Loyola Guzmán
Loyola Guzmán Lara | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | July 29, 1942 Inquisivi, La Paz, Bolivia |
| Other political affiliations | Frente Amplio (2013-2014) Movement for Socialism (2006-2007) National Liberation Army of Bolivia (1967-1972) Bolivian Communist Youth (until 1967) |
| Occupation | Human rights and political activist |
Loyola Guzmán Lara is a Bolivian human rights and political activist, founder of the Latin American Federation of Associations for Relatives of Detained-Disappeared (FEDEFAM) and a previous member of the National Liberation Army of Bolivia (ELN).
Biography
Early life and political activism
Loyola studied literature at the Higher University of San Andrés and was a member of the National Executive Committee of the Bolivian Communist Youth.
ELN
In 1967 Loyola abandoned her studies and on January 26, 1967 she met Che Guevara at the ELN's Ñancahuazú camp. Che described her in his diary as "young and softly spoken .... but very determined" and assigned her as the "national finance secretary" of ELN, to handle the finances of the movements urban apparatus.[1][2][3]
In February 1967 she left the Bolivian Communist Youth.
She was detained in September 1967, after the Bolivian army located the Ñacahuazú farm caves and discovered photos of Loyola alongside leading guerilla members. In 1970 she was freed, in exchange for German hostages captures by the guerilla force at Teoponte.
In the early 1970s the ELN became active again in clandestine struggle against the Hugo Banzer dictatorship[4] and Loyola once again participated in this struggle alongside her husband, Félix Melgar Antel, a fellow militant of the ELN. However, in 1972 she was detained while entering Chile clandestinely with her husband, who was subsequently disappeared.[5]
FEDEFAM and the Movement for Socialism
Loyola was a founder and leader of the Latin American Federation of Associations for Relatives of Detained-Disappeared (FEDEFAM) from 1983 until January 2009, where she actively participated in the fight against forced disappearance for political and union reasons in Latin America and in the world.[6]
From 2006 to 2007 she was part of the Constituent Assembly as a constituent of the Movement for Socialism, where she took dissenting and critical positions. [7]
Activism against Evo Morales
Loyola subsequently assumed a critical stance against the government of Evo Morales.[8] In January 2009, she voted NO in the 2009 Bolivian constitutional referendum, giving her reasons at a press conference in the city of La Paz.
In September 2013, as a member of the Foro de la Ciudadanía Democrática, she signed an agreement to build the "Frente Amplio" (Broad Front) against Evo Morales, of which she became a spokesperson. [9][10] The group consisted of 5 organizations including the National Unity Front led by the businessman Samuel Doria Medina.
In June 2014, when the electoral agreement was signed between Doria Medina and Ruben Costas Aguilera to form the Democrat Social Movement, the Broad Front was broken and did not participate in the parliamentary and presidential elections that took place in October 2014.
She supported Carlos Mesa, leader of the Civic Community party in the 2019 Bolivian general election[11], and also stood herself as a candidate for senator for the Civic Community party. During the 2019 Bolivian political crisis she denied there had been a coup d'etat against the MAS government, instead calling it a result of a mobilization of people indignant that MAS was stealing the vote. She denied that this mobilization was right-wing, claiming that the protests were in defense of democracy and highlighted the participation of young people. She blamed the MAS government for dividing and polarizing Bolivia stating "This government has managed to divide us, it has put indigenous against non-indigenous, poor against rich". She also called Evo Morales "a coward" for leaving the country, and furthermore said that if there had indeed been a coup Morales should've stayed in the country resisting with the people and not ask his base to "go out and get themselves killed or tell them to go out to kill". She held Morales responsible for Jeanine Áñez assuming the acting presidency of Bolivia, blaming the resignation of the authorities who should've assumed the presidency.[12]
Awards and distinctions
- 25 years of Democracy distinction, awarded by the Higher University of San Andrés in 2007. [13]
References
- ^ [1] The Bolivian Diary, Ernesto Che Guevara, Ocean Press 2006 ISBN 978-1-920888-24-4
- ^ [2] Che Guevara: a revolutionary life, Jon Lee Anderson, Grove Press 1997 ISBN 978-0-8021-3558-2
- ^ [3] The Defeat of Che Guevara: Military Response to Guerrilla Challenge in Bolivia, Gary Prado Salmon, John Deredita and Lawrence H. Hall, Praeger 1990, ISBN 978-0-275-93211-4
- ^ [4] Handbook Of Leftist Guerrilla Groups In Latin America And The Caribbean, Liza Gross, Westview Press 1995ISBN 978-0813384948
- ^ [5] The Bolivian Diary, Ernesto Che Guevara, Ocean Press 2006 ISBN 978-1-920888-24-4
- ^ "Loyola Guzmán: "En el país persisten prácticas dictatoriales"". ANF. 3 de noviembre de 2013. Retrieved 12 de julio de 2019.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|access-date=and|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameters:|nombre=,|apellidos=,|página=,|ubicación=, and|número=(help) - ^ "Loyola Guzmán se suma a Carlos Mesa". El Deber. 11 de julio de 2019. Retrieved 12th July 2019.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|access-date=and|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameters:|nombre=,|apellidos=,|página=,|ubicación=, and|número=(help) - ^ "DESIGNAN A LOYOLA GUZMÁN COMO VOCERA DE FRENTE AMPLIO".
- ^ "Loyola Guzmán: "No he renegado nunca de lo que hice"". Archived from the original on 12 de julio de 2019. Retrieved 12th July 2019.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|access-date=and|archive-date=(help) - ^ "DESIGNAN A LOYOLA GUZMÁN COMO VOCERA DE FRENTE AMPLIO".
- ^ "Loyola Guzmán se suma a Carlos Mesa". El Deber. 11 de julio de 2019. Retrieved 12th July 2019.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|access-date=and|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameters:|nombre=,|apellidos=,|página=,|ubicación=, and|número=(help) - ^ "Loyola Guzmán critica a Evo por dejar el país". Diario Correo del Sur. 2019-11-24. Retrieved 2020-06-17.
- ^ "HCU-550/07 - Otorgar la Distincion de 25 años de Democracia a la Sra. Loyola Guzman Lara en reconocimiento en el proceso de reconquista de la Democracia en Bolivia". Archived from the original on 12 de julio de 2019. Retrieved 12th July 2019.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|access-date=and|archive-date=(help)
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