Carmen Soledad Chapetón Tancara (born 25 October 1980) is a Bolivian

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

with expertise in

pedagogy Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political, and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...

. She was the first woman to serve as Mayor of El Alto, a post she held from 31 May 2015 through 3 May 2021.

Biography

Chapetón's parents migrated from rural areas to the city of El Alto during the 1960s due to the lack of employment opportunities in their places of origin. Her father, Luis Chapetón Huanca, was a low-ranking police officer from Eliodoro Camacho Province. Her mother, Dalila Tancara, is a small-scale vendor who sells food (pejerreys and carachis), and is from

Pacajes Province Pacajes is a province in the Bolivian department of La Paz. Its capital is Coro Coro. Geography Some of the highest mountains of the province are listed below:Boliviam IGM map Rosario Hoja 5841-IV The most important river of the province i ...

. Soledad Chapetón is the youngest of their four children. During her childhood she lived in the Nuevos Horizontes II neighborhood, part of El Alto's District 2.

Political career

Chapetón joined the

National Unity Front The National Unity Front ( Spanish: ''Frente de Unidad Nacional'') is a political party in Bolivia. It was founded in late 2003 by Samuel Jorge Doria Medina Auza, who had broken with the Revolutionary Left Movement earlier that year. It has 3 ...

party, led by La Paz businessman

Samuel Doria Medina Samuel Doria Medina Auza (born 4 December 1958) is a politician in Bolivia and former businessman. From 1987 until 2014 he was the President and main shareholder in SOBOCE. SOBOCE is the largest cement manufacturer in Bolivia. Politics He is ...

, in 2005.

Constituent Assembly (2006–2008)

In 2006, Chapetón was elected to the

Bolivian Constituent Assembly The most recent Constituent Assembly of Bolivia was the Constituent Assembly of 2006–07, which drafted a new Constitution which was approved in the Constitutional referendum of 2009. Past assemblies Prior assemblies have met to reconsider the ...

, a special body charged with rewriting the country's constitution. She represented the 15th electoral district of La Paz, representing part of El Alto. In this position, she backed the demand that the new Constitution require a two-thirds vote in the Assembly, and opposed the text drafted by the Movement Towards Socialism-led majority.

2010 municipal election

In 2010, Chapetón ran for the post of mayor of El Alto on the National Unity Front slate. She lost this election to Édgar Patana Ticona of the Movement Towards Socialism. During these five years, she put forward demands upon the national government to support the city of El Alto and was a critic of Patana's administration. At the 2010 congress of National Unity, Soledad Chapetón was elected by consensus as vice president of her party. In 2014, Chapetón was an unsuccessful candidate for Senator from La Paz department. in the

Plurinational Legislative Assembly The Plurinational Legislative Assembly () is the national legislature of Bolivia, placed in La Paz, the country's seat of government. The assembly is bicameral, consisting of a lower house (the Chamber of Deputies or ) and an upper house (the ...

Mayor of El Alto (2015–2021)

In 2015, Chapetón once again ran for mayor of El Alto, this time on behalf of the Democratic Unity alliance (which joined National Unity and the

Democrat Social Movement The Social Democratic Movement (; MDS), often shortened to just the Democrats (), is a far-right political party in Bolivia founded in 2013 for the movement for greater autonomy for the eastern departments of the ''Media Luna''. History Rube ...

). In the 29 March 2015 elections, Chapetón won 54% of the vote and obtained a municipal council majority of 6 (of 11) members, allowing her to govern and have her executive decisions approved. She was inaugurated as mayor on 1 June 2015 and became El Alto's first woman mayor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chapeton, Soledad 1980 births Living people People from El Alto 21st-century Bolivian women politicians 21st-century Bolivian politicians Members of the Bolivian Constituent Assembly Mayors of El Alto Women mayors of places in Bolivia National Unity Front politicians