Patricia Mercedes Gómez Andrade (born 14 May 1971) is a Bolivian lawyer, politician, and psychologist who served as

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

for Chuquisaca from 2015 to 2020. Born and educated in

Sucre Sucre (; ) is the ''de jure'' capital city of Bolivia, the capital of the Chuquisaca Department and the sixth most populous city in Bolivia. Located in the south-central part of the country, Sucre lies at an elevation of . This relatively high ...

, Gómez spent her career as an organizer and

consultant A consultant (from "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice or services in an area of specialization (generally to medium or large-size corporations). Cons ...

for

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

s, with stints as a

social worker Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

family law Family law (also called matrimonial law or the law of domestic relations) is an area of the law that deals with family matters and domestic relations. Overview Subjects that commonly fall under a nation's body of family law include: * Marriag ...

yer, and general psychologist intermixed. She gained prominence in

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and Entitlement (fair division), entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st c ...

circles for her collaboration with entities such as the Juana Azurduy Center and other

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

s, as well as with faith-based groups, including . Gómez was one of two elected senators from the

Christian Democratic Party __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social tea ...

in the

2014 elections * 2014 United Nations Security Council election 16 October 2014 Africa * 2014 Algerian presidential election 17 April 2014 * 2014 Botswana general election 24 October 2014 * 2014 Comorian presidential election 21 February and 10 April 2014 * 2014 ...

. Entering office in 2015, she led the party's Senate

parliamentary group A parliamentary group, parliamentary caucus or political group is a group consisting of members of different political party, political parties or independent politicians with similar ideologies. Some parliamentary systems allow smaller politic ...

in 2016 but was expelled from the caucus the same year over her support of government-backed changes to

parliamentary procedure Parliamentary procedures are the accepted Procedural law, rules, ethics, and Norm (sociology), customs governing meetings of an deliberative assembly, assembly or organization. Their object is to allow orderly deliberation upon questions of inte ...

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

for the duration of her term, Gómez did not seek reelection and left office in 2020.

Early life and career

Early life and education

Patricia Gómez was born on 14 May 1971 in

. She attended primary and early secondary at the María Auxiliadora Education Unit, followed by the

state school A state school, public school, or government school is a primary school, primary or secondary school that educates all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in part by taxation and operated by the government of the state. State-f ...

Simón Rodríguez for the duration of secondary. After that, Gómez enrolled at the

University of San Francisco Xavier The Royal and Pontifical Higher University of San Francisco Xavier of Chuquisaca (USFX; ) is a public university in Sucre, Bolivia. It is one of the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest universities in the New World. In many ...

, where she studied law and psychology. Gómez graduated as a practicing lawyer and

psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and explanation, interpretatio ...

with

postgraduate diploma fILE:Prédio Pós Graduação IMECC Unicamp.jpg, The State University of Campinas, as well as many Brazilian universities, offer Postgraduate courses in Brazil A postgraduate diploma (PgD, PgDip, PGDip, PG Dip., PGD, Dipl. PGD) is a postgraduat ...

s in national

legislation from Siglo XX University,

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 ...

;

gender Gender is the range of social, psychological, cultural, and behavioral aspects of being a man (or boy), woman (or girl), or third gender. Although gender often corresponds to sex, a transgender person may identify with a gender other tha ...

and

domestic violence Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes r ...

from Franz Tamayo University,

Cochabamba Cochabamba (; ) is a city and municipality in central Bolivia in a valley in the Andes mountain range. It is the capital (political), capital of the Cochabamba Department and the list of cities in Bolivia, fourth largest city in Bolivia, with ...

; and

couples' counseling Couples therapy (also known as couples' counseling, marriage counseling, or marriage therapy) is a form of psychotherapy that seeks to improve intimate relationships, resolve interpersonal conflicts and repair broken bonds of love. History Marri ...

from the Venezuela Center for Psychological, Psychiatric, and Sexological Research.

Career and activism

A self-declared "

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

since her youth", Gómez spent much of her career in the fields of

women's A woman is an adult female human. Before adulthood, a female child or adolescent is referred to as a girl. Typically, women are of the female sex and inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent, and women with functional uteruses ...

and

youth rights The youth rights movement (also known as youth liberation) seeks to grant the rights to Youth, young people that are traditionally reserved for adults. This is closely akin to the notion of evolving capacities within the children's rights mov ...

. She got her start in

broadcasting Broadcasting is the data distribution, distribution of sound, audio audiovisual content to dispersed audiences via a electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), ...

, directing the program Revista Juvenil for Sucre-based station Radio Loyola from 1991 to 1994. Between 1994 and 1995, Gómez worked as a

legal assistant A paralegal, also known as a legal assistant or paralegal specialist, is a legal professional who performs tasks that require knowledge of legal concepts but not the full expertise of a lawyer with an admission to practice law. The market for p ...

at the Juana Azurduy Center and was a

facilitator A facilitator is a person who helps a Social group, group of people to work together better, understand their common objectives, and plan how to achieve these objectives, during meetings or discussions. In doing so, the facilitator remains "neut ...

for different programs sponsored by the organization throughout the mid-to-late 1990s. As a

, Gómez collaborated with a number of

s and

s dedicated to women's rights, including

CARE International CARE (Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere, formerly Cooperative for American Remittances to Europe) is a major international humanitarian agency delivering emergency relief and long-term international development projects. Founded i ...

, Family Care International,

Marie Stopes International MSI Reproductive Choices, named Marie Stopes International until November 2020, is an international non-governmental organisation providing contraception and safe abortion services in 37 countries around the world. MSI Reproductive Choices as ...

, and

Pro Mujer Pro Mujer is a nonprofit development organization that provides financial inclusion, health and education programs to low-income women in Latin America. One of the largest women's organizations in the region, Pro Mujer operates in Argentina, Boli ...

. During this time, she organized and headlined several conferences,

seminar A seminar is a form of academic instruction, either at an academic institution or offered by a commercial or professional organization. It has the function of bringing together small groups for recurring meetings, focusing each time on some part ...

s, and workshops covering women's issues. Outside of activism, Gómez spent a stint as a government-employed

from 1998 to 1999 before shifting to

private sector The private sector is the part of the economy which is owned by private groups, usually as a means of establishment for profit or non profit, rather than being owned by the government. Employment The private sector employs most of the workfo ...

service. She spent a decade as a

yer from 2005 to 2015 and worked as a general psychologist from 2012 to 2015.

Chamber of Senators

Election

The

(PDC) presented Gómez as its ticket-heading

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

candidate for Chuquisaca in September 2014. Gómez's political experience prior to that point was limited; the nomination, rather, was a recognition of her prominence in regional women's organizationsincluding

faith-based Faith-based may refer to: * Faith-based organization * Faith-based marketing * Faith-based community organizing * Faith-based school * White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships White is the lightest color and is ac ...

ones, such as . For the 2014 campaign, the

Christian conservative Conservative Christianity, also known as conservative theology, theological conservatism, traditional Christianity, or biblical orthodoxy is a grouping of overlapping and denominationally diverse theological movements within Christianity that se ...

PDC had sought to broaden its appeal toward women: Tomasa Yarhui was the front's vice-presidential candidate, and the party's platform promoted the establishment of a women's government ministry and ombudsman's office. In a tight race, the PDC narrowly beat out rival

Democratic Unity Democratic Unity (Spanish: ''Unidad Demócrata''; UD) was a center-left to center-right electoral and political coalition in Bolivia. It was formed on 17 June 2014 by the National Unity Front and the Social Democratic Movement The Social D ...

(UD) for second place, displacing former prefect Savina Cuéllar and making Gómez the department's lone opposition senatorone of two within the PDC bench, alongside Víctor Hugo Zamora.

Tenure

Led by Zamoraa skilled negotiator considered pragmatic toward the governmentthe PDC in the Senate centered its focus on and

foreign relations Foreign policy, also known as external policy, is the set of strategies and actions a State (polity), state employs in its interactions with other states, unions, and international entities. It encompasses a wide range of objectives, includ ...

. The party tapped Gómez to chair the chamber's International Policy Commission, a post she wrested control of from UDthe larger opposition frontwith the votes of the ruling

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 ...

(MAS). She went on to head the commission for the duration of her tenure, with intermissions in 2017 and 2018 to occupy the PDC's sole seat on the Senate's governing directorate. Gómez was the PDC's representative on the Senate Ethics Commission from 2015 to 2016. Appointed leader of the PDC

in 2016, she was ratified on the Ethics Commission that May. Decisions taken by Gómez from this position generated tensions within her caucus. In September, she joined the MAS in approving

amendment An amendment is a formal or official change made to a law, contract, constitution, or other legal document. It is based on the verb to amend, which means to change for better. Amendments can add, remove, or update parts of these agreements. They ...

s to the body's regulations, whichamong other thingsobligated senators with pending legal sentences in the appeals process to request temporary leave. Gómez defended the new norm, stating that legislators should be "grateful" for the "possibility" to remain in office after an initial sentence. Opponents, however, criticized it as a means for the ruling party to oust its critics from office. For her stance on the controversial rules change, Gómez was expelled from the PDC. Further threats to unseat her never panned out, though members of the party did lodge complaints against her with the Ethics Commission. Faced with discontent from within its own ranks, the MAS ultimately repealed the articles in question. Gómezwho remained an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

for the rest of her tenureserved another term on the Ethics Commission in 2019 and later backed similar legislation prohibiting individuals with legal sentences for violence against women from serving as

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

s. Disillusioned and with a certain "cynicism" toward parliamentary governance, Gómez declined to seek reelection, stating that she "would not like to continue in politics". Given their schism, the PDC opted not to re-nominate her, either in the

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

2020 elections The following elections were scheduled to occur in 2020. The International Foundation for Electoral Systems maintains a comprehensive list of upcoming elections on its E-Guide Platform. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calend ...

. She served out the remainder of her term as vice president of Chuquisaca's parliamentary delegation from 2019 until she left office in 2020.

Commission assignments

* Chamber of Senators Directorate (Second Secretary: –) * International Policy Commission (President: –, –) * Ethics and Transparency Commission (–, –, –)

Electoral history

References

Notes

Footnotes

Works cited

Online and list sources * * * ** ** ** * * * * * * * * * * * Digital and print publications * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Books and encyclopedias *

External links

Parliamentary profile
Office of the Vice President .
Parliamentary profile
Chamber of Senators . Archived fro
the original
on 16 November 2019. {{DEFAULTSORT:Gómez, Patricia 1971 births Living people 21st-century Bolivian lawyers 21st-century Bolivian politicians 21st-century Bolivian women politicians 21st-century Bolivian women lawyers Bolivian abortion-rights activists Bolivian feminists Bolivian management consultants Bolivian psychologists Bolivian Roman Catholics Bolivian senators from Chuquisaca Bolivian women psychologists Bolivian women's rights activists Christian Democratic Party (Bolivia) politicians People from Sucre University of Saint Francis Xavier alumni Women members of the Senate of Bolivia