Nelly Núñez

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Nelly Núñez
Oruro
Personal details
Born
Nelly Núñez Zegarra

(1948-11-16)16 November 1948
Movement for Socialism (2003–2021)
Other political
affiliations
Conscience of Fatherland (until 2002)
Occupation
  • Nurse
  • politician

Nelly Núñez Zegarra (16 November 1948 – 10 May 2021) was a Bolivian nurse and politician who served as a member of the Chamber of Deputies from Oruro, representing circumscription 32 from 2010 to 2015.

Núñez emigrated from her hometown of

breadwinner, while she raised their children as a housewife
.

Entering politics later in life, Núñez integrated the ranks of

Movement for Socialism
in 2003 and was elected to the Chamber of Deputies representing the party in 2009. She was not nominated for reelection.

Early life and career

Background and early life

Nelly Núñez was born on 16 November 1948 in

mining settlement in the Uyuni Municipality of rural Potosí Department.[2] She was the penultimate of four children – one boy and three girls – born to José Félix Núñez Navarro, a mineworker, and Benita Zegarra Rocha, a homemaker and weaver.[1]

Due to her father's vocation – he was chief of welfare for the mineworkers – Núñez's family were stationed at various mining sites in different regions of the country.[3] They settled permanently in Oruro when Núñez was 2 years old, where she was brought up and educated.[4]

Family and career

Núñez worked as a nurse at the General Hospital of Oruro but retired to become a housewife upon marrying her husband, a

gynecologist.[5] She had her first of three children shortly thereafter and relocated to Sucre to provide for their education – though she maintained a weekly presence in her home region, where her husband remained as a mine doctor.[3]

With her children grown and in university, Núñez returned to Oruro, where she began engaging in local associative and political spaces. Together with her daughter, she served on the directorate of the Caporales Cultural and Folkloric Fraternity,[3] a Cochabamba-based caporales troupe composed of students from Oruro at the Higher University of San Simón.[6]

Chamber of Deputies

Election

In politics, Núñez initially aligned with

party list to secure a seat.[8] Come 2002, Núñez had been named departmental leader of CONDEPA in Oruro and occupied the top party-list slot in that year's general election.[9] By then, however, the party's open schism had diminished its electoral prospects.[10] In Oruro, CONDEPA fell from second place the previous cycle to dead last[11] – part of a nationwide underperformance that led to the loss of its legal recognition.[12]

The implosion of CONDEPA fueled the rapid rise of another

Oruro Municipality. She won the constituency with ease, flipping the seat in favor of the ruling party.[14]

Tenure

In office, Núñez's legislative priorities centered on

civil litigation to a one-year maximum.[19]

In the ensuing years, Núñez assumed positions of leadership within her parliamentary group, starting as deputy leader of the MAS caucus in Oruro.[4] Having been considered for the post in 2013,[20] she was elected leader in 2014[21] – an influential position, considering the party's domination of the department's delegation.[22] At the same time, Núñez's selection faced discontent from a segment of her caucus, with subsequent allegations of influence peddling on behalf of her daughter leading several colleagues – including her substitute, Benjamín Flores – to file a complaint against her with the Prosecutor's Office.[23] Núñez, for her part, denied the allegations as a "political show".[24] She was not nominated for reelection at the end of her term.[13]

Commission assignments

  • Human Rights Commission
    • Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Committee (Secretary: 2010–2011)[25]
  • Social Policy Commission
    • Social Welfare and Protection Committee (2011–2012)[26]
  • Plural Justice, Prosecutor's Office, and Legal Defense of the State Commission
    • Ordinary Jurisdiction and Magistracy Council Committee (Secretary: 2012–2014)[27]
  • International Relations and Migrant Protection Commission
    • International Economic Relations Committee (2014–2015)[28]

Personal life and death

Núñez married Fernando Ramos Zabalaga at age 22. The couple had three children: Carola Nashira, a lawyer; José María, an architect; and Osmar Fernando, a commercial engineer.[29] Núñez died some years after leaving office in her home city of Oruro, on 10 May 2021, aged 72.[30]

Electoral history

Electoral history of Nelly Núñez
Year Office Party Votes Result Ref.
Total % P.
1997 Deputy Conscience of Fatherland 24,596 20.87% 2nd Lost [31][β]
2002 Conscience of Fatherland 606 0.42% 11th Lost [32][β]
2009
Movement for Socialism
22,692 55.98% 1st Won [33]
Source: Plurinational Electoral Organ | Electoral Atlas

References

Notes

  1. ^ Redistribution; circumscription 29.
  2. ^ a b Presented on an electoral list. The data shown represents the share of the vote the entire party/alliance received in that constituency.

Footnotes

Works cited

Online and list sources

Digital and print publications

Books and encyclopedias

External links

Chamber of Deputies of Bolivia
Preceded by Member of the Chamber of Deputies
from Oruro circumscription 32

2010–2015
Succeeded by