Jeanine Áñez

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This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Áñez and the second or maternal family name is Chávez.
Jeanine Áñez
Jeanine Áñez Chávez.jpg
Áñez in 2016
President of Bolivia
Interim
Assumed office
12 November 2019
Preceded byEvo Morales
President pro tempore of CELAC
In office
12 November 2019 – 8 January 2020
Preceded byEvo Morales
Succeeded byAndrés Manuel López Obrador
Senator for Beni
In office
22 January 2010 – 12 November 2019
Member of the Constituent Assembly
In office
6 August 2006 – 6 August 2007
Personal details
Born
Jeanine Áñez Chávez

(1967-08-13) 13 August 1967 (age 52)
Trinidad, Beni, Bolivia
Political partyDemocrat Social Movement Juntos
Spouse(s)Héctor Hernando Hincapié Carvajal
Signature

Jeanine Áñez Chávez[1] (Spanish pronunciation: [ɟʝaˈnine ˈaɲes]; born 13 August 1967)[2] is a Bolivian politician and lawyer currently serving as the Interim President of Bolivia since November 2019, after the resignation of the government of Evo Morales. She was previously an opposition senator from Beni, belonging to the centre-right Democrat Social Movement. Her political position has been described by journalists as right-wing[3][4] and anti-Morales.[5][6][7]

Education[edit]

Áñez has a graduate degree in law and legal sciences.[5]

Career[edit]

Áñez passed the bar in 1991.[5] She was formerly a media presenter[8] and director at Totalvision.[2]

Constituent Assembly (2006–2008)[edit]

Between 2006 and 2008, she served as a constituent assemblywoman for the drafting of the new constitutional charter. She was a member of the Constituent Assembly for the commission of organization and structure of the country, also working as part of the Judiciary.[5]

Senate (2010–2019)[edit]

In 2010, she was elected to the Senate as a member of the party Plan Progress for Bolivia-National Convergence (P.P.B - C.N), representing the Department of Beni in the National Assembly.[5][9] She ran for governor of Beni in 2012.[10]

By 2019, she was the second vice president of the Senate, and her alternate was Franklin Valdivia Leigue.[2] This role placed her fifth in the line of succession to the presidency.[5] Before the presidential elections in 2019, Áñez had questioned the reliability of opinion polls, based on unclear methods and inconsistent results.[11]

Interim president of Bolivia (2019–present)[edit]

Following the resignation of the government of Evo Morales on 10 November 2019, she became the highest-ranking official in the line of succession to the presidency of Bolivia, and assumed the presidency on 11 November 2019 after convening the Senate to formally accept the resignations of the previous day.[12][13] Áñez could not hold an emergency assembly until the day after Morales' resignation, as she was in Beni and there were no Sunday flights from there to the capital of La Paz.[5]

On 11 November, Añez arrived at La Paz-El Alto airport and was taken in a military helicopter to a nearby Air Force base. From here, she traveled to the Bolivian Senate. There she stated that a session of the body would be convened on 12 November 2019 to formally accept Morales' resignation.[14]

On 12 November, per article 169 of the Constitution of Bolivia, Áñez declared herself president of the Senate and acting president of Bolivia in front of a session of the Plurinational Legislative Assembly.[15] Áñez obtained the favourable vote of the opposition parties, a third part of the parliament.[16] The move was later upheld by the Plurinational Constitutional Court.[17] The session was not attended by members of the Movement for Socialism (MAS), which hold a majority in the assembly and dubbed the session "illegal".[18][19] According to CNN, the absence of MAS deputies meant that Áñez did not have the required parliamentary quorum in order to legally be appointed acting president.[19] The preceding President of the Senate, Adriana Salvatierra, resigned her position on 10 November 2019—after Morales and his vice president, Álvaro García Linera, resigned from office after losing support from the police, the military, and former political allies;[20] followed by the resignation of Adriana Salvatierra Arriaza, the president of the Bolivian Senate, who was next in the constitutional line of succession[21]—leading to a situation where all constitutional successors were exhausted. Although her resignation had been presented, Salvatierra contended on 13 November that it had not been accepted by the Senate, and therefore, Salvatierra remained the President of the Senate.[22]

After taking office, the governments of Canada, Brazil, the European Union, Russia and the United States recognized Áñez as the acting president of Bolivia.[23][when?]

On 14 November 2019, the Senate accepted Salvatierra's resignation and elected Mónica Eva Copa from the Movement for Socialism as the new president.[24]

Amid a pledge to "rebuild democracy", Añez unveiled her new cabinet. Her senior ministers included prominent businesspeople from Santa Cruz de la Sierra. The first eleven members of her cabinet did not include any members of the indigenous peoples in Bolivia, which The Guardian described as a sign that she did "not intend to reach across the country's deep political and ethnic divide". Later appointments of the remaining positions would include two indigenous members. [25][26] Morales' cabinet had also included two indigenous persons.[27] Her designated interior minister vowed to "hunt down" his predecessor, which reportedly stroked fears of a "witch-hunt" against members of Morales' administration.[28] She further stated that Morales would not be permitted to run in an upcoming election for a fourth term, should he return to Bolivia.[29][30]

In the face of protests against the interim government, Áñez called for police to restore order and, on 14 November, issued a decree that would exempt the military from any type of criminal responsibility when maintaining order.[31][32] On 15 November, security forces were accused of firing upon protesting coca farmers in Cochabamba, resulting in nine deaths, with dozens more injured.[31] The decree was condemned by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States and was repealed two weeks later.[33]

The new interim government of president Jeanine Añez has denounced foreign influence in the country since taking power, naming Colombians, Peruvians, Cubans and Venezuelans at different times. Her government has blamed foreigners for provoking violent clashes during more than a month of post-election violence in Bolivia that has left dozens of people dead. Police arrested an Argentine national, 44-year-old Facundo Morales Schoenfeld, in the eastern province of Santa Cruz, who is a former member of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and was participating among the protesters in Yapacaní.[34]

On 5 December, Áñez stated that she would not be a candidate or support any candidate in the upcoming presidential election.[35] This was further reiterated on 15 January 2020 by Minister for the Presidency Yerko Núñez, who said that "[Áñez] will not be a candidate. The President has stated on several occasions, she will not be a candidate, this is a government of peace, transition, and management because you can not stop the state apparatus."[36]

On 8 January 2020, the government decided to ratify the 22 January public holiday created by Morales to celebrate the founding of the Plurinational State of Bolivia via the 2009 constitution. On this day, the President of Bolivia normally addresses the nation, but doubt had been expressed whether this holiday would go ahead due to its strong political connection with Morales and MAS. In a public statement, however, minister for the Presidency Yerko Núñez, said "January 22 is a holiday by presidential decree, we are going to respect that decree and our president is evaluating if she is going to make a report about the pillars of this government, which are transition, pacification and management."[37]

Despite her previous statements, Áñez announced her candidacy on 24 January 2020.[38] A survey reported in the Bolivian newspaper Los Tiempos indicated that, while 43% of respondents considered her to have done a "good or very good" job as interim president (compared to 27% bad or very bad), only 24% of respondents believed that she should stand as a candidate in the upcoming elections. In the same poll, 63% of respondents agreed with the statement that "as interim president, Jeanine Áñez should call elections and not take advantage of her power to become a presidential candidate."[39] Her running mate who was previously critical of her decision to stand as a presidential candidate is Samuel Doria Medina, a former presidential candidate and leader of the centre-right National Unity Front party.[40]. They are standing under the newly formed Juntos alliance. [41]

Political views[edit]

Añez is described as a right-wing[42][43] religious conservative[44][45] and has been a critic of Evo Morales.[46]

Drugs[edit]

Áñez has spoken out against the proliferation of drug trafficking in South America.[47]

In 2017, her nephew was arrested in Brazil for smuggling 480 kilos of drugs. The security minister Carlos Romero criticized Áñez and said that her position in the senate was "rogue" because of the relationship; Áñez responded by saying that she is not responsible for her nephew's actions, and criticized Romero because of his position in the government by saying that he is "responsible for the growth of drug trafficking". It was later revealed that another Bolivian arrested with drugs at the same time was the nephew of another politician, this time belonging to the MAS ruling party.[47]

Prison services[edit]

In early 2019, Áñez called for an investigation into prison wardens in Beni after speaking to victims of rape and abuse on the part of guards. She aimed to set a precedent to bring in new legislation that can be upheld.[48]

Religion[edit]

She describes herself as a Christian and held up a large Bible while declaring herself the interim president; this was described by The Guardian as an "explicit rebuke" of Morales, who has a strained history with the Catholic Church and has expressed support for indigenous religious traditions.[49][50] Under Morales, a new Constitution was approved by referendum that gave Christianity equal status to other religions.[51] A 2018 survey found that 70% of Bolivians identified as Catholic and 17.2% as Protestant of some form. 9.3% were non-religious.[52] Political analyst Carlos Cordero states that “She is a believer, but she does not use her religiosity politically, she expresses it, she lives it.”[53]

Venezuela[edit]

Áñez recognized Juan Guaidó as acting president of Venezuela in the 2019 Venezuelan presidential crisis, 24 hours after taking office.[54] Her interim government also severed diplomatic relations with Venezuela's Maduro government, giving its diplomats 72 hours to leave the country.[55][56] Áñez has also called on Guaidó to appoint the new Venezuelan Ambassador to Bolivia, "who will be recognized immediately by our government."[54]

A month later, her government announced Bolivia's entry into the Lima Group, a regional bloc established in 2017 with the purpose of finding a way out of the Venezuelan crisis. The Bolivian foreign ministry said in a statement that it hoped to “contribute to a peaceful, democratic and constitutional solution to the crisis in Venezuela, which must be guided by the Venezuelan people.”[57] On the same month, the interim government announced that they would give refuge to 200 Venezuelans "who have fled their country for reasons of political order, of political persecution promoted by the Nicolás Maduro government."[58]

Violence against women and children[edit]

On 6 February 2020, she invited the people of Bolivia to attend a march in Santa Cruz in support of the fight against violence against women and children, an issue increasingly highlighted by the Bolivian press. [59] [60]

On International Women's Day, 8 March 2020, Áñez announced a $100 million investment in the fight against violence against women, She declared 2020 as the Year of the Fight Against Feminicide and Infanticide in Bolivia, saying "I am the worst news for all those murderers of women, users of violence, abusers, stalkers and rapists, because I will not get tired of closing against these aggressors".[61][62].

Racism controversy[edit]

Around 41% of the population of Bolivia identifies itself as indigenous[63] and the population often encounters discrimination regarding their social status in Bolivia, mainly related to poverty and ethnic background.[64] Following the 2006 election of Evo Morales, the first indigenous president of Bolivia, polarization between the indigenous peoples and others increased[64] as Bolivia's political system shifted from left-right politics to indigenous-urbanist politics.[65]

Through social media, Áñez has made remarks[66] towards indigenous peoples that have been described as "racist" by The Guardian,[67] "anti-indigenous" by Agence France-Press,[68] and "provocative" by The New York Times.[63] On Twitter, Áñez called the Aymara people's New Year celebration "satanic" and said that "nobody can replace God", and has implied that indigenous people were not genuine for wearing shoes.[68][50] She would later state "I’ve seen a couple of tweets that I never wrote and that we already stated were false" and that she never made "ill-intentioned" comments.[64] In the opening days of her presidency, María Galindo, an outspoken critic of Morales, described the government of Áñez as "anti-indigenous."[67] Kathryn Ledebur, director of the Andean Information Network, stated that "there’s a reason to raise the issue" of racism and polarization following the rise of Áñez.

As acting president, Áñez has stated that she would keep the wiphala, the flag of indigenous Bolivian communities, as a co-official flag of Bolivia, as it had been under Morales, declaring that she was committed to the fundamental task of "highlighting the unity [of the] plural and diverse" nation of Bolivia.[69] In addition to the whipala, the patujú is displayed prominently.[70] The patujú is a symbol of the Eastern indigenous peoples of Bolivia and of Santa Cruz, Bolivia's largest city. This flag was also adopted by indigenous opposition to Morales during the TIPNIS protests.[71][64] On 26 November 2019, she was presented with and wore a red poncho (a traditional Andean garment worn by community leaders) by representatives of the indigenous community on the inauguration of Rafael Quispe as director of the Fund for Indigenous Development.[72]

Personal life[edit]

Áñez is married to Héctor Hernando Hincapié Carvajal, a Colombian politician in the Colombian Conservative Party.[5][73] She comes from a poor mestiza background.[74]

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Entrevista Jeanine Añez Chavez, retrieved 11 November 2019
  2. ^ a b c "Jeanine Áñez Chávez". Cámara de Senadores (in Spanish). 16 October 2015. Archived from the original on 11 November 2019. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  3. ^ Collyns, Dan (14 November 2019). "Bolivia president's initial indigenous-free cabinet heightens polarization". The Guardian.
  4. ^ "Jeanine Anez declares herself Bolivia interim president". Al Jazeera. 12 November 2019.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h "Bolivia: quién es Jeanine Añez Chávez, la mujer que puede quedar al mando de la transición" [Bolivia: who is Jeanine Añez Chávez, the woman who can be in charge of the transition]. El Cronista. 11 November 2019. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  6. ^ Faiola, Anthony. "After Morales' resignation, a question for Bolivia: Was this the democratic will, or a coup?". The Washington Post. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  7. ^ "Bolivian senator assumes interim presidency". BBC News. 13 November 2019. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  8. ^ Tiempo, Casa Editorial El (13 November 2019). "¿Quién es Jeanine Áñez, la nueva presidenta interina de Bolivia?". ElTiempo.com (in Spanish). Colombia.
  9. ^ "Jeanine Añez Chávez" (in Spanish). vicepresidencia.gob.bo. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
  10. ^ Corz, Carlos (1 October 2012). "La senadora Jeanine Añez surge como primera precandidata opositora a la gobernación de Beni; el MSM apunta a una tercera opción". La Razón. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  11. ^ "Piden informe escrito al TSE por la encuestadora ViaCiencia". Diario Pagina Siete (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  12. ^ BBC News Mundo (ed.). "Jeanine Añez en proceso de ratificación tras renuncia del Presidente, Vicepresidente, Presidente del Senado y Presidente de la Cámara de Diputados de Bolivia". Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  13. ^ "Après la démission d'Evo Morales, les insoumis dénoncent un "coup d'État"". Le Huffington Post. 11 November 2019.
  14. ^ "Evo oficializa su renuncia mientras una opositora se alista para asumir la Presidencia de Bolivia". Primicias (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  15. ^ "Áñez asume la Presidencia de Bolivia ante vacancia y aplicando la sucesión constitucional" [Áñez assumes the Presidency of Bolivia due to vacancy and applying the constitutional succession]. El Deber (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  16. ^ Manetto, Francesco (13 November 2019). "La senadora Jeanine Áñez se proclama presidenta de Bolivia sin quórum en el Parlamento". El País (in Spanish). ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  17. ^ "TCP avala sucesión constitucional en la Presidencia" [TCP uphelds constitutional succession in the Presidency]. El Deber (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 November 2019.
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  19. ^ a b Berlinger, Joshua; Valdés, Gustavo. "Bolivian senator declares herself acting president -- but she may be on shaky ground". CNN. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  20. ^ Ernesto Londoño, Bolivian Leader Evo Morales Steps Down, The New York Times (10 November 2019).
  21. ^ Kay Guerrero & Dakin Andone, Bolivian President Evo Morales steps down following accusations of election fraud, CNN (10 November 2019).
  22. ^ "Presidenta de Senado boliviano denuncia presión a dirigentes". www.telesurtv.net (in Spanish). teleSUR. 13 November 2019. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  23. ^ "Canada will 'support' Bolivian opposition government". CBC News. 14 November 2019.
  24. ^ "El Gobierno y el MAS abren espacios de negociación en vías de la pacificación | EL DEBER". www.eldeber.com.bo (in Spanish). Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  25. ^ "Áñez posesiona cinco nuevos ministros; Yujra besa la wiphala y va por diálogo con El Alto - La Razón". www.la-razon.com. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  26. ^ "Añez posesiona a Carlos Huallpa en Minería y a Virginia Patty Torres en Educación - La Razón". www.la-razon.com. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  27. ^ "Gabinete tuvo rostros indígenas, pero pocos ministros con poder - Diario Pagina Siete". www.paginasiete.bo (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  28. ^ Collyns, Dan (14 November 2019). "Bolivia president's initial indigenous-free cabinet heightens polarization". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  29. ^ "Bolivia's interim leader says Evo Morales can't run in new election". Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  30. ^ Welle (www.dw.com), Deutsche. "Bolivia: Interim president bars Morales from new elections | DW | 15.11.2019". DW.COM. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  31. ^ a b Kurmanaev, Anatoly. "In Bolivia, Interim Leader Sets Conservative, Religious Tone". www.nytimes.com. The New York Times. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  32. ^ "Bolivia: el decreto de Jeanine Áñez para quitarle la "responsabilidad penal" a las Fuerzas Armadas ante las protestas". www.clarin.com. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  33. ^ "Jeanine Áñez anuló el decreto que daba inmunidad penal a los militares". Clarín (in Spanish). 28 November 2019. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  34. ^ "Bolivia unveils anti-terror unit to fight 'threatening' foreign groups". The Straits Times. 4 December 2019.
  35. ^ Jeanine Áñez no postulará a la Presidencia de Bolivia, según el Gobierno interino. Publicado el 5 de diciembre de 2019. Consultado el 8 de diciembre de 2019.
  36. ^ "Government clarifies that Jeanine Áñez will not be a candidate for the Presidency" (in Spanish).
  37. ^ "Government ratifies 22 January holiday and Añez considers management address" (in Spanish).
  38. ^ "Jeanine Áñez confirma candidatura presidencial para las elecciones generales". ATBDigital (in Spanish). 24 January 2020. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  39. ^ "Survey approves of Áñez's term as president, but rejects her candidacy" (in Spanish). 26 January 2020.
  40. ^ "Bolivia after the ouster of Evo Morales, a leftist strongman". 7 March 2020.
  41. ^ "Áñez and Doria Medina seal alliance and become presidential running mates" (in Spanish). 31 January 2020.
  42. ^ "Bolivian Senate head assumes interim presidency; Morales' loyalists object". Reuters. 13 November 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  43. ^ "Bolivian senator declares herself interim president, Morales slams 'coup'". France 24. 13 November 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  44. ^ "Bolivia's new leader, religious conservative Jeanine Añez Chavez, faces daunting challenges". NBC News. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  45. ^ Staff, Our Foreign (14 November 2019). "Bolivia interim leader recognises Guaido as legitimate Venezuelan leader as balance shifts". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  46. ^ "Bolivia: Senator Jeanine Anez declares herself interim president | DW | 12 November 2019". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  47. ^ a b "Narcotráfico: Añez llama "canalla" a Romero y dice que su sobrino es responsable de sus actos". Diario Pagina Siete (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  48. ^ "Senadora Jeanine Añez pide al Gobierno investigar todas carceletas del Beni". eju.tv (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  49. ^ "Jeanine Anez: stand-in president vowing to 'pacify' Bolivia". France 24. 13 November 2019. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  50. ^ a b Collyns, Dan (13 November 2019). "Bolivia's interim president Jeanine Áñez promises new elections". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  51. ^ "Senator Brandishing Giant Bible Takes Over Bolivia Presidency". Bloomberg. 11 November 2019. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  52. ^ https://www.statista.com/statistics/1066911/religious-affiliation-in-bolivia/
  53. ^ https://www.paginasiete.bo/nacional/2019/12/30/las-quince-diferencias-en-el-estilo-de-gobernar-de-jeanine-anez-morales-241950.html
  54. ^ a b "Bolivia reconoce a Juan Guaidó como presidente (E) de Venezuela". Albertonews.com (in Spanish). 13 November 2019. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  55. ^ "La política internacional de Añez: anunció la salida de Bolivia del Alba, de la Unasur y rompió relaciones con Venezuela". Latinomerica Piensa (in Spanish). 15 November 2019.
  56. ^ "Boliva's interim government to ask Venezuelan diplomats to leave the country". Reuters. 15 November 2019.
  57. ^ Sigal, Lucila (22 December 2019). "Bolivia announces entry into Lima Group to resolve Venezuelan crisis". Reuters. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  58. ^ "Bolivia will shelter 200 Venezuelans who fled for "political persecution"". Deutsch Welle (in Spanish). 13 December 2019. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  59. ^ "Feminicides in Bolivia: Stolen Dreams" (in Spanish). 8 March 2020.
  60. ^ "Añez asks to denounce violence against women and children in a march" (in Spanish). 6 February 2020.
  61. ^ "Áñez: 'I will give everything to end gender violence'" (in Spanish). 8 March 2020.
  62. ^ "Violence: Añez launches plan with an investment of $ us 100 million" (in Spanish). 8 March 2020.
  63. ^ a b "Ethnic Rifts in Bolivia Burst Into View With Fall of Evo Morales". The New York Times. 15 November 2019.
  64. ^ a b c d "Could Bolivia's current politics be fueling indigenous discrimination?". PBS NewsHour. 25 November 2019. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  65. ^ Faguet, Jean-Paul (June 2019). "Revolution from Below: Cleavage Displacement and the Collapse of Elite Politics in Bolivia". Politics & Society. 47 (2): 205–250. Politics shifted from a conventional left-right axis of competition, unsuited to Bolivian society, to an ethnic/rural–cosmopolitan/urban axis closely aligned with its major social cleavage.
  66. ^ "Estos son los agresivos tuits contra "originarios" e "indígenas" que borró Jeanine Áñez, la presidenta de Bolivia". Redaccion El Comercio. 15 November 2019.
  67. ^ a b "Bolivia president's initial indigenous-free cabinet heightens polarization". The Guardian. 14 November 2019.
  68. ^ a b "These are the anti-indigenous tweets that Bolivia's interim president deleted". Agence France-Presse (AFP). 16 November 2019.
  69. ^ "Jeanine Añez instruye que junto a la sagrada tricolor se mantenga la wiphala". eju.tv. 12 November 2019.
  70. ^ https://www.eldeber.com.bo/156526_colocan-la-bandera-de-la-flor-del-patuju-junto-a-la-wiphala-y-la-tricolor-en-palacio-quemado
  71. ^ https://radiopatuju.blogspot.com/2012/05/imagenes-por-el-tipnis-no.html
  72. ^ https://www.lostiempos.com/actualidad/pais/20191126/anez-viste-poncho-andino-obsequiado-comunarios
  73. ^ "RESULTADO CORPORACIÓN". Caracol Radio. 26 October 2019. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  74. ^ "Bolivia after the ouster of Evo Morales, a leftist strongman". The Economist. 7 March 2020.

External links[edit]

Political offices
Preceded by
Evo Morales 		Interim President of Bolivia
2019–present 		Incumbent
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