Virginia Velasco Condori (born October 11, 1980) is a Bolivian lawyer and politician. She began her political career as the sixth Minister of Justice and Human Rights under President Evo Morales. Virginia would later become a senator for the department of La Paz, representing it since 2020.[1][2]

Virginia Velasco
Personal details
BornOctober 11, 1980
La Paz, Bolivia
Political partyMovimiento al Socialismo

Biography

edit

Virginia Velasco was born on October 11, 1980 in the town of Caicoma in the municipality of Laja in the province of Los Andes in the department of La Paz . She began her school studies in 1986, graduating with high school in 1997. Subsequently, she continued with her higher education, entering the Law program at the Salesiana University of Bolivia, graduating as a lawyer by profession in 2014.

During her working life, Velasco worked as a lawyer in free practice, venturing into various are as of the profession as a defender of the rights of indigenous women.[3]

She was appointed Minister of Justice by President Evo Morales Ayma in 2015, serving until 2017, when she was succeeded by Héctor Enrique Arce Zaconeta. During her tenure as Minister of Justice, she promoted a series of inclusion policies in justice, as well as substantial changes in Bolivian justice, highlighting during her tenure the justice summit held on June 10, 2016 in the city of Sucre.[4]

2024 Bolivian Coup Attempt

edit

On 26 June 2024, General Juan José Zúñiga, commander of the Bolivian Army, attempted a coup d'état by sending troops to seize Plaza Murillo in La Paz, the country's administrative capital, and storming the Casa Grande del Pueblo, the presidential palace. Condori spoke to reporters outside the Plurinational Legislative Assembly accusing Morales of being behind the coup attempt. She stated that “The guilty party here is Mr. Evo Morales, he is behind this coup d’état".[5]

References

edit
  1. ^ "Virginia Velasco: 'He sentido cómo sufren los litigantes' - La Razón". www.la-razon.com via internet archive (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 6 February 2018. Retrieved 5 February 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  2. ^ "Virginia Velasco Condori". Cámara de Senadores (in Spanish). 2020-11-11. Retrieved 2022-04-02.
  3. ^ "Presidente Evo Morales posesiona a Virginia Velasco como nueva Ministra de Justicia". January 23, 2017. Archived from the original on January 23, 2017. Retrieved June 28, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  4. ^ "Velasco clausura Cumbre de Justicia y promete implementación de propuestas - La Razón". June 12, 2016. Archived from the original on June 12, 2016. Retrieved June 28, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  5. ^ Bernal, Rafael (26 June 2024). "Bolivian president rebuffs attempted coup".