Isabel Fernández
Headshot of Isabel Fernández.
Vice Minister of Communication
In office
10 June 2020 – 6 November 2020
PresidentJeanine Áñez
MinisterYerko Núñez
Preceded byOffice established[lower-greek 1]
Succeeded byGabriela Alcón
Minister of Communication
In office
28 January 2020 – 4 June 2020
PresidentJeanine Áñez
Preceded byRoxana Lizárraga
Succeeded byOffice abolished[lower-greek 2]
Personal details
Born
María Isabel Fernández Suárez

(1980-03-10) 10 March 1980
Oruro, Bolivia
Alma mater
Occupation
  • Journalist
  • politician
SignatureCursive signature in ink

María Isabel Fernández Suárez (born 10 March 1980) is a Bolivian journalist and politician who served as minister of communication from January to June 2020. Fernández was the final official to serve in that post, with the Ministry of Communication being abolished during her term. She subsequently served as vice minister of communication from June 2020 until the conclusion of the transitional government of Jeanine Áñez in November 2020.

Early life and career

Isabel Fernández was born on 10 March 1980 in Oruro. Fernández attended the Bolivian Catholic University, where she initially majored in medicine before switching to communication studies, inspired by her mother's staff work for Radio Pío XII. After completing her degree, Fernández traveled to Madrid, Spain, where she completed two master's degrees in digital marketing at the King Juan Carlos University and the European Postgraduate Institute. Upon returning to Bolivia, Fernández entered the field of journalism, working on the staff of PAT. After that, she worked as a journalist for a variety of media outlets, including ATB and UNITEL, for approximately sixteen years. Throughout her career, Fernández was an active correspondent during periods of intense social unrest; she likened the experience to "[being in] a lion's cage with a lion inside ... for me it was pure adrenaline ...".[1][2] Prior to serving as minister, Fernández was serving as the deputy press officer for UNITEL-La Paz, a post she held from 2006.[3]

Minister of Communication

On 28 January 2020, transitional president Jeanine Áñez appointed Fernández minister of communication, replacing Roxana Lizárraga, who resigned days prior in protest of Áñez's decision to run for president rather than oversee a neutral interim government.[4][5] Fernández remained in her post until 4 June, when the Áñez administration announced its decision to abolish three ministries—communication, cultures, and sports—and two embassies in order to conserve public resources in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.[6] Áñez characterized these offices as "unnecessary charges", "absurd expenses", and "pure waste" generated by the previous government.[7]

Isabel Fernández stands at a podium during a press conference.
Fernández delivers a press conference, 20 May 2020.

The functions of the abolished Ministry of Communication were transferred to the newly established Vice Ministry of Communication, a component of the Ministry of the Presidency. On 10 June, Yerko Núñez, the minister responsible for said portfolio, appointed Fernández to serve as vice minister of communication. Upon being sworn in, Fernández committed to "[ensuring] strict compliance with access to information, its transparent management, and freedom of expression" in her new post. She also assured that state media would not be used as an instrument of political pressure on journalists.[8] In previous weeks, Fernández had been criticized for withdrawing government advertising from Gigavisión after the channel's director, Junior Arias, had made allegations of corruption within various government departments. Fernández denied any wrongdoing, assuring that the channel lacked high enough ratings to justify continued investment.[9]

With the dissolution of the Ministry of Communication came the termination of all officials who worked within it.[10] Upon assuming leadership over the Vice Ministry of Communication, Fernández announced that her department would only rehire "the people that are needed". She asserted that the now-abolished ministry held "too many officials", many of whom were "not necessary" and spent their entire shifts without performing a single function.[11] On the other hand, some thirty former employees protested that they had been fired illegally despite enjoying job security or being guaranteed reinstatement. Others stated that they had not been paid their owed wages months after being fired.[12]

Fernández remained in office for the duration of the transitional government. She submitted her resignation on 6 November, two days prior to the inauguration of President-elect Luis Arce. In her letter of resignation, Fernández stated that "all these months were very complex, but the satisfaction of duty fulfilled with commitment and loyalty to ... the country remains".[13]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Isabel Fernández.

Notes

  1. ↑ Partly herself; as minister of communication.
  2. ↑ Partly herself; as vice minister of communication.

Footnotes

  1. ↑ "Una orureña en el gabinete de la Presidente Áñez". La Patria (in Spanish). Oruro. 29 January 2020. Archived from the original on 6 March 2022. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  2. ↑ "Isabel Fernández fue atraída por la medicina, pero pudo más el periodismo, su pasión" (in Spanish). La Paz. Urgente.bo. 10 May 2018. Archived from the original on 6 March 2022. Retrieved 6 March 2022. Una vez me acuerdo que me he metido a la jaula de un león con un león adentro ... para mí era pura adrenalina, una aventura conseguir una nota así.
  3. ↑ "Isabel Fernández" (in Spanish). La Paz: Ministry of Communication. Archived from the original on 11 May 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  4. ↑ Alanoca, Jesus (26 January 2020). "Roxana Lizárraga presenta su renuncia irrevocable al cargo de ministra de Comunicación". El Deber (in Spanish). Santa Cruz de la Sierra. Archived from the original on 10 April 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  5. ↑ "Isabel Fernández es la nueva Ministra de Comunicación". Página Siete (in Spanish). La Paz. 28 January 2020. Archived from the original on 6 March 2022. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  6. ↑ "Áñez cierra tres ministerios y dos embajadas; hay rechazo y críticas". Opinión (in Spanish). Cochabamba. 4 June 2020. Archived from the original on 10 April 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  7. ↑ "Bolivia elimina tres ministerios y dos embajadas: destinará esos recursos a luchar contra el coronavirus". La Tercera (in Spanish). Santiago. Europa Press. 5 June 2020. Archived from the original on 19 December 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2022. Según Áñez, ha ordenado al gabinete ministerial una revisión 'al detalle' de 'todos los cargos innecesarios y todos los gastos absurdos que inventó el Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS) y eran puro despilfarro'.
  8. ↑ Corz, Carlos (10 June 2020). "Exministra Fernández asume como viceministra de Comunicación y promete velar por el acceso a la información". La Razón (in Spanish). La Paz. Archived from the original on 6 March 2022. Retrieved 6 March 2022. ... la nueva viceministra dijo que se compromete a 'velar por el estricto cumplimiento del acceso a la información, su manejo transparente, y la libertad de expresión'.
  9. ↑ "Arias denuncia que gobierno le quitó la publicidad a Gigavisión, ministra asegura que fue por su bajo rating" (in Spanish). La Paz. Brújula Digital. 12 May 2020. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  10. ↑ Mamani Cayo, Yolanda (11 June 2020). "Comunicación cierra y parte de su personal sería recontratado". Página Siete (in Spanish). La Paz. Archived from the original on 9 January 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  11. ↑ "Ministra Fernández: En Comunicación había mucha gente que no hacía nada". Página Siete (in Spanish). La Paz. 5 June 2020. Archived from the original on 29 June 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  12. ↑ "Destituidos de Comunicación exigen el pago de sus salarios". Página Siete (in Spanish). La Paz. 14 August 2020. Archived from the original on 25 September 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  13. ↑ "Al menos dos ministros y cinco viceministros de Jeanine Áñez ya presentaron su renuncia". UNITEL (in Spanish). Santa Cruz de la Sierra. 6 November 2020. Archived from the original on 6 March 2022. Retrieved 6 March 2022. 'Todos estos meses fueron muy complejos pero queda la satisfacción del deber cumplido con compromiso y lealtad a usted (Áñez) y al país', señala parte de la carta de la viceministra de Comunicación, Isabel Fernández.
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