Gabriela Rodríguez de Bukele

Gabriela Roberta Rodríguez de Bukele[1] (born Gabriela Roberta Rodríguez Perezalonso;[2] 31 March 1985) is a Salvadoran educator, prenatal psychologist and the current first lady of El Salvador, as the wife of the 46th President of El Salvador Nayib Bukele. She is also a professional ballet dancer and is part of the dance company Fundación Ballet de El Salvador.

This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Rodríguez the second or maternal family name is Perezalonso, and for married women, the optional marital name is de Bukele.

Gabriela Roberta Rodríguez de Bukele
First Lady of El Salvador
Assumed role
1 June 2019
PresidentNayib Bukele
Preceded byMargarita Villalta de Sánchez
Personal details
Born
Gabriela Roberta Rodríguez Perezalonso

(1985-03-31) 31 March 1985
San Salvador, El Salvador
CitizenshipSalvadoran
Political partyNuevas Ideas
Spouse(s)
​
(m. 2014)​
ChildrenLayla Bukele

Rodríguez was born in San Salvador. She holds a doctorate in prenatal psychology and founded PrePare, the first center for prenatal teaching in El Salvador, in October 2010. She married Bukele in 2014 and served as Secretary for Women during his tenure as Mayor of San Salvador (2015–2018), when she helped to create projects supporting women's rights and culture. Rodríguez founded the San Salvador Ballet group during her time as a Secretary for Women in San Salvador.

After Bukele's victory at the 2019 Salvadoran presidential election, Rodríguez was involved in the selection process for the government's Cabinet.

Early life

Gabriela Roberta Rodríguez Perezalonso[2] was born on 31 March 1985 in San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador.[3] She is the youngest of four daughters and her husband has claimed she has Sephardic Jewish ancestry.[4][5][6] Her father is José Roberto Rodríguez Trabanino,[3][4] a Salvadoran investor,[7] while her mother, Arena Perezalonso de Rodríguez,[3][4][8] is a Nicaraguan who served as a member of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in El Salvador.[9][10][11] She showed an interest in ballet at an early age and joined the dance company Fundación Ballet de El Salvador.[8]

Career
Rodríguez with her husband Nayib Bukele at a government event in 2014.

Rodríguez holds a doctorate in prenatal psychology, and is the first person in El Salvador with that title.[12] She founded PrePare in October 2010, the country's first center of prenatal teaching, of which she is the director.[8][13] Rodríguez is also the regional representative to the Association For Prenatal And Perinatal Psychology And Health (APPPAH).[14]

Involvement in politics

Rodríguez has worked closely with her husband during his political career. Bukele described her in 2016 as his partner and said, "Whoever votes for me for a public office knows that she comes with the package. That is how we are, a team, since twelve years ago, when we first met".[15] During Bukele's mayoralty of San Salvador with the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) party (2015–2018), Rodríguez served ad honorem[16] as the Municipal Secretary for Women.[14][17][18] While in this role, she helped create the first Culture Secretariat of the Mayoralty of San Salvador, the San Salvador Ballet group[19] and the Secretariat for Women.[15]

After being expelled from the FMLN on 10 October 2017,[20] Bukele founded a new political party called Nuevas Ideas,[21] and ran for the presidency of El Salvador as a candidate of the Grand Alliance for National Unity (GANA).[22] With Nuevas Ideas, Rodríguez founded and became the director of the program Bienestar Social in 2018.[14][23] After Bukele's victory at the 2019 Salvadoran presidential election, Rodríguez became involved in the selection of the Cabinet, mostly for the social, health and education portfolios. She was also responsible for the education bills proposed by the government. During and after the electoral campaign, Rodríguez refused to give interviews to the national media.[24] Her government positions and those of Bukele's relatives, have been criticized by Salvadoran publications such as La Prensa Gráfica and El Faro,[15][24] which have accused the president of nepotism.[25]

Personal life

Rodríguez is a professional ballet dancer and part of the dance company Fundación Ballet of El Salvador.[18][26] She began dating Bukele in 2004[17] and they married on 6 December 2014 in a private ceremony in El Boquerón, San Salvador.[27][28] She announced her pregnancy in January 2019,[17][18] days before Bukele won the presidential elections.[29] Their first daughter was born on 15 August 2019.[30]

References
  1. "Número 176" (PDF) (in Spanish). Diario Oficial. Retrieved 27 December 2019. Read page 9
  2. "Corte no envía a juicio civil a Nayib Bukele". El Diario de Hoy (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  3. "Nace Layla hija del Presidente Nayib Bukele" (in Spanish). República. Archived from the original on 14 September 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  4. "Primera Dama" (in Spanish). Presidencia of El Salvador. Archived from the original on 11 December 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  5. "His dad was an imam, his wife has Jewish roots: Meet El Salvador's new leader". Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 27 June 2019. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  6. "El Salvador's new President is a Palestinian and pro-Israel". Christians United for Israel. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  7. "Carteles de matrículas" (PDF) (in Spanish). Centro Nacional de Registros. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 November 2011. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  8. "Gabriela Rodríguez de Bukele: todo sobre la primera dama de El Salvador" (in Spanish). MSN. Archived from the original on 26 December 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  9. "Cámara Comercio contra 'paquete'" (PDF). El Diario de Hoy (in Spanish). 11 January 1986. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  10. "Memoria de labores 2014" (in Spanish). Cámara de Comercio e Industria de El Salvador. Archived from the original on 18 October 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2019. Download 'Memoria de Labores 2014'
  11. "Inaugúrase 'Consuma 92' con nueva imagen en tiempos de paz" (PDF). La Prensa Gráfica (in Spanish). 1 August 1992. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  12. "Gabriela de Bukele: UNICEF será un aliado estratégico para cumplir nuestras políticas sociales" (in Spanish). Última Hora. Archived from the original on 15 September 2018. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  13. "PrePare: Conócenos" (in Spanish). PrePare. Archived from the original on 2 November 2018. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  14. "¿Quién es Nayib Bukele?" (in Spanish). La Prensa de Los Ángeles. Archived from the original on 26 December 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2019. Read page 8
  15. "Carta de Nayib Bukele a José Roberto Dutriz y LPG" (in Spanish). Porttada. Archived from the original on 10 June 2017. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  16. "Familiares de Bukele sin dar su patrimonio". El Mundo (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 17 February 2019. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  17. "¿Quién es Gabriela Rodríguez de Bukele, la nueva primera dama de El Salvador?" (in Spanish). Notimérica. Archived from the original on 17 May 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  18. "¿Quién es Gabriela Rodríguez de Bukele y por qué vas a querer conocerla?" (in Spanish). La Verdad. Archived from the original on 26 December 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  19. "Ballet de San Salvador se presenta gratis hoy en el MUNA". Última Hora. Archived from the original on 26 December 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  20. "FMLN expulsa a Bukele del partido". El Diario de Hoy (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 11 October 2017. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  21. "Nuevas Ideas será inscrito como partido político por el TSE". El Diario de Hoy (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  22. "Nayib Bukele gana las elecciones en El Salvador" (in Spanish). CNN en Español. Archived from the original on 2 November 2019. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  23. "Programas de Bienestar Social de Nuevas Ideas son aplaudidos por la población" (in Spanish). Última Hora. Archived from the original on 26 December 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  24. "Amigos, socios y parientes en el nuevo Gobierno". El Faro (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 27 November 2019. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  25. "Señalamientos de nepotismo en gabinete de presidente Bukele". La Prensa Gráfica (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 15 July 2019. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  26. "Periódico estadounidense Washington Hispanic destaca participación de Ballet San Salvador" (in Spanish). Última Hora. Archived from the original on 21 October 2017. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  27. "Fotos: Boda de Nayib y Gabriela" (in Spanish). El Blog. Archived from the original on 24 December 2014. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  28. "Medios destacan boda Bukele-Rodríguez" (in Spanish). News Millenium. Archived from the original on 26 December 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  29. "Gabriela de Bukele, una primera dama 'millenial' para El Salvador" (in Spanish). Mujer Hoy. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  30. "Presidente Bukele anuncia el nacimiento de su hija Layla". El Mundo (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 22 September 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
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