Cornelia Flores

Cornelia Flores
Official portrait, 2014
Member of the Chamber of Deputies from Oruro's 34th constituency
Substitute
In office 25 January 2010 – 18 January 2015
Deputy	Ever Moya
Preceded by	Gloria Ticlla
Succeeded by	Constituency abolished
Constituency	Cercado
Member of the Constituent Assembly from Oruro's 34th constituency
In office 3 August 2006 – 14 December 2007
Constituency	Cercado
Personal details
Born	Cornelia Flores Choque (1962-09-16) 16 September 1962 Micayani, Oruro, Bolivia
Party	Movement Toward Socialism
Occupation	Politician trade unionist
Signature

Cornelia Flores Choque (born 16 September 1962) is a Bolivian politician and trade unionist who represented Oruro's 34th constituency in the Constituent Assembly from 2006 to 2007 and as a substitute in the Chamber of Deputies from 2010 to 2015. Flores was raised in rural Cercado Province and headed her local branch of the Bartolina Sisa Federation. In 2006 and 2009, she was elected through the organization's alliance with the Movement Toward Socialism.

Early life and trade unionism

Cornelia Flores was born on 16 September 1962 in Micayani, a small community in the Cercado Province of Oruro Department. She is the daughter of Miguel Flores Colque and Ascencia Choque Mamani, and is of indigenous Quechua origin. Flores attended school only through the fifth grade, receiving instruction in Aymara and Quechua; she has indicated that Spanish was not her first language.

Raised in rural poverty, Flores worked in agriculture and tended livestock. She emerged as a trade union leader in Micayani and was also active in women's social movement organizations. Prior to 2007, she spent eight years leading provincial women's organizations, including as local general secretary of the Bartolina Sisa Federation, the national peasant women's union, in Paria Municipality.

Constituent Assembly

Election

Further information: 2006 Bolivian Constituent Assembly election

In politics, the Bartolinas affiliated with the Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) and received from it a share of representation in government and the legislature. In the run-up to the Constituent Assembly, the federation lobbied for and secured a gender quota in candidate lists; as a result, the Bartolinas attained a small bench of roughly eighteen seats within the MAS majority. Flores was elected to represent Oruro's 34th constituency.

Tenure

Like other assembly members, Flores took office on 3 August 2006, and her term was extended from 6 August to 14 December 2007 due to delays in drafting the new constitution. She became a member of the Education and Interculturality Commission on 19 January 2007, after a lengthy period of deadlock. In that role, she promoted the recognition of indigenous cultures and languages and advocated the adoption of intercultural bilingual education. "We must defend both languages; it cannot be just Aymara and Quechua alone. Native languages must come first [in their regions], followed by Spanish", she stated.

Commission assignments

• Education and Interculturality Commission
  • Culture and Sports Committee (2007)

Chamber of Deputies

Election

Further information: 2009 Bolivian general election

Entering 2009, the Bartolinas had difficulty pressuring for gender parity on the MAS candidate slate, as mandated by law. Particularly in single-member districts, male candidates took up most principal seats. In the 34th constituency, the party nominated Ever Moya, with Flores as his substitute. The MAS swept the vote in Oruro, and their ticket was elected to the Chamber of Deputies.

Tenure

Flores was sworn in alongside other substitutes on 25 January 2010, and shared commission and committee assignments with Moya. During her term, she served as vice president of Oruro's legislative delegation, and sat on its Land, Territory, and Environment Commission. In legislation, she performed oversight on regional public works, and presented projects for rural electrification, potable water, and the conservation of Paria's colonial church, a historic sixteenth-century building on the verge of collapse.

Commission assignments

• Plural Justice, Prosecutor's Office, and Legal Defense of the State Commission
  • Ordinary Jurisdiction and Magistracy Council Committee (2010–2011)
  • Indigenous Native Peasant Jurisdiction Committee (2014–2015)
• Human Rights Commission (President: 2013–2014)
  • Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Committee (Secretary: 2011–2012)
• Constitution, Legislation, and Electoral System Commission
  • Constitutional Review and Legislative Harmonization Committee (2012–2013)

Electoral history

Electoral history of Cornelia Flroes

Year	Office		Party		Votes			Result	Ref.
					Total	%	P.
2006	Constituent	C-34		Movement Toward Socialism	23,906	66.12	1st	Won
2009	Deputies			Movement Toward Socialism	33,774	75.33	1st	Won
Source: Plurinational Electoral Organ | Electoral Atlas

References

Works cited

Online sources

• "Comisiones y Comités: Período Legislativo 2011–2012". diputados.bo (in Spanish). La Paz: Cámara de Diputados del Estado Plurinacional. Archived from the original on 26 May 2011.
• "Comisiones y Comités: Período Legislativo 2012–2013". diputados.bo (in Spanish). La Paz: Cámara de Diputados del Estado Plurinacional. Archived from the original on 5 February 2012.
• "Elecciones Constituyentes 2006 | Atlas Electoral". atlaselectoral.oep.org.bo (in Spanish). La Paz: Órgano Electoral Plurinacional.
• "Elecciones Generales 2009 | Atlas Electoral". atlaselectoral.oep.org.bo (in Spanish). La Paz: Órgano Electoral Plurinacional.

News publications

• "Constituyente aprueba en plenaria ampliación hasta el 14 de diciembre" [Constituent Assembly Approves Extension Until 14 December in Plenary Session]. Correo del Sur (in Spanish). Sucre. 3 July 2007. Archived from the original on 10 February 2008.
• "El MAS consigue trece constituyentes de los veinte en juego" [The MAS Wins Thirteen of Twenty Constituent Assembly Seats Up for Grabs]. La Razón (in Spanish). La Paz. 3 July 2006. Archived from the original on 22 May 2008.
• "Evo Morales consolida 68% de votos en el departamento" [Evo Morales Consolidates 68% of the Vote in the Department]. La Patria (in Spanish). Oruro. 8 December 2009. p. 1. Archived from the original on 26 October 2019.
• "Iglesia colonial de Paria en peligro de derrumbarse" [Colonial Church of Paria in Danger of Collapse]. El Diario (in Spanish). La Paz. 17 November 2015. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015.
• "La Asamblea comienza a perfilar el futuro Estado" [The Assembly Begins to Shape the Future State]. La Prensa (in Spanish). La Paz. 22 January 2007. Archived from the original on 2 April 2007.
• "Legisladores aprobarán reglamento de debates" [Lawmakers to Approve Debate Rules]. Los Tiempos (in Spanish). Cochabamba. 26 January 2010. Archived from the original on 25 October 2022.
• "MAS y PODEMOS se entienden para elegir la directiva" [MAS and PODEMOS Reach Understanding to Elect Directorate]. La Razón (in Spanish). La Paz. 4 August 2006. Archived from the original on 2 November 2007.
• "Partidos opositores al MAS llegan disminuidos a elecciones" [Parties Opposed to the MAS Arrive at the Elections Weakened]. La Patria (in Spanish). Oruro. 25 November 2009. p. 4. Archived from the original on 27 May 2016.

Books and encyclopedias

• Dávila Torres, Amanda, ed. (2007). Mujeres constituyentes (in Spanish). La Paz: Viceministerio de Género; PADEP/GTZ. p. 19. OCLC 263024854.
• Jáuregui Jinés, Luciana (2019). Las Bartolinas y sus tres ojos: Historia, identidad y conflicto social (in Spanish). La Paz: Vicepresidencia del Estado Plurinacional. OCLC 1142815054.
• Pinto Quintanilla, Juan Carlos, ed. (2011). Enciclopedia histórica documental del proceso constituyente boliviano (in Spanish). Vol. III: Informes por comisión. La Paz: Vicepresidencia del Estado Plurinacional. OCLC 876376594.
• Vargas Luna, María Elena; Villavicencio Arancibia, Jois Sarelly, eds. (2014). Primera Asamblea Legislativa Plurinacional de Bolivia, Cámara de Diputados: Diccionario biográfico, diputadas y diputados titulares y suplentes (2010–2015) (in Spanish). La Paz: Cámara de Diputados del Estado Plurinacional. p. 198. OCLC 961105285.

External links

• Parliament profile Office of the Vice President (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 26 August 2016.