-volleyball players serving in Congress for the 2011-2016 term. Chihuán was re-elected in the 2016 general election. Her current term expires in 2021.

Accomplishments

In Congress, Leyla Chihuán has served on numerous committees, including the Health and Population Committee, the Education, Youth, and Sports Committee, the Foreign Relations Committee, and the Justice and Human Rights Committee. Chihuán is the vicepresident of the Congressional Leadership Board, the Leadership Council, the Spokespersons' Board, and the Permanent Committee for the current parliamentary session (2018-2019). She has been the author or co-author of over 100 pieces of legislation or parliamentary resolutions on subjects ranging from health and sports, commerce and industry, Congressional ethics, and the protection of women and minors.

Controversy

In 2018, Leyla Chihuán was associated with a political scandal referred to as "Chats La Botica". "La Botica" was the title of a cell phone chat group among congressmen from her political party,

Fuerza Popular ''Fuerza'' () is the Latin Grammy nominated twelfth studio album released by Mexican singer Alejandra Guzmán. It was released on November 26, 2007. The first single released was " Soy Sólo Un Secreto". Album history According to bloggarte.com ...

, the contents of which were leaked to Peruvian authorities. The leaked messages included chats, in which Chihuán took part, which featured discussion of shielding judge César Hinostroza Pariachi, who was facing charges for corruption. Nowadays in Peru when people wants to refer that they do not have money they say: "Estoy Bien Chihuan" the expression has become viral since her infamous comments when she said that the money earned working at the Congress was insufficient for her high living standard.

References

External links

*
Leyla Chihuán
at FIVB.org Women's World Cup 2007 * *
Leyla Felicita Chihuan Ramos
at Legavolleyfemminile.it * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chihuan, Leyla 1975 births Living people Peruvian women's volleyball players Peruvian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Olympic volleyball players for Peru Volleyball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics Volleyball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Volleyball players at the 2007 Pan American Games Peruvian people of Quechua descent Volleyball players from Lima Fujimorista politicians Members of the Congress of the Republic of Peru Expatriate volleyball players in Spain Pan American Games volleyball players for Peru Women members of the Congress of the Republic of Peru