In 2011, Áñez spoke out against the Morales government's approval of a finance bill for the construction of the Villa Tunari-San Ignacio de Moxos highway. In 2010, Áñez 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. Constituent Assembly (2006–2008) īetween 20, Áñez served as a constituent assemblywoman for the drafting of the new constitutional charter, while also working as part of the judiciary. Political career īefore becoming a politician, Áñez was a media presenter and director at Totalvisión. After getting married at the age of 23, she moved to Trinidad, Beni, where she enrolled at the José Ballivián Autonomous University of the Beni and obtained a graduate degree in law and legal sciences. Áñez continued to Santa Cruz, where she took further courses, including computing and some English. At 17, she received her baccalaureate and left San Joaquín to pursue study in La Paz, first at the Bolivian Institute and then at the Abraham Lincoln Institute.
Áñez attended the local school, a girls' school of which her mother later became director. Áñez has recalled, "We grew up with many limitations, with many needs, but nevertheless I had a beautiful childhood, very free." During this time, San Joaquín lacked proper roads, depended on diesel generators for power and rationed its water supply. Her background has been described as poor mestiza and lower-middle-class. She was the youngest of seven children born to two teachers. Áñez was born in the small Amazonian town of San Joaquín in the Department of Beni, Bolivia, on 13 June 1967. 4 Senkata and Sacaba report and charges.In 2021, Áñez was arrested and charged with criminal offences related to the Senkata and Sacaba massacres, two massacres that took place during the first days of her presidency, a move which several international organisations labelled political persecution. MAS candidate Luis Arce won the election and succeeded Áñez as president. She contested the 2020 Bolivian general election for JUNTOS (Together), a large right-wing political alliance, but resigned her candidacy one month before the election.
Áñez's government launched investigations into alleged corruption and misdemeanors by MAS politicians, terminated Bolivia's close links with the socialist governments of Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, and introduced measures to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. After widespread criticism, Áñez repealed the decree. Responding to domestic unrest, Áñez issued a decree removing criminal liability for police and military in dealing with protesters 36 pro-Morales protesters were subsequently killed by security forces. The Plurinational Constitutional Court ruled that Áñez's appointment was constitutional. Áñez was installed as president by a session of the Plurinational Legislative Assembly, the legitimacy of which was opposed by MAS due to its lack of quorum. Following a failed attempt to become Governor of Beni in 2012, she was elected to the role of second vice president of the Senate in 2019.įollowing the 2019 Bolivian general election and the ensuing unrest, Morales compelled by the military and police, resigned and went into exile. Áñez was critical of President Evo Morales's Movement for Socialism (MAS–IPSP) government, for what she perceived as its lack of financial transparency and human rights violations in Bolivia. As a Senator, much of her work focused on women's rights issues, especially tackling violence against women. In 2010, she was elected to the Senate as part of the Plan Progress for Bolivia – National Convergence. Moving into politics, she joined the Democrat Social Movement and served as a member of the Constituent Assembly between 20. Establishing a career in media, she worked as a presenter and eventually became director of Totalvisión. She studied at the Autonomous University of the Beni José Ballivián, obtaining a graduate degree in law and legal sciences. Áñez was born to a lower middle-class mestiza family in San Joaquín, Beni. She is a member of Ahora! (Now), branch of the National Unity Front in Beni. She was Bolivia's second female president after Lidia Gueiler Tejada.
Áñez was previously a senator from the northeastern department of Beni from 2010 to 2019. Jeanine Áñez Chávez ( Spanish pronunciation: born 13 June 1967) is a Bolivian politician and lawyer who served as the 66th President of Bolivia from 2019 to 2020.