René Vidal (politician)

For the Chilean computer scientist, see René Vidal. Not to be confused with René Bidal.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Vidal and the second or maternal family name is León.

René Vidal
Official portrait, 2010
Member of the Chamber of Deputies from Chuquisaca
In office 19 January 2010 – 12 May 2012
Substitute	Virginia Ramírez
Preceded by	Lourdes Millares
Succeeded by	Virginia Ramírez
Constituency	Party list
Personal details
Born	René Vidal León (1931-04-07)7 April 1931 Tarabuco, Chuquisaca, Bolivia
Died	12 May 2012(2012-05-12) (aged 81) Sucre, Bolivia
Occupation	Politician trade unionist

René Vidal León (7 April 1931 – 12 May 2012) was a Bolivian politician and trade unionist who served as a party-list member of the Chamber of Deputies from Chuquisaca from 2010 until his death in 2012. He previously served on the Sucre Municipal Council from 2000 to 2004.

Vidal spent his early career as a laborer in the petroleum industry, during which time he became active as a representative of the sector's workers' unions. After retiring, he dedicated himself to commercial transport, heading multiple local and regional drivers' unions in the Chuquisaca Department.

Elected to the Sucre Municipal Council in 1999, Vidal continued to be active in politics throughout the 2000s. In 2009, as a product of the drivers' union's alliance with National Convergence, he was elected to represent Chuquisaca in the Chamber of Deputies. At nearly 80 years old, Vidal was the eldest member of parliament and died in office just two years into his term.

Early life and career

Early life and education

René Vidal was born on 7 April 1931 in Tarabuco, Chuquisaca. The third of five siblings, Vidal's early life was marked by orphanhood: his father died as a combatant in the Chaco War, and his mother passed away shortly thereafter. Together with his younger sisters, Vidal settled in Sucre, where they operated a small grocery store. He attended the city's Salesian school up until the fifth grade and later enrolled in night courses to finish out his studies.

Career and trade unionism

Starting from the mid-1950s, Vidal began working as a driller in the employment of the Williams Brothers petroleum corporation. During this time, he played an active role in the sector's trade syndicates, serving as general secretary of his company's workers' union before being elected to represent the entire industry's laborers.

Long retired from the petroleum business, Vidal dedicated himself to commercial activities in the transportation sector. He bought his own truck and joined the Sucre Heavy Transport Syndicate, quickly rising to become the organization's general secretary for nine years. He later served as head of the Syndical Federation of Drivers of Chuquisaca for a decade in the 1990s, in addition to holding leadership positions within the national drivers' confederation.

Chamber of Deputies

Election

Further information: 2009 Bolivian general election

In contrast to most other trade syndicates – historically leftist in nature – Bolivia's drivers' unions had long been more conservatively oriented, a fact that led the political right to frequently benefit the sector's leaders with positions of executive and legislative authority. For his part, Vidal attained his first elective position in the ranks of Nationalist Democratic Action, winning a seat as a substitute member of the Sucre Municipal Council in 1999; a subsequent bid for reelection on behalf of the National Unity Front in 2004 ended in failure.

In 2009, Vidal's drivers' union sealed a deal with National Convergence to jointly contest that year's election – the agreement was unique in that it split Chuquisaca's motorists off from the decision taken by the other eight departments, all of which had elected to back the ruling Movement for Socialism. The pact granted the department's drivers a quota of representatives on National Convergence's parliamentary slate. Having reserved the top party-list slot for himself, Vidal was easily elected to represent Chuquisaca in the Chamber of Deputies.

Tenure

Aged 79 at the time of his inauguration, Vidal was the seniormost member of the 1st Plurinational Legislative Assembly. His advanced age contrasted with the primarily youthful roster of legislators elected in 2009, who – at the time – collectively constituted the youngest-ever parliament since the democratic transition. Furthermore, in a country where the election of legislators older than 70 represents a rare event and those over 75 years of age are exceptional, Vidal stood out as one of the eldest first-term parliamentarians in Bolivian history. Owing to his age, Vidal initiated his term already suffering from chronic heart problems, for which he used a pacemaker. He ultimately died in office midway into his tenure after suffering from heart failure while residing in Sucre. His vacant seat was filled by his substitute, Virginia Ramírez, who was sworn in to complete the remainder of Vidal's term.

Commission assignments

• Constitution, Legislation, and Electoral System Commission
  • Constitutional Development and Legislation Committee (2012)
• Plural Economy, Production, and Industry Commission
  • Community-based Economics and Social Cooperatives Committee (2011–2012)
• Education and Health Commission
  • Health, Sports, and Recreation Committee (2010–2011)

Electoral history

Electoral history of René Vidal

Year	Office	Alliance		Votes			Result	Ref.
				Total	%	P.
1999	Substitute councillor		Nationalist Democratic Action	10,832	15.86%	3rd	Won
2004			National Unity Front	1,894	2.15%	7th	Lost
2009	Deputy		National Convergence	76,722	33.60%	2nd	Won
Source: Plurinational Electoral Organ | Electoral Atlas

References

Works cited

Online and list sources

• "Comisiones y Comités: Periodo Legislativo 2011–2012". diputados.bo (in Spanish). La Paz: Cámara de Diputados del Estado Plurinacional. Archived from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
• "Comisiones y Comités: Periodo Legislativo 2012–2013". diputados.bo (in Spanish). La Paz: Cámara de Diputados del Estado Plurinacional. Archived from the original on 5 February 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
• "Elecciones Municipales 1999 | Atlas Electoral". atlaselectoral.oep.org.bo (in Spanish). La Paz: Órgano Electoral Plurinacional. Archived from the original on 7 March 2023. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
• "Elecciones Municipales 2004 | Atlas Electoral". atlaselectoral.oep.org.bo (in Spanish). La Paz: Órgano Electoral Plurinacional. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
• "Elecciones Generales 2009 | Atlas Electoral". atlaselectoral.oep.org.bo (in Spanish). La Paz: Órgano Electoral Plurinacional. Archived from the original on 7 March 2023. Retrieved 9 August 2023.

Digital and print publications

• Farfán, Williams (13 May 2012). "René Vidal, diputado por Chuquisaca, falleció ayer" [René Vidal, Deputy for Chuquisaca, Passed Away Yesterday]. La Razón (in Spanish). La Paz. Archived from the original on 7 March 2023. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
• "Fallece en Sucre el diputado René Vidal de Convergencia Nacional" [Deputy René Vidal of National Convergence Dies in Sucre]. Los Tiempos (in Spanish). Cochabamba. 12 May 2012. Archived from the original on 7 March 2023. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
• "MAS consolida victoria en Chuquisaca al finalizar cómputo oficial" [MAS Consolidates Victory in Chuquisaca As Official Count Finalizes]. Los Tiempos (in Spanish). Cochabamba. 9 December 2009. Archived from the original on 7 March 2023. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
• "Se desata guerra del transporte entre sector libre y sindicalizado" [Transport War Breaks Out Between Independent and Unionized Sectors] (in Spanish). La Paz. Agencia de Noticias Fides. 7 March 1996. Archived from the original on 8 March 2023. Retrieved 9 August 2023.

Books and encyclopedias

• Arequipa Azurduy, Marcelo (2017). La caja negra de la política: Forma y comportamiento del legislativo en Bolivia, 1985–2015 (in Spanish). La Paz: Vicepresidencia del Estado Plurinacional. ISBN 978-99974-77-07-1. OCLC 1048014294.
• Gonzales Salas, Inés, ed. (2013). Biografías: Historias de vida en la Asamblea Legislativa Plurinacional (in Spanish). Editorial Gente Común; ERBOL; Fundación Friedrich Ebert; IDEA Internacional. pp. 124–126. ISBN 978-99954-93-05-9. OCLC 876429743 – via the Internet Archive.
• Romero Ballivián, Salvador (2018). Quiroga Velasco, Camilo (ed.). Diccionario biográfico de parlamentarios 1979–2019 (in Spanish) (2nd ed.). La Paz: FUNDAPPAC; Fundación Konrad Adenauer. pp. 633–634. ISBN 978-99974-0-021-5. OCLC 1050945993 – via the Internet Archive.
• Vargas Luna, María Elena; Villavicencio Arancibia, Jois Sarelly, eds. (2014). Primera Asamblea Legislativa Plurinacional de Bolivia, Cámara de Diputados: Diccionario biográfico, diputadas y diputados titulares y suplentes 2010–2015 (in Spanish). La Paz: Cámara de Diputados del Estado Plurinacional. OCLC 961105285 – via the Internet Archive.

External links

• Parliamentary profile Office of the Vice President (in Spanish).