Eva Copa

Mónica Eva Copa Murga (born 3 January 1987) is a Bolivian social worker and politician who served as President of the Senate between 2019 and 2020. She additionally served as a senator for La Paz Department between 2015 and 2020. Copa is a member of the political party Movement for Socialism.[1] She became President of the Senate following the resignation of Adriana Salvatierra and other high-ranking Movement for Socialism officeholders, and the ascension of Jeanine Áñez as President of Bolivia amidst the 2019 Bolivian political crisis.[2][3][4]

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Copa and the second or maternal family name is Murga.
Eva Copa
Eva Copa, November 2019
President of the Senate
In office
14 November 2019 – 3 November 2020
PresidentJeanine Áñez
Preceded byAdriana Salvatierra
Succeeded byAndrónico Rodríguez
Senator for La Paz
In office
19 January 2015 – 3 November 2020
Personal details
Born
Mónica Eva Copa Murga

(1987-01-03) 3 January 1987
El Alto, Bolivia
Political partyMAS-IPSP (2015–2021)
Jallalla La Paz (2021–present)
EducationPublic University of El Alto

Biography

Eva Copa was born on 3 January 1987 in the city of El Alto. Born to artisans, she is the penultimate daughter of 7 children. She graduated from the Public University of El Alto in 2011 with a degree in social work.[5] During her time there, Copa would stand out as a university leader. She started as a delegate for her course, then as a student center leader, and finally as general secretary of the Local University Federation of the city of El Alto.

She was also a "political activist for the defense of the rights of youth and women from El Alto" and an activist of platforms for socialization and awareness of the rights and guarantees of women.[6]

Political career

Senator for La Paz (2015–2020)

In 2014, at age 27, Copa stood as a candidate for the position of senator for the La Paz Department as a member of the Movement for Socialism party. She won the seat in the October general elections, and took office on 18 January 2015 at age 28.

President of the Senate (2019–2020)

The events of the 2019 political crisis resulted in the resignation of President of the Senate Adriana Salvatierra. This resignation was accepted by the Senate on 14 November at which point Eva Copa was elected to be the new President of the Senate.[7]

Coronavirus

On 11 July 2020, it was announced that she had tested positive for COVID-19.[8]

Video controversy

On 29 July 2020, a video alleging to show Eva Copa having intimate relations with her partner began to spread across social networks.[9] Copa denied that she was the women in the video stating, "with a false video they tried to stain my honor and personal dignity." In a message posted on Twitter, Copa demanded that Government Minister Arturo Murillo find those responsible for the montage of said video. Days later, a young woman appeared in the media, who declared herself the true author.

On 3 November 2020, following the 2020 general election, Copa closed the 2015-2020 assembly and presented the new assembly with their credentials.[10] She was replaced as President of the Senate by Cochabamba Senator Andrónico Rodríguez.

Expulsion from MAS

Following her tenure in the Senate, Copa was expected to be the MAS candidate for Mayor of El Alto in the 2021 Bolivian regional elections.[11] Despite community support, MAS leadership in El Alto nominated Zacarías Maquera as their candidate.[12] Nevertheless, Copa opted to present herself as a candidate anyway, registering as a member of the Jallalla La Paz group. As a result on 30 December 2020, MAS leadership voted to expel Copa from the party. Referring to her candidacy, Copa clarified that though she is "entering the game with another color," she "will always continue to be on the left" and that "MAS will always be in my heart." Following this, a group of youth members of MAS in El Alto announced their break with the party to support Copa.[12]

As of 26 January 2021, Copa led in electoral preference by 66.4%.[13] Copa responded to this with "great optimism" but denounced the existence of a "select group" in MAS, which did not allow new leaders to emerge. Two days later, officials who worked for the office of the Vice Presidency claimed that "an interrogation is being carried out" in order to remove people who supported Eva Copa from their positions.[14] These charges were denied by the Vice Presidency office which claimed that "everything is normal" and that "there are no layoffs."

References
  1. "Mónica Eva Copa Murga" (in Spanish). Senate of Bolivia. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  2. "Bolivia's warring parties strike deal for new elections to end deadly unrest". France24. 15 November 2019.
  3. "Bolivia's Senate votes to appoint new chamber head, deputies". Reuters. 14 November 2019.
  4. "Mónica Eva Copa Murga asume la presidencia de la Cámara de Senadores" (in Spanish). 14 November 2019.
  5. "Eva Copa Murga, la aymara que no le tiene miedo a nada". www.paginasiete.bo (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-12-08.
  6. "Mónica Eva Copa Murga | Cámara de Senadores". web.archive.org. 2020-11-04. Retrieved 2020-12-08.
  7. Mendoza, Luz. "Eva Copa Murga: la millenial alteña que apostó por pacificar el país". eju.tv (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-12-08.
  8. "Eva Copa, presidente del Senado de Bolivia, también tiene coronavirus". infobae (in Spanish). 11 July 2020.
  9. "Aparece mujer que dice ser quien se ve en el video íntimo, ruega que no se difunda más". Correo del Sur (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-12-08.
  10. "Copa clausurará el 3 de noviembre el periodo legislativo que se inició en 2015". La Razón | Noticias de Bolivia y el Mundo. Retrieved 2020-12-08.
  11. Press, Europa (2021-01-01). "El MAS expulsa a la expresidenta del Senado boliviano Eva Copa". www.europapress.es. Retrieved 2021-01-04.
  12. Press, Europa (2021-01-01). "El MAS expulsa a la expresidenta del Senado boliviano Eva Copa". www.europapress.es. Retrieved 2021-01-04.
  13. "Eva Copa: "No creo que me dejen volver al MAS, yo he sido muy crítica" | EL DEBER". eldeber.com.bo (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-01-28.
  14. "Denuncian que personal que trabajó con Eva Copa es retirado de Vicepresidencia". www.paginasiete.bo (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-01-28.
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