Gardenia Arauz

María Gardenia Arauz Menacho (born 13 March 1972) is a Bolivian politician and trade unionist who served as a substitute member of the Chamber of Deputies from Beni, representing circumscription 63 from 2010 to 2014.

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

Gardenia Arauz
Headshot of Gardenia Arauz
Official portrait, 2014
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
from Beni circumscription 63
In office
25 January 2010 – 14 July 2014
DeputyAntonio Molina
Preceded byElvio Gil
Succeeded byCircumscription abolished
Constituency
Personal details
Born
María Gardenia Arauz Menacho

(1972-03-13) 13 March 1972
San Borja, Beni, Bolivia
Political partyThird System Movement (2020–2021)
Other political
affiliations
Occupation
  • Politician
  • trade unionist

Born in San Borja, Arauz played an active role in union organizing around the Ballivián Province, culminating in her election as head of the region's peasants' federation in 2008. The wide-ranging alliance between the Movement for Socialism and the country's social movement organizations soon led her to join the party, and in 2009, she was elected to the Chamber of Deputies in representation of it.

In the course of her tenure, Arauz grew disaffected by the stringent leadership structure of the ruling party. Together with other "freethinking" legislators, she formed her own front, Freedom of Though for Bolivia. As part of its alliance with the Fearless Movement, Arauz sought reelection in 2014 but failed to achieve it. A subsequent bid for deputy governor of the Ballivián Province in 2021 also did not pan out.

Early life and career

Gardenia Arauz was born on 13 March 1972 in San Borja, Beni, to Aquiles Arauz Guzmán and Oralea Menacho Moreno.[1] Arauz completed her primary and secondary schooling in her home city before traveling to La Paz to pursue higher education;[2]: 0:56  she attended three years of dentistry studies but ultimately left university without completing a degree. On her return to San Borja, she set up shop as a hairdresser.[1]

Arauz began taking part in local associative and union activities in the Ballivián Province around 2005; she held membership in the province's rice producers association and was elected to chair its peasants' federation in 2008.[1]

Chamber of Deputies

Election
Further information: 2009 Bolivian general election

Arauz's beginnings in union organizing coincided with the rise to government of the Movement for Socialism (MAS-IPSP) backed by trade syndicates and social movement organizations.[3] The organic alliance between these organized groups and the party led many individuals to hold dual positions within both; Arauz, for example, chaired the MAS's Commission on Organizations.[1]

In 2009, with the MAS, Arauz was nominated to contest a seat in the Chamber of Deputies, accompanying Antonio Molina as his substitute.[4] The pair ran to represent circumscription 63 of Beni, a district encompassing large portions of the Arauz's native Ballivián Province, as well as sections of neighboring Vaca Díez and Yacuma.[5] In a closely contested race, they narrowly won the election.[6]

Tenure

Over the course of her term, the lack of individual autonomy given by the MAS to its parliamentarians to conduct legislative work led Arauz to grow critical of the party. In 2012, she denounced that, the previous year, the then-president of the lower chamber, Héctor Arce, had attempted to dissuade her from inspecting alleged tax evasion at the state-run Manquiri Mining Company. In retaliation for her non-compliance, she was referred to the Ethics Commission, where a disciplinary process for "undue oversight" was opened against her. The incident culminated in Arauz's decision to quit the party.[7][8]

In defecting, Arauz joined a sizable number of disaffected lawmakers that split from the ruling party throughout 2010–2015 legislative term—both in the Senate and Chamber of Deputies.[9][10] Specifically, Arauz was among the faction of self-styled "freethinkers" that consolidated around the leadership of Rebeca Delgado. The group formalized its status in 2014 with the formation of a new party, Freedom of Though for Bolivia (LPB),[11] which aligned itself with another ex-MAS ally, the Fearless Movement (MSM), for that year's general election.[12] The pact garnered LPB's members select candidacies on the MSM's parliamentary lists; Arauz was given the top slot on its slate of Chamber of Deputies candidates in Beni,[13][14] for which she resigned her seat as a substitute.[15] In a highly polarized electoral climate, the MSM failed to find its footing among the electorate; Arauz's reelection bid fell through, accompanying a nationwide underperformance for the party, which culminated in its dissolution as a legally-recognized entity.[16]

Commission assignments
  • Territorial Organization of the State and Autonomies Commission (2014)[17]
  • Education and Health Commission
    • Health, Sports, and Recreation Committee (2010–2011)[18]
  • Human Rights Commission
    • Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Committee (2012–2013)[19]
  • Amazon Region, Land, Territory, Water, Natural Resources, and Environment Commission (2011–2012, 2013–2014)[20][21]

Later political career

Following her 2014 defeat, Arauz took a brief hiatus from politics, returning in 2021 to contest local office. She ran to serve as deputy governor of her home Ballivián Province, attaining the nomination of the Third System Movement (MTS) to do so.[2] The party, born of a separate faction of MAS dissidents led by Félix Patzi,[22] achieved important victories in the Amazonian departments of Beni and Pando by "loaning" its acronym to individually popular local candidates.[23] Nevertheless, Arauz was not among those victors.[§]

Electoral history
Electoral history of Gardenia Arauz
Year Office Party Alliance Votes Result Ref.
Total  % P.
2009 Substitute deputy Movement for Socialism Does not appear 9,980 46.87% 1st Won [24]
2014 Deputy Freedom of Thought Fearless Movement 2,567 1.44% 4th Lost [25][lower-greek 1]
2021 Deputy governor Third System Movement Does not appear 3,925 15.20% 3rd Lost [26][27]
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. Vargas & Villavicencio 2014, p. 173.
  2. Villanueva, Betty (9 February 2021). "Entrevista: Gardenia Arauz, candidata a la subgobernación de la Provincia Ballivián" [Interview: Gardenia Arauz, Candidate for Deputy Governor of the Ballivián Province] (in Spanish). San Borja: Borjana de Televisión. Archived from the original on 20 April 2023. Retrieved 20 April 2023 – via Facebook.
  3. Coca 2018, p. 74.
  4. Vargas & Villavicencio 2014, pp. 103, 173.
  5. Vargas & Villavicencio 2014, p. 103.
  6. Romero Ballivián 2018, p. 379.
  7. "Diputada denuncia a Héctor Arce" [Lawmaker Denounces Héctor Arce]. Los Tiempos (in Spanish). Cochabmaba. 6 December 2012. Archived from the original on 21 April 2023. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
  8. "Procurador habría impedido fiscalizar minera Manquiri" [Attorney General Impeded Oversight of the Manquiri Mining Company]. Los Tiempos (in Spanish). Cochabamba. 12 April 2014. Archived from the original on 21 April 2023. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
  9. "Creen que el MAS puede perder sus 2/3" [Opponents Believe That the MAS Could Lose Its Two-Thirds]. Los Tiempos (in Spanish). Cochabamba. 9 May 2013. Archived from the original on 26 September 2022. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
  10. "Cinco asambleístas del MAS se reunieron con disidentes" [Six MAS Assemblymen Met with Dissidents]. Opinión (in Spanish). Cochabamba. 11 June 2013. Archived from the original on 26 September 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  11. Coca 2018, p. 83.
  12. Rojas, Christian (2 June 2014). "Del Granado y Rebeca Delgado sellan acuerdo para las presidenciales" [Del Granado and Rebeca Delgado Seal Agreement for the Presidential Election] (in Spanish). La Paz. Oxígeno.bo. Archived from the original on 19 April 2023. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
  13. "Comicios: Cinco partidos presentan 98 candidatos" [Elections: Five Parties Present 98 Candidates]. La Palabra del Beni (in Spanish). Trinidad. 16 July 2014. p. 7. Archived from the original on 21 April 2023. Retrieved 21 April 2023 – via issuu.
  14. "MSM presenta candidatos para elecciones generales" [MSM Presents General Election Candidates]. La Palabra del Beni (in Spanish). Trinidad. 2 August 2014. p. 6. Archived from the original on 21 April 2023. Retrieved 21 April 2023 – via issuu.
  15. "Elecciones: La Cámara de Diputados acepta la renuncia de 14 opositores y 10 oficialistas" [Elections: The Chamber of Deputies Accepts the Resignations of 14 Opposition and 10 Ruling Party Legislators] (in Spanish). La Paz. Oxígeno.bo. 14 July 2014. Archived from the original on 26 September 2020. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  16. Romero Ballivián 2018, pp. 192–193.
  17. Vargas & Villavicencio 2014, p. 308.
  18. Vargas & Villavicencio 2014, p. 319.
  19. "Comisiones y Comités: Periodo Legislativo 2012–2013". diputados.bo (in Spanish). Chamber of Deputies. Archived from the original on 5 February 2012. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  20. "Comisiones y Comités: Periodo Legislativo 2011–2012". diputados.bo (in Spanish). La Paz: Chamber of Deputies. Archived from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  21. Vargas & Villavicencio 2014, p. 315.
  22. Coca 2018, p. 122–124.
  23. Zegada & Arequipa Azurduy 2022, p. 102.
  24. "Elecciones Generales 2009 | Atlas Electoral". atlaselectoral.oep.org.bo (in Spanish). La Paz: Plurinational Electoral Organ. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  25. "Elecciones Generales 2014 | Atlas Electoral". atlaselectoral.oep.org.bo (in Spanish). La Paz: Plurinational Electoral Organ. Archived from the original on 31 January 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  26. "Elección de Subgobernadores en El Beni 2021 | Atlas Electoral". atlaselectoral.oep.org.bo (in Spanish). La Paz: Plurinational Electoral Organ. Archived from the original on 20 April 2023. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  27. "Publicación de Resultados Electorales, Departamento del Beni: Elección de Autoridades Políticas Departamentales, Regionales y Municipales 2021" (PDF). beni.oep.org.bo. Beni Departmental Electoral Tribunal. 2021. p. 3. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 March 2022. Retrieved 20 April 2023.

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