Early life and education

Ana María Sempértegui was born on 15 December 1958 in Potosí to a family of humble means involved in the department's mining industry.^[3] She was one of seven children – three girls and four boys – born to Héctor Sempértegui Toro, a mine mechanic stationed at Pailaviri, and his wife Elena Valdez Tardío, a career homemaker.^[4]

Sempértegui attended the Jaime Mendoza School for most of primary and received her intermediate school education at the 31 de Octubre Educational Unit,^[5] located on Antofagasta Avenue in the railway zone of Potosí.^[6] Both institutes were dependent on the Bolivian Mining Corporation and catered exclusively to the children of mineworkers.^[7]

She then enrolled at the women's lyceum Sucre,^[4] where she received her secondary baccalaureate.^[8] After graduating, Sempértegui was accepted into Tomás Frías University,^[4] where she studied to become an accountant.^[8] She graduated with a licentiate in public accounting^[9] – the first in her family to be awarded a professional degree.^[5]

Accounting and business career

Sempértegui worked in administration at the Potosí Development Corporation (CORDEPO) from 1985 to 1986.^[9] Following the death of her father, she and her mother moved to Argentina to stay with family. She gained employment as a bookseller in Buenos Aires before being brought on as an accounting clerk at Termas Villavicencio – but ultimately opted to accompany her mother's return trip to Bolivia.^[5]

Resettled in Potosí, Sempértegui returned to her previous job at CORDEPO between 1988 and 1989.^[9] Following her marriage, she retired from her profession to raise their three children. She accompanied her husband's postings to Monteagudo and later La Paz, where they settled and she reentered the workforce.^[5] Sempértegui lent her services to private sector corporations for the next half-decade: at Copla, an import-export company, from 1995 and 1996, and at the construction companies Ormachea and América from 1997 to 1998 and 1998 to 2000, respectively.^[8]

Public official

Official portrait, 2010

Sempértegui's late entrance into politics began indirectly.^[8] Encouraged by her husband, she answered a public tender to work at the El Alto municipal government and was brought on as an administrative assistant at the Chief Financial Administrative Office.^[10] She became a close personal confidant to then-mayor José Luis Paredes,^[11] who appointed her general advisor of the El Alto Mayor's Office, a post she held throughout his two terms in office between 2000 and 2005.^[12]

Paredes was elected prefect of the La Paz Department in 2005 and,^[13] with his ascent to office early the following year,^[14] brought on Sempértegui to her previous advisory position within the new administration. She stayed on board for the duration of Paredes's term, resigning with the rest of the prefect's staff in 2008, after his successful recall and subsequent removal.^[15]

In the ensuing years, Sempértegui returned to the private sector as the administrative manager and financial controller of automotive manufacturer Toyosa from 2008 to 2009.^[8] At the same time, she also maintained a presence in the civil service as a consultant for the La Paz municipal government,^[9] as well as her ties to Paredes, as his personal accountant.^[16]

Election

In the leadup to the 2009 election, Paredes invited Sempértegui to join the National Convergence (CN) ticket as a candidate for parliament.^[17] In effect, Paredes's party, Plan Progress for Bolivia (PPB), granted CN the legal backing it needed to compete – giving him great latitude to select candidates as he saw fit.^[18] Just as he had done in 2005, Paredes placed members of his innermost circle – up to and including relatives – in the "safety zone" of CN's slate of candidates, regardless of past political experience or public notoriety.^[8] The result: Sempértegui was elected to the Chamber of Deputies,^[19] accompanied by two other members of PPB affiliated with Paredes – his former cabinet secretary, Alejandro Zapata, and his own son, Hernán Paredes.^[16]

Tenure

No sooner did the elections come to pass than CN – devoid of either clear leadership or ideological coherence – fell apart as an effective parliamentary alliance.^[20] In La Paz, the flight of Paredes – accosted on all sides by criminal cases and investigations – left the band of legislators elected under his watch to fend for themselves.^[21] In the aftermath of the former prefect's exile, Sempértegui recalled: "I had to carry out my term practically alone".^[22]

In legislation, Sempértegui's tenure made headwinds in the development of children's rights law. She was the main drafter behind a 2011 bill aimed at the prevention of school violence.^[23] Its contents were later incorporated into the more wide-ranging Child and Adolescent Code,^[19] enacted in 2014, near the end of her term.^[24] Sempértegui promoted similar legislation in her capacity as a representative to the Latin American Parliament, where she also elaborated a proposal for the creation of a regionwide network for the protection of child laborers.^[19]

Absent their political benefactor, Sempértegui and other Paredes allies were not nominated for reelection come the 2014 elections.^[25] A similar instance occurred with many of the lawmakers elected under the influence of Manfred Reyes Villa – CN's other political leader-turned-fugitive.^[26]

Commission assignments

• Planning, Economic Policy, and Finance Commission
  • Planning and Public Investment Committee (2010–2011, 2013–2014)^[27]
• Human Rights Commission
  • Gender Rights Committee (Secretary: 2014–2015)^[28]
• Government, Defense, and Armed Forces Commission
  • Fight Against Drug Trafficking Committee (2012–2013)^[29]
• International Relations and Migrant Protection Commission
  • International Economic Relations Committee (Secretary: 2011–2012)^[30]

Notes

Footnotes

Works cited

Online and list sources

Digital and print publications

Books and encyclopedias