Andrea Bonilla

For the Ecuadorian long-distance runner, see Andrea Bonilla (runner).

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

Andrea Bonilla
Official portrait, 2017
Member of the Chamber of Deputies from La Paz
In office 18 January 2015 – 3 November 2020
Substitute	Pedro Choque
Preceded by	Julia Figueredo
Succeeded by	Soledad Pérez
Constituency	Party list
Personal details
Born	Celia Andrea Bonilla Gemio (1978-08-04) 4 August 1978 (age 46) Caranavi, La Paz, Bolivia
Political party	Movement for Socialism
Occupation	Agricultural worker politician trade unionist
Signature

Celia Andrea Bonilla Gemio (born 4 August 1978) is a Bolivian agricultural worker, politician, and trade unionist who served as a party-list member of the Chamber of Deputies from La Paz from 2015 to 2020. An ethnic Afro-Bolivian, Bonilla's career got its start in northern La Paz's agrarian trade unions, where she held positions as an executive and women's representative. Her prominence there aided in her nomination on the Movement for Socialism's 2014 party list, through which she was elected to the Chamber of Deputies. As a legislator, Bonilla holds the distinction of being the first Afro-Bolivian woman in Bolivian parliamentary history to serve in the lower chamber. She is, together with Ancelma Perlacios, one of the first two Afro-Bolivian women in parliament, and is one of just three overall, after Jorge Medina.

Early life and career

Andrea Bonilla was born on 4 August 1978 in Caranavi, capital of the namesake province in the tropical Yungas region of La Paz.[1] Bonilla spent much of her early life involved in agricultural work before becoming active in the region's agrarian trade syndicates. She served as executive secretary of a workers' federation in neighboring Teoponte Municipality, later joining the Departmental Federation of Intercultural Communities of La Paz, the leading union representing the department's agricultural settlers.[2] Bonilla held office as the organization's women's representative until around 2014,[3][4] the year she was elected to the Chamber of Deputies.[2]

Chamber of Deputies

Election

Further information: 2014 Bolivian general election

Prominent leaders and representatives of agrarian and rural syndicates had long been a mainstay on the governing Movement for Socialism (MAS)'s electoral lists.[2] In 2014, in particular, women trade unionists of rural backgrounds were given an increased presence, an action that produced the largest caucus of peasant women elected to parliament in Bolivian history. Included among this group was Bonilla,[5] one of three Afro-Bolivian candidates on the ballot that election cycle, alongside Ancelma Perlacios and Mónica Rey.[6]

Tenure

Entering parliament, Bonilla became the first female member of the Afro-Bolivian community to serve in the Chamber of Deputies[2] and was the second overall, after Jorge Medina, who represented La Paz in the previous legislature.[7] She was one of the first two black women to hold a seat in parliament, a distinction she shares with Ancelma Perlacios, who was sworn into the Senate on the same day. They are, together, the most recent Afro-Bolivians represented in the legislature.[8] At the conclusion of their terms, neither were nominated for reelection, be it in the annulled 2019 election or the rerun 2020 contest.[9][10]

Commission assignments

• Constitution, Legislation, and Electoral System Commission
  • Democracy and Electoral System Committee (2018–2019)[11]
• Rural Native Indigenous Peoples and Nations, Cultures, and Interculturality Commission
  • Coca Leaf Committee (2017–2018)[12]
• Human Rights Commission (President: 2019–2020)[13]
  • Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Committee (Secretary: 2016–2017)[14]
• Government, Defense, and Armed Forces Commission
  • Defense, Armed Forces, Borders, and Civil Defense Committee (2015–2016)[15]

Electoral history

Electoral history of Celia Bonilla

Year	Office	Party		Votes			Result	Ref.
				Total	%	P.
2014	Deputy		Movement for Socialism	1,006,433	68.92%	1st	Won	[16][α]
Source: Plurinational Electoral Organ | Electoral Atlas

References

Notes

1. Presented on an electoral list. The data shown represents the share of the vote the entire party/alliance received in that constituency.

Footnotes

1. "Padrón electoral biométrico y militancia: Celia Andrea Bonilla Gemio". yoparticipo.oep.org.bo (in Spanish). La Paz: Plurinational Electoral Organ. 28 July 2022. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
2. Romero Ballivián 2018, p. 105.
3. "Calama, Caranavi recibió Títulos Ejecutoriales del INRA". inra.gob.bo (in Spanish). La Paz: National Institute of Agrarian Reform. 26 September 2013. Archived from the original on 31 January 2023. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
4. "Posesionan a nuevo director del INRA La Paz". inra.gob.bo (in Spanish). La Paz: National Institute of Agrarian Reform. 20 February 2014. Archived from the original on 31 January 2023. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
5. Romero Ballivián 2018, p. 513.
6. Medina, Jorge (2 September 2014). "Proceso de cambio permitió que tres mujeres afrobolivianas sean candidatas a legisladoras". jorgemedina.org (in Spanish). La Paz. Archived from the original on 3 October 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
7. Bustillos Zamorano, Iván (21 December 2015). "Jorge Medina: Militante contra el 'apartakuy'". La Razón (in Spanish). La Paz. Archived from the original on 25 November 2022. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
8. Romero Ballivián 2018, pp. 105, 455.
9. "Lista Final de Candidaturas Habilitadas de las Organizaciones Políticas y Alianzas: Movimiento al Socialismo" (PDF). oep.org.bo (in Spanish). La Paz: Plurinational Electoral Organ. 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 March 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
10. "Lista Final de Candidaturas Habilitadas de las Organizaciones Políticas y Alianzas: Movimiento al Socialismo" (PDF). oep.org.bo (in Spanish). La Paz: Plurinational Electoral Organ. 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 November 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
11. "La Cámara de Diputados conformó sus 12 Comisiones y 37 Comités: Gestión Legislativa 2018–2019". diputados.bo (in Spanish). La Paz: Chamber of Deputies. 1 February 2018. Archived from the original on 14 February 2018. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
12. Chamber of Deputies [@Diputados_Bol] (31 January 2017). "La Cámara de Diputados conformó sus 12 Comisiones y 37 Comités: Gestión Legislativa 2017–2018" (Tweet) (in Spanish). La Paz. Archived from the original on 23 November 2022. Retrieved 22 November 2022 – via Twitter.
13. "La Cámara de Diputados conformó sus 12 Comisiones y 37 Comités: Gestión Legislativa 2019–2020". diptuados.bo (in Spanish). La Paz: Chamber of Deputies. 24 January 2019. Archived from the original on 28 January 2019. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
14. Chamber of Deputies [@Diputados_Bol] (27 January 2016). "La Cámara de Diputados conformó sus 12 Comisiones y 37 Comités: Gestión Legislativa 2016–2017" (Tweet) (in Spanish). La Paz. Archived from the original on 23 November 2022. Retrieved 22 November 2022 – via Twitter.
15. "La Cámara de Diputados conformó sus 12 Comisiones y 37 Comités: Gestión Legislativa 2015–2016". diputados.bo (in Spanish). La Paz: Chamber of Deputies. 29 January 2015. Archived from the original on 17 July 2015. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
16. "Elecciones Generales 2014 | Atlas Electoral". atlaselectoral.oep.org.bo (in Spanish). La Paz: Plurinational Electoral Organ. Archived from the original on 30 December 2022. Retrieved 5 June 2022.

Bibliography

• Romero Ballivián, Salvador (2018). Quiroga Velasco, Camilo Sergio (ed.). Diccionario Biográfico de Parlamentarios 1979–2019 (in Spanish) (2nd ed.). La Paz: Fundación de Apoyo al Parlamento y la Participación Ciudadana; Fundación Konrad Adenauer. p. 105. ISBN 978-99974-0-021-5. OCLC 1050945993 – via ResearchGate.

External links

• Parliamentary profile Office of the Vice President (in Spanish).
• Parliamentary profile Chamber of Deputies (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 7 July 2020.

Chamber of Deputies of Bolivia
Preceded by Julia Figueredo	Member of the Chamber of Deputies from La Paz 2015–2020	Succeeded by Soledad Pérez