Andrónico Rodríguez

Andrónico Rodríguez Ledezma (born 11 November 1988) is a Bolivian political scientist, cocalero, and politician serving as President of the Senate of Bolivia since 3 November 2020.[1] In 2018, he was elected Vice President of the Six Coca Federations of the Tropic of Cochabamba.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Rodríguez and the second or maternal family name is Ledezma.

Andrónico Rodríguez
President of the Senate
Assumed office
3 November 2020
PresidentLuis Arce
Preceded byEva Copa
Senator for Cochabamba
Assumed office
3 November 2020
Personal details
Born
Andrónico Rodríguez Ledezma

(1988-11-11) 11 November 1988
Entre Ríos, Bolivia
Political partyMAS-IPSP
EducationUniversity of San Simón

Biography

Andrónico Rodríguez was born on 11 November 1988. He is the son of a coca grower from a union in Cochabamba. He studied political science at the University of San Simón, graduating as a political scientist in 2011 at the age of 23. He joined the university board of the Six Coca Federations, becoming their president in 2012. In 2017, he became Secretary of Sports of the same institution and in September 2018 he was elected its vice president.[2]

Political career

In the general elections of October 2019, Rodríguez stood as a candidate for senator for Cochabamba as a member of the Movement for Socialism party. His broad appeal and frequent presence next to President Evo Morales led him to be seen by many as a possible successor to Morales. Rodríguez often appeared in public events next to the president and even hosted the inauguration of Morales' 2019 presidential campaign in Chimore 18 May.[3]

Following the resignation of Morales on 10 November 2019, Rodríguez called for mobilizations demanding the fulfillment of his term until 22 January 2020.

After the resignation of Evo Morales to the presidency of Bolivia, on November 10, 2019, Andrónico Rodríguez called for mobilizations demanding the fulfillment of his mandate until January 22, 2020.

MAS pre-candidate for the 2020 election

At the beginning of December 2019, Andrónico Rodríguez was considered as a possible candidate for the presidency by MAS, along with other party figures.[4][5]  The cocalero expressed his willingness to run if he had the backing of MAS and Morales, but said he considered that it was necessary to amend the many mistakes made by MAS and to identify errors made by the party and look at them "with great responsibility and self-criticism."

Also in December, two departmental members of MAS proposed David Choquehuanca and Andrónico Rodríguez as candidates as a possible pairing for the 2020 general election.[6] Despite the fact Rodríguez had not been definitively nominated as a presidential candidate for MAS, voting intention polls indicated a 23% lead for him over former president Carlos Mesa at 21%.[7] Ultimately, however, former Minister of Economy Luis Arce was nominated as the MAS party candidate.

President of the Senate (2020–present)

In the 18 October general elections, Rodríguez was elected Senator for Cochabamba. Rodríguez took office on 3 November 2020 also succeeding Evo Copa as President of the Senate.[8] As President of the Senate, he called for unity among Bolivians stating, "We have to enter into a reconciliation process."[9] On 7 December, Rodríguez, along with former president Evo Morales, participated in the reopening of the Bolivian embassy in Venezuela following the restoration of diplomatic relations.[10]

Following controversy within MAS surrounding the choosing of candidates for the 2021 regional elections, Rodríguez suggested that in future electoral processes the party should consider holding primary elections. "I think we need other modalities or methods of election, it is necessarily important to promote the primaries within the MAS because of the amount of militants it currently has."[11]

References
  1. "Andrónico Rodríguez Ledezma". Cámara de Senadores (in Spanish). 16 October 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  2. "Quién es el líder cocalero boliviano al que muchos señalan como el sucesor de Evo Morales". RT en Español (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  3. "Bolivia. Andronico Rodríguez: joven dirigente cocalero candidato a Senador". Resumen Latinoamericano (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  4. "Andrónico, dos exministros y el "Gringo" Gonzales figuran como posibles candidatos del MAS". Correo del Sur (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  5. "¿Andrónico, candidato a la presidencia?". www.paginasiete.bo (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  6. "Choquehuanca y Rodríguez suman apoyo para formar el binomio del MAS - La Razón". web.archive.org. 20 December 2019. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  7. "Andrónico y Mesa lideran intención de voto; Camacho y Pumari caen". www.paginasiete.bo (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  8. Bolivia, Opinión. "Andrónico Rodríguez: "Es tiempo de curar las heridas y tomar en cuenta a la oposición"". Opinión Bolivia (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  9. "Andrónico Rodríguez hace eco del llamado a la reconciliación". www.paginasiete.bo (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  10. "Evo y Andrónico asisten a reapertura de la Embajada de Bolivia en Venezuela". www.paginasiete.bo (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  11. Bolivia, Opinión. "Andrónico sugiere elecciones primarias al interior del MAS para futuras elecciones". Opinión Bolivia (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 January 2021.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.