Irma Ledezma

Personal detailsBorn
(1959-10-10) 10 October 1959 (age 64)
Guayaramerín, Beni, BoliviaPolitical partySocial Democratic Movement (until 2020)Occupation

Irma Herminia Ledezma Tambo (born 10 October 1959) is a Bolivian businesswoman, politician, and rancher who served as a member of the Chamber of Deputies from Beni, representing circumscription 61 from 2015 to 2020. Ledezma spent most of her professional career in the business of commerce and cattle ranching, two sectors vital to Beni's regional economy. She entered politics as a member of the Social Democratic Movement, representing the party in the Chamber of Deputies and serving as head of its Guayaramerín branch until 2020 before retiring upon the completion of her parliamentary term.

Early life and career

Irma Ledezma was born on 10 October 1959 in Guayaramerín, Beni.^[1] She dedicated much of her professional career to the fields of commerce and cattle ranching,^[2] two industries that rapidly expanded in the lowland Amazonian departments in the final decades of the twentieth century, driven, among other factors, by an influx of migration to Cobija, Guayaramerín, and Riberalta, as well as cross-border trade with Brazil.^[3] In Beni, in particular, the peripheral presence of the national government promoted the formation of a strong regional economic elite based in the agriculture, ranching, and lumber industries, who often took on public functions in the State's absence, such as the construction of local infrastructure. These works gained them a high degree of social standing, which often translated into political influence.^[4]

Chamber of Deputies

Election

Such was the case with Ledezma, who made her entry into politics as a member of the nascent Social Democratic Movement (MDS), composing part of the party's regional directorate. When the MDS contested its first general election in 2014, Ledezma was nominated to seek a seat in the Chamber of Deputies. She won by a comfortable majority in Beni's circumscription 61, the largest in the department, encompassing the provinces of Iténez, Mamoré, Yacuma, and portions of Vaca Díez.^[2]

Tenure

In parliament, Ledezma spent the entirety of her tenure on the Chamber of Deputies' Education Committee.^[§] Upon the conclusion of her term in 2020, Ledezma retired from politics, resigning as head of the MDS's Guayaramerín branch.^[5] Hers was among a series of departures by top party officials suffered by the MDS around this time.^[6] The party had sought to establish itself as a national political force but was debilitated by its electoral failures in 2019 and 2020 and was ultimately relegated to a minor front following the 2021 municipal elections.^[7]

Commission assignments

• Education and Health Commission
  • Education Committee (2015–2020)^[8]

Electoral history

Electoral history of Irma Ledezma

Year	Office	Party		Alliance		Votes			Result	Ref.
						Total	%	P.
2014	Deputy		Social Democratic Movement		Democratic Unity	17,538	54.33%	1st	Won	[9]
Source: Plurinational Electoral Organ | Electoral Atlas

References

1. ^ "Padrón electoral biométrico y militancia: Irma Herminia Ledezma Tambo". yoparticipo.oep.org.bo (in Spanish). La Paz: Plurinational Electoral Organ. 28 July 2022. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
2. ^ ^{a b} Romero Ballivián 2018, p. 322.
3. ^ Romero Ballivián 2018, p. 232.
4. ^ Romero Ballivián 2018, pp. 267, 413.
5. ^ "Irma Ledezma renuncia su militancia en Demócratas" [Irma Ledezma Resigns As Member of Democrats]. Guayaramerín Al Día (in Spanish). 10 December 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2022 – via the Wayback Machine.
6. ^ Rosales Melgar, Álvaro (28 December 2020). "Renuncias de militantes en Demócratas a horas del cierre de inscripciones para las subnacionales" [Democrats See Resignation of Partisans Within Hours of Registration Deadline for Subnationals]. El Deber (in Spanish). Santa Cruz de la Sierra. Archived from the original on 28 December 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
7. ^ Romero Ballivián 2022, p. 126.
8. ^ "La Cámara de Diputados conformó sus 12 Comisiones y 37 Comités: Gestión Legislativa 2015–2016". diputados.bo (in Spanish). La Paz: Chamber of Deputies. 29 January 2015. Archived from the original on 17 July 2015. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
   • Chamber of Deputies [@Diputados_Bol] (27 January 2016). "La Cámara de Diputados conformó sus 12 Comisiones y 37 Comités: Gestión Legislativa 2016–2017" (Tweet) (in Spanish). La Paz. Archived from the original on 23 November 2022. Retrieved 22 November 2022 – via Twitter.
   • Chamber of Deputies [@Diputados_Bol] (1 February 2017). "La Cámara de Diputados conformó sus 12 Comisiones y 37 Comités: Gestión Legislativa 2017–2018" (Tweet) (in Spanish). La Paz. Archived from the original on 23 November 2022. Retrieved 22 November 2022 – via Twitter.
   • "La Cámara de Diputados conformó sus 12 Comisiones y 37 Comités: Gestión Legislativa 2018–2019". diputados.bo (in Spanish). La Paz: Chamber of Deputies. 1 February 2018. Archived from the original on 14 February 2018. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
   • "La Cámara de Diputados conformó sus 12 Comisiones y 37 Comités: Gestión Legislativa 2019–2020". diptuados.bo (in Spanish). La Paz: Chamber of Deputies. 24 January 2019. Archived from the original on 28 January 2019. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
9. ^ "Elecciones Generales 2014 | Atlas Electoral". atlaselectoral.oep.org.bo (in Spanish). La Paz: Plurinational Electoral Organ. Archived from the original on 1 February 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2022.

• Romero Ballivián, Salvador (2018). Quiroga Velasco, Camilo (ed.). Diccionario biográfico de parlamentarios 1979–2019 (in Spanish) (2nd ed.). La Paz: Fundación de Apoyo al Parlamento y la Participación Ciudadana; Fundación Konrad Adenauer. p. 322. ISBN 978-99974-0-021-5. OCLC 1050945993 – via ResearchGate.
• Romero Ballivián, Salvador (2022). El ciclo electoral boliviano 2020–2021: De la crisis de 2019 a los comicios de 2021 (PDF) (in Spanish). La Paz: Fundación Friedrich Ebert. ISBN 978-9917-605-67-6.

Senate

Primary	▌Y. Núñez (UD) ▌J. Áñez (UD) ▌E. Rivero (MAS) ▌M. A. Simoni (MAS)
Substitute	▌B. Méndez (UD) ▌F. Valdivia (UD) ▌K. Chávez (MAS) ▌E. Flores (MAS)

Deputies

Party list	Primary ▌M. Fernández (UD) ▌S. Rivero (MAS) ▌W. Roque (MAS) Substitute ▌J. Rioja (UD) ▌B. Gutiérrez (MAS) ▌L. Veliz (MAS)
Single-member	Primary ▌R. Guzmán [es] (UD) ▌A. Vidal (MAS) ▌O. Egüez (UD) ▌I. Ledezma (UD) ▌R. Moye (MAS) Substitute ▌Z. Raymond (UD) ▌I. Escalante (MAS) ▌V. Téllez (UD) ▌L. F. Cuéllar (UD) ▌E. Cartagena (MAS)