Luis Fernando Camacho

Luis Fernando Camacho Vaca (born 15 February 1979) is a Bolivian lawyer, businessman, activist and politician.[1][2] He is a member of the Revolutionary Nationalist Movement (MNR) in Bolivia, and has been the chair of the Civic Committee of Santa Cruz since 2019. He emerged as a major critic of President Evo Morales and influential public figure during the highly controversial 2019 Bolivian general election, demanding Morales resign on 5 November 2019.[3]

Luis Fernando Camacho
Camacho in 2019
President of the Santa Cruz Civic Committee
In office
2 February 2019 – 29 November 2019
Preceded byFernando Cuéllar Núñez
Succeeded byRómulo Calvo Bravo
Personal details
Born
Luis Fernando Camacho Vaca

(1979-02-15) February 15, 1979
Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia
Political partyCreemos
Other political
affiliations		MNR (2004–2020)
Santa Cruz Youth Union

Following Morales' resignation on 10 November 2019 and the scheduling of new elections, Camacho entered Bolivian politics as a presidential candidate for the Christian right-wing party Creemos along with Potosi Civic Comitee leader Marco Pumari as his running mate. Camacho would go on to receive 14% of the vote, but losing to Luis Arce or Carlos Mesa in every Bolivian department except his birthplace of Santa Cruz.

Early life and education

Camacho comes from a family involved in business. He is the son of José Luis Camacho Parada, who previously presided over the Civic Committee of Santa Cruz.[4] Camacho Parada was also the president of the Santa Cruz Federation of Private Businesses from 1992 to 1993.[5]

Camacho studied Law at the Private University of Santa Cruz de la Sierra. He graduated with a law degree in 2003.[6] In 2005, he completed a master's degree in Financial and Tax Law at the University of Barcelona in Spain.[7][8]

Camacho married Gabriela Antelo Miranda in September 2019.[9]

Activism

In 2002, Camacho joined the centrist Revolutionary Nationalist Movement party of Santa Cruz de la Sierra.[10] He served as the vice-president of the far-right Santa Cruz Youth Union from 2002 to 2004.[11]

Camacho was inactive between 2004 and 2013, when he became the second vice-president of Provincial Civic Committees of the Cruceñidad, a post he held until 2015.[12] In 2017, he assumed the role of first vicepresidente of the Civic Committee, which he occupied until 2019.[13]

In February 2019, Camacho was elected President of the Civic Committee of Santa Cruz for the 2019-2021 with 234 votes, replacing former president Fernando Cuéllar Núnez.[14][15][16]

2019 protests

During the November 2019 protests that erupted in Bolivia in response to electoral fraud alleged by the Organization of American States, Camacho took leadership of principal opposition in the Santa Cruz region to protest against Evo Morales.[17] Camacho attempted to present himself as the leader of the anti-governmental opposition, although in reality this opposition included a broad array of social groups expressing grievances with Morales's ruling party and distrust in the electoral process.[18][19][20][21] After President Evo Morales fled to Cochabamba, Camacho went to the old Government Palace and put down a Bible and a symbolic letter that renounced Morales. Camacho declared: "I don't go with weapons, I go with my faith and my hope; with a Bible in my right hand and his letter of resignation in my left hand."[22][23][24] A pastor who was present was recorded saying that "the Bible has re-entered the palace. Pachamama will never return."[25]

Camacho pressed the police as well as the military to join the protests against Morales.[26]

2019 Bolivian political crisis

According to Bolivian political scientist Marcelo Equipo, the platform of Bolivia's interim government has been derived from Camacho's political agenda.[27]

Camacho's lawyer was appointed as Minister of the Presidency of Jeanine Añez's interim government.

Following the crisis, Camacho joined the Revolutionary Nationalist Movement and announced his candidacy to 2020 election with Marco Pumari as his vice-presidential candidate.[28]

Political views

In Bolivia, Camacho has a reputation as a conservative Catholic figure,[29][30] known for his extensive criticisms of the Evo Morales presidency. The Council on Hemispheric Affairs has characterized him as a "extreme right wing leader."[31] He has been referred to as the "Bolsonaro of Bolivia."[32][33] Camacho has been linked to politician Branko Marinkovic.[34]

References
  1. Noticias, Éxito (2019-11-07). "Revelan que Camacho se transporta en vehículo de Marinkovic en La Paz". Éxito Noticias (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2019-11-20. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
  2. Kovarik, Jacquelyn (13 November 2019). "Bolivia's Anti-Indigenous Backlash Is Growing". The Nation. The Nation. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  3. "Así es Luis Fernando Camacho, el líder opositor boliviano que le dio un ultimátum a Evo Morales". CNN (in Spanish). 2019-11-05. Retrieved 2019-11-12.
  4. "Dr. José Luis Camacho Parada". Comité pro Santa Cruz (in Spanish). Retrieved 2019-11-13.
  5. "FEPSC, Federacion de Empresarios Privados de Santa Cruz - Bienvenido". www.fepsc.org.bo. Retrieved 2019-11-13.
  6. "El Líder Cívico". Comité pro Santa Cruz (in Spanish). Retrieved 2019-11-13.
  7. "El Líder Cívico". Comité pro Santa Cruz (in Spanish). Retrieved 2019-11-13.
  8. Perú, Redacción El Comercio (2019-11-05). "Quién es Luis Fernando Camacho, el poderoso opositor que dio un ultimátum a Evo Morales para que renuncie". El Comercio Perú (in Spanish). Retrieved 2019-11-13.
  9. "El presidente del Comité Cívico se compromete en matrimonio | EL DEBER". www.eldeber.com.bo (in Spanish). Retrieved 2019-11-13.
  10. "Camacho, el cívico que une al país e incomoda al Gobierno". www.opinion.com.bo. Retrieved 2019-11-13.
  11. "¿Quién es Luis Fernando Camacho, el activista boliviano comparado con Bolsonaro?". Sopitas.com. 2019-11-11. Retrieved 2019-11-13.
  12. "Camacho, el cívico que une al país e incomoda al Gobierno". www.opinion.com.bo. Retrieved 2019-11-13.
  13. "¿Quién es Luis Fernando Camacho, el hombre que encabeza el golpe de Estado en Bolivia y que promete que 'Dios volverá al Palacio'?". RT en Español (in Spanish). Retrieved 2019-11-13.
  14. "Luis Fernando Camacho es el nuevo presidente del Comité Cívico cruceño". ahoradigital (in Spanish). 2019-02-02. Retrieved 2019-11-13.
  15. Perú, GDA | El Comercio | (2019-11-05). "Luis Fernando Camacho, el poderoso opositor que dio ultimátum a Evo Morales". EL NACIONAL (in Spanish). Retrieved 2019-11-13.
  16. "Luis Fernando Camacho es el nuevo presidente cívico". eldia.com.bo. Retrieved 2019-11-13.
  17. Perú, Redacción El Comercio (2019-11-05). "Quién es Luis Fernando Camacho, el poderoso opositor que dio un ultimátum a Evo Morales para que renuncie". El Comercio Perú (in Spanish). Retrieved 2019-11-13.
  18. "Bolivia | ¿Quién es Luis Fernando Camacho? Conoce al líder que puso en jaque a Evo Morales". RPP (in Spanish). Retrieved 2019-11-13.
  19. Molina, Fernando (2019-11-11). "Camacho, el líder de las protestas en Bolivia que quiere "devolver a Dios al Palacio de Gobierno"". El País (in Spanish). ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved 2019-11-13.
  20. De 2019, 10 De Noviembre. "El momento en que el líder opositor Fernando Camacho dejó en la Casa de Gobierno la carta de renuncia para que Evo Morales la firme". Infobae (in Spanish). Retrieved 2019-11-13.
  21. "Así es Luis Fernando Camacho, el líder opositor boliviano que le dio un ultimátum a Evo Morales". CNN (in Spanish). 2019-11-05. Retrieved 2019-11-13.
  22. "La Biblia se cuela en la disputa política en Bolivia". La Nación (in Spanish). Retrieved 2019-11-13.
  23. Veiga, Gustavo (2019-11-10). "¿Quién es Luis Fernando Camacho? | El líder cruceño detrás del golpe contra Evo Morales". PAGINA12. Retrieved 2019-11-13.
  24. "Bolivia | Evo Morales | Luis Fernando Camacho | ¿Por qué la Biblia se ha vuelto un inesperado protagonista de la crisis en Bolivia? [VIDEO]". RPP (in Spanish). Retrieved 2019-11-13.
  25. "'Nunca más volverá la Pachamama al palacio de gobierno', sentencia aliado del líder cívico Camacho". La Jornada (in Spanish). Mexico City, Mexico. 11 November 2019. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  26. "Political unrest grows in Bolivia as police join anti-Morales protests". uk.news.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
  27. "How Bolivia's Evo Morales Was Brought Down With the Help of an Obscure Conservative With a Bible". news.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2019-11-16.
  28. "MNR ratifica oferta de sigla a Camacho". Correo del Sur (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-01-22.
  29. https://time.com/5728279/luis-fernando-camacho-bolivia/
  30. https://exchange99.com/2019/11/15/how-bolivias-evo-morales-was-introduced-down-with-the-assist-of-an-obscure-conservative-with-a-bible/
  31. Shaw, Danny (2019-11-11). "Behind the Racist Coup in Bolivia". Council on Hemispheric Affairs. Retrieved 2019-11-13. The opposition contested the election, led by extreme right wing leader of the Santa Cruz Committee, Luis Fernando Camacho.
  32. Miranda, Boris (11 November 2019). "Evo Morales renuncia a la presidencia de Bolivia: Luis Fernando Camacho, el "Bolsonaro boliviano" que protagonizó las protestas que forzaron la dimisión del líder indígena" [Evo Morales resigns from the presidency of Bolivia: Luis Fernando Camacho, the "Bolivian Bolsonaro" who starred in the protests that forced the resignation of the indigenous leader] (in Spanish). BBC News. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  33. Kovarik, Jacquelyn (13 November 2019). "Bolivia's Anti-Indigenous Backlash Is Growing". The Nation. The Nation. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  34. Noticias, Éxito (2019-11-07). "Revelan que Camacho se transporta en vehículo de Marinkovic en La Paz". Éxito Noticias (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2019-11-20. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
Civic offices
Preceded by
Fernando Cuéllar Núñez		 President of the Santa Cruz Civic Committee
2019		 Succeeded by
Rómulo Calvo Bravo
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