Víctor Hugo Cárdenas

Víctor Hugo Cárdenas
Official portrait, 1993
35th Vice President of Bolivia
In office
6 August 1993 – 6 August 1997
PresidentGonzalo Sánchez de Lozada
Preceded byLuis Ossio
Succeeded byJorge Quiroga
Minister of Education
In office
20 October 2020 – 6 November 2020
PresidentJeanine Áñez
Preceded byReynaldo Paredes (acting)
Succeeded byAdrián Quelca
In office
28 January 2020 – 19 October 2020
PresidentJeanine Áñez
Preceded byVirginia Patty
Succeeded byReynaldo Paredes (acting)
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
from La Paz
In office
3 August 1985 – 2 August 1989
Preceded byVicente Mendoza
Succeeded byLuis Vásquez
ConstituencyParty list
Personal details
BornVíctor Hugo Choquehuanca Conde
(1951-06-04) 4 June 1951
Achica Abajo, La Paz, Bolivia
PartyTúpac Katari Revolutionary Liberation Movement (1985–2003)
Other political
affiliations
Túpac Katari Revolutionary Movement (1978–1985)
SpouseLidia Katari
Alma materHigher University of San Andrés
Occupation
  • Educator
  • trade unionist
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Víctor Hugo Cárdenas Conde ( Choquehuanca; born 4 June 1951) is a Bolivian indigenous rights activist and politician who served as the 35th vice president of Bolivia from 1993 to 1997. He is the first Aymara vice president, and the second-highest-ranking indigenous official in Bolivian history, after Evo Morales.

Born in Achica Bajo, on the shores of Lake Titicaca, Cárdenas was the son of a rural school teacher. When he was still a child, his father changed his name from Choquehuanca to Cárdenas, in order to mask his indigenous origin and remove what at the time was an obstacle to his educational and professional advancement. His wife has never renounced the typical dress of the chola, an urbanized woman who retains her indigenous identity.

Cárdenas holds a PhD in linguistics and is a university professor.

Cárdenas was an unsuccessful candidate in the 2009 Bolivian presidential election, losing to Evo Morales. He claimed that his ticket was seeking a national consensus rather than division. He was appointed Minister of Education in the government of President Jeanine Añez, overseeing school interruptions and the implementation of virtual education during the coronavirus pandemic. He was dismissed on 19 October after being censured by the Legislative Assembly.