María Alejandra Vicuña

María Alejandra Vicuña Muñoz (born 13 February 1978) is an Ecuadorean politician who served as the Vice President of Ecuador under President Lenin Moreno between January and December 2018,[2] previously as the Housing and Urban Development Minister of Ecuador.[3]

María Alejandra Vicuña
49th Vice President of Ecuador
In office 6 January 2018 – 4 December 2018 Acting: 4 October 2017 – 6 January 2018 Suspended from additional functions 3 December 2018
President	Lenín Moreno
Preceded by	Jorge Glas
Succeeded by	Otto Sonnenholzner
Minister of Urban Development and Housing
In office 24 May 2017 – 6 January 2018
President	Lenin Moreno
Preceded by	Lyne Miranda
Succeeded by	Adrián Sandoya Unamuno[1]
Personal details
Born	María Alejandra Vicuña Muñoz 13 February 1978 Guayaquil, Ecuador
Nationality	Ecuadorian
Political party	PAIS Alliance

Career

Vicuña was first elected to serve in the National Assembly in 2009, and was re-elected to serve again in 2013.[4] While serving in the National Assembly, she served as Vice President of the largest commission relating to the health and wellbeing of Ecuadorean citizens, and was a founding member of the Commission on Education, Science, Technology, and Communication.[5]

She was named Minister of Urban Development and Housing by President Lenin Moreno in May 2017.[6] Upon the suspension of Vice President Jorge Glas, Vicuña was named Acting Vice President until such time that Glas's corruption charges were sorted out.

Vice President of Ecuador

María Vicuña speaks after being sworn in as Vice President of Ecuador before the National Assembly

Glas was convicted for corruption in connection to the Odebrecht bribery scandal.[7] Having been absent from the Vice Presidency for more than 90 days, the National Assembly was required to vote on a nominee to permanently serve the role of Vice President.

On 6 January 2018, Vicuña was formally sworn in as Vice President of Ecuador after the National Assembly voted to approve her for the position. She was confirmed after 70 assembly members voted for her to take office, 17 lawmakers voting against the nomination, and 19 abstentions.[8] She was the second woman to ever serve as Vice President of Ecuador, after Rosalía Arteaga took office in 1996.

On December 3 2018, Vicuña was suspended from her duties as Vice President after a corruption scandal.[9][10] On 4 December 2018, Vicuña announced her desire to resign as Vice President.[11][12][13][14][15] On 11 December 2018, Otto Sonnenholzner was elected as Vice President of Ecuador after the National Assembly approved him for the position.

In 2020 she was jailed for one year. [16]

References

1. El Telegrafo. "Adrián Sandoya es el nuevo ministro de Desarrollo Urbano y Vivienda". Retrieved January 9, 2018.
2. BN Americas. "Ecuador names new vice president". Retrieved January 9, 2018.
3. Havana Times. "Ecuador Has a New Female VP". Retrieved January 9, 2018.
4. "María Alejandra Vicuña Muñoz | Asambleistas | Elecciones Ecuador 2013". web.archive.org. October 4, 2017.
5. "Lenín Moreno encarga Vicepresidencia a María Alejandra Vicuña y le asigna funciones: dar seguimiento a la consulta | El Comercio". web.archive.org. October 4, 2017.
6. "¿Quiénes son los integrantes del Gabinete de Lenín Moreno? | El Comercio". web.archive.org. June 6, 2017.
7. BBC News. "Ecuador VP Jorge Glas sentenced for corruption in Odebrecht case". Retrieved January 9, 2018.
8. XinhuaNet. "Ecuadorian lawmakers elect new vice president". Retrieved January 9, 2018.
9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2018-12-04. Retrieved 2018-12-04.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
10. "Ecuador VP Removed, Accused of Taking Kickbacks from Aide | Voice of America - English". www.voanews.com.
11. Zibell, Matías (December 5, 2018). "La "maldición" de los vicepresidentes en Ecuador: Lenín Moreno vuelve a perder a su número dos con la renuncia de María Alejandra Vicuña" – via www.bbc.com.
12. Tiempo, Casa Editorial El (December 4, 2018). "Vicepresidenta de Ecuador salió del cargo por escándalo de corrupción". El Tiempo.
13. "La vicepresidenta de Ecuador renuncia tras el escándalo por cobrar un porcentaje a sus empleados". abc. December 4, 2018.
14. de 2018, 4 de Diciembre. "Acusada de corrupción, renunció la vicepresidente de Ecuador". infobae.
15. "Vicepresidenta de Ecuador renuncia tras ser acusada de corrupción". Diario La Prensa.
16. "EcuadorTimes.net | Breaking News, Ecuador News, World, Sports, Entertainment » María Alejandra Vicuña is sentenced to one year in jail". www.ecuadortimes.net.

External link

• Media related to María Alejandra Vicuña at Wikimedia Commons