Rhina Aguirre | |
|---|---|
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| Senator for Tarija | |
| In office 19 January 2010 – 18 January 2015 | |
| Substitute | |
| Preceded by | Roberto Ruiz |
| Succeeded by | Milciades Peñaloza |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Rhina Aguirre Amézaga 20 May 1939 Tarija, Bolivia |
| Died | 30 October 2021 (aged 82) |
| Political party | Movement for Socialism |
| Spouse | Carlos Samaniego |
| Occupation |
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Rhina Aguirre Amézaga (20 May 1939 – 30 October 2021) was a Bolivian disability activist, politician, and sociologist who served as senator for Tarija from 2010 to 2015.
Aguirre studied education while undergoing the novitiate at the Santa Ana School. Though she retired before making her perpetual vows, she remained influenced by the concepts of liberation theology, which united Christian doctrine with left-wing political positions. An opponent of the military dictatorships of the 1970s and '80s, Aguirre was an early activist in the country's human rights movement.
Exiled to Ecuador by the García Meza regime, she collaborated with Leonidas Proaño's Indigenous Ministry and worked closely with the country's peasant and social organizations. Blinded in both eyes by toxoplasmosis, Aguirre took up the cause of disability rights, joining the Departmental Council for Disabled Persons upon her return to Bolivia. In 2009, she joined the Movement for Socialism and was elected to represent Tarija in the Senate, becoming the first blind person in Bolivian history ever to assume a parliamentary seat.
- ^ Luksic, Álvaro (19 January 2012). "Darío Gareca es el secretario de coordinación de la gobernación" [Darío Gareca Is the New Secretary of Coordination of the Governor's Office]. El País (in Spanish). Tarija. Archived from the original on 16 November 2022. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
- ^ Luksic, Álvaro (30 January 2012). "Un gremialista reemplazará al exsenador suplente Darío Gareca" [A Trade Unionist Will Replace Former Substitute Senator Darío Gareca]. El País (in Spanish). Tarija. Archived from the original on 16 November 2022. Retrieved 23 March 2023.