Víctor Hugo Cárdenas

Víctor Hugo Cárdenas Conde (born 4 June 1951) is a Bolivian indigenous Aymara[1] activist and politician. He is the leader of the MRTKL party (Revolutionary Liberation Movement Tupaq Katari). He was Vice President of Bolivia from 1993 to 1997 during the first presidency of Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada.[2]

Víctor Hugo Cárdenas
35th Vice President of Bolivia
In office 6 August 1993 – 6 August 1997
President	Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada
Preceded by	Luis Ossio
Succeeded by	Jorge Quiroga
Minister of Education
In office 28 January 2020 – 19 October 2020
President	Jeanine Áñez
Preceded by	Virginia Patty Torres
Succeeded by	Adrián Rubén Quelca
Personal details
Born	(1951-06-04) 4 June 1951 Ingavi Province, Bolivia
Political party	Solidarity Civic Unity

Cárdenas was born in 1951[3] in the Aymara village of Achica Bajo on the shores of Lake Titicaca, the son of a rural school teacher. When he was still a child, his father changed his name from Choquehuanca to Cárdenas, in order to mask his indigenous origin and remove what at the time was an obstacle to his educational and professional advancement. His wife has never renounced the typical dress of the chola, an urbanized woman who retains her indigenous identity.

Cardenas holds a PhD in linguistics and is a university professor.

Cárdenas was an unsuccessful candidate in the 2009 Bolivian presidential election, losing to Evo Morales. He claimed that his ticket was seeking a national consensus rather than division. He was appointed Minister of Education in the government of President Jeanine Añez, overseeing school interruptions and the implementation of virtual education during the coronavirus pandemic. He was dismissed on 19 October due to censorship issued by the Legilsative Assembly.[4]