Lucía Sosa (politician)

Lucía de Lourdes Sosa Robinzon (born February 6, 1957) is an Ecuadorian teacher, engineer, and politician, who was prefect of Esmeraldas Province from 2005 to 2013 and 2014 to 2018, and was mayor of the city of the same name from 2019 to 2023.

Lucía Sosa
Mayor of Esmeraldas
In office
May 14, 2019 – May 14, 2023
Preceded byLenin Lara
Succeeded byVicko Villacis
Prefect of Esmeraldas Province
In office
May 15, 2014 – December 17, 2018
Preceded byRafael Erazo
Succeeded byLinder Altafuya
In office
January 5, 2005 – July 5, 2013
Preceded byHomero López
Succeeded byRafael Erazo
President of the Commonwealth of Northern Ecuador
In office
June 29, 2017 – May 29, 2018
Vice PresidentPablo Jurado
Preceded byGuido Vargas
Succeeded byPablo Jurado
In office
June 10, 2013 – July 5, 2013
Vice PresidentDiego García Pozo
Preceded byOrlando Grefa
Succeeded byRafael Erazo
Personal details
Born
Lucía de Lourdes Sosa Robinzon

(1957-02-06) February 6, 1957
Esmeraldas Province, Ecuador
Political party
SpouseLuis Antonio Pimentel
Alma materCooperative University of Colombia
OccupationTeacher, engineer, politician

Biography

Lucía Sosa entered the Rafael Palacios de Esmeraldas school, where she completed her primary education. She attended the Margarita Cortez and Luis Vargas Torres Normal schools, obtaining the title of Bachelor in Educational Sciences at the latter. At age 18, she met her future husband, Luis Antonio Pimentel.[1] At the Luis Vargas Torres Technical University, she earned a licentiate in political science and economics,[1] and shortly thereafter, the title of Commercial Engineer at the Cooperative University of Colombia.

She taught for 28 years, becoming known as an innovator.[2] In 2003 she was president of the National Union of Educators.[3] As president and vice president of the Unemployment Fund of the Ecuadorian Magisterium (FCME),[4] she carried out works such as the completion of 250 homes, leading her to advance in politics.

In the 2004 elections, Sosa was the candidate for prefect of Esmeraldas Province for the Democratic People's Movement (MPD). She was elected with 47,579 votes, breaking the hold the Ecuadorian Roldosist Party (PRE) had had on the office for eight years.[2]

While prefect, she gave birth to twins in July 2012.[5]

Prefect of Esmeraldas Province

On January 5, 2005, Lucía Sosa took office as prefect of Esmeraldas.[6] During her term she oversaw public works projects such as roads, bridges, and irrigation systems in the rural sector of the province. She promoted citizen participation in these works and the preparation of the budget.[7][8][9]

She retained her office in the 2009 elections with 89,260 votes, although she would not complete her term after being dismissed by the Constitutional Court and replaced by Rafael Erazo in 2013.[10] During this period, she was part of the formation of the Commonwealth of Northern Ecuador on January 21, 2011. She would assume the presidency of this entity in 2013 and 2017, and its vice presidency in 2012 and 2016 on behalf of Esmeraldas.[11] She opposed the integration of La Concordia into Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas Province.[10]

Sosa was reelected to the prefecture in 2014, despite the repetition of voting in two parishes of Muisne that reported irregularities and were suspended on the day they were scheduled.[12] After the 2016 earthquake, Sosa accused the central government of Rafael Correa of excluding Esmeraldas from reconstruction, while owing $14.6 million to the prefecture.[13]

In 2017, she opposed a proposal that prefects be elected by the rural sector alone, indicating that it was unconstitutional and would bias the budget of prefectures in favor of the rural sector.[14] During incidents on the Ecuadorian border with members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), she indicated that she had asked the Correa regime for more surveillance of the border by monitoring the northern zone by helicopter, but the idea was not acted on by the government.[15]

At the end of 2018, Sosa resigned as prefect in order to participate as a candidate for mayor of the city of Esmeraldas.[16]

Mayor of Esmeraldas

Lucía Sosa was victorious in the 2019 elections, becoming mayor of Esmeraldas for the Popular Unity party with 42,071 votes.[17] She took office on May 14, 2019, vowing to focus on reconstruction of municipal offices which were damaged in the previous month's earthquake.[18]

She was defeated in the 2023 local elections, placing fourth, and was succeeded by Vicko Villacis of the Citizen Revolution Movement.[19]

References
  1. "La docencia y la experiencia marcan la vida de Lucía Sosa" [Teaching and Experience Mark the Life of Lucía Sosa]. La Hora (in Spanish). March 17, 2019. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  2. Zambrano, Ela (November 1, 2004). "Las mujeres ganaron el 4,65% de las alcaldías" [Women Win 4.65% of the Mayorships]. El Universo (in Spanish). Quito. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  3. "UNE deslindó autoría en destrozos" [UNE Disclaims Authorship of Destruction]. El Universo (in Spanish). November 13, 2003. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  4. "Participación femenina crece en gobiernos locales, pero no tanto" [Women's Participation Grows in Local Governments, But Not Very Much] (in Spanish). Explored. October 21, 2004. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  5. "Prefecta dio a luz gemelos" [Prefect Gives Birth to Twins]. La Hora (in Spanish). July 20, 2012. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  6. "Autoridades asumen bajo protesta" [Authorities Take Office Under Protest]. El Universo (in Spanish). January 5, 2005. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  7. "Avanza construcción de puente que cruza el río Bogotá en el cantón San Lorenzo" [Construction of a Bridge Across the Bogotá River in the Canton of San Lorenzo Proceeds] (PDF). Boletín de Prensa (in Spanish). Prefecture of Esmeraldas (295). September 29, 2016. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  8. "Caminos vecinales del cantón San Lorenzo reciben mejoramiento en asfalto" [Neighborhood Roads of San Lorenzo Canton Receive Improvement in Asphalt] (PDF). Boletín de Prensa (in Spanish). Prefecture of Esmeraldas (296). September 29, 2016. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  9. "Prefectura desarrollará análisis y socialización del Presupuesto Participativo" [Prefecture Will Develop Analysis and Socialization of the Participatory Budget] (PDF). Boletín de Prensa (in Spanish). Prefecture of Esmeraldas (298). September 29, 2016. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  10. "Prefecta Lucía Sosa es cesada de su cargo tras 8 años de disputa legal" [Prefect Lucía Sosa is Dismissed From Her Position After 8 Years of Legal Dispute]. El Telégrafo (in Spanish). July 5, 2013. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  11. "Cuatro provincias unidas por el desarrollo" [Four Provinces United for Development]. La Hora (in Spanish). June 11, 2013. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  12. "Lucía Sosa reelecta prefecta de Esmeraldas con 2.500 votos más que Hurtado" [Lucía Sosa Reelected Prefect of Esmeraldas With 2,500 Votes More Than Hurtado] (in Spanish). Ecuavisa. March 24, 2014. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  13. "Prefecta de Esmeraldas asegura que gobierno está excluyendo a su provincia de la reconstrucción" [Prefect of Esmeraldas Says That the Government is Excluding Her Province From Reconstruction]. El Universo (in Spanish). May 9, 2016. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  14. "Lucía Sosa defendió unidad de la provincia" [Lucía Sosa Defends Unity of the Province]. La Hora (in Spanish). Quito. October 18, 2017. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  15. "'10 años de inseguridad en la frontera norte'" ['10 Years of Insecurity on the Northern Border']. La Hora (in Spanish). March 23, 2018. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  16. González, Jorge (January 13, 2019). "Nuevos prefectos por renuncia de titulares de cara a las seccionales" [New Prefects Resign for the Sectionals]. El Comercio (in Spanish). Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  17. "Dos mujeres dirigirán Alcaldía y la Prefectura de Esmeraldas" [Two Women Will Direct the Mayor's Office and the Prefecture of Esmeraldas]. El Universo (in Spanish). Esmeraldas. March 27, 2019. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  18. Freire Adrián, Luis (May 15, 2019). "Lucía Sosa: Se reconstruirá Municipio de Esmeraldas" [Lucía Sosa: Municipality of Esmeraldas will be rebuilt]. El Universo (in Spanish). Esmeraldas. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  19. "Resultados elecciones Ecuador 2023: Vicko Villacís se acerca a la Alcaldía de Esmeraldas". EcuaVisa. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
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