1. Monica Eva Copa Murga was born on 3 January 1987 and is a Bolivian politician, social worker, and former student leader serving as mayor of El Alto since 2021.
22 Facts About Eva Copa
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Eva Copa cooperated with the transitional government in convoking new elections, but remained critical of what she viewed as its undemocratic tendencies.
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Nonetheless, Eva Copa managed to win the election with almost seventy percent of the popular vote, a significant electoral defeat for the MAS in its historic center of support.
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Months into her term, Copa was ousted from Jallalla due to political disagreements with its leader but maintained a majority of supporters on the city's municipal council, conforming the so-called "RenuEva" bloc.
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Eva Copa was born on 3 January 1987 in El Alto, La Paz, the penultimate of seven children born to Clementina Murga, an artisan from Pucarani, and her husband, Ignacio Copa.
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Eva Copa was raised in the Pasankeri barrio of La Paz, along the border with El Alto, where she attended the Luis Espinal Camps Educational Unit.
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Eva Copa is married to Pablo Callisaya Ajahuana, with whom she has two children: Santiago and Samanta.
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Eva Copa is a Methodist, though she has emphasized the importance of Bolivia's status as a secular state.
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Eva Copa's nomination was atypical as the registration of candidates for Senate under thirty years of age was uncommon.
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Eva Copa succeeded Jeanine Anez, who two days prior had briefly assumed the position before becoming president.
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At a press conference held in December 2019, Eva Copa denounced harassment from these MAS groups and targeted her colleague, Santa Cruz Senator Adriana Salvatierra, whom she labelled a "radical".
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Eva Copa added: "We are not perfect, we could have made mistakes, but we leave with a clear conscience".
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Victor Tarqui, executive of the El Alto drivers' union, further asserted that Eva Copa had the support of all twenty-one of the union's member organizations, as well as ninety percent of the population.
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Finally, on 28 December 2020, Eva Copa was proclaimed as candidate for mayor of El Alto on behalf of Jallalla La Paz, the civic group of Leopoldo Chui.
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Eva Copa responded to the party's decision by stating that "[the] MAS will always be in my heart".
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On 3 May 2021, Eva Copa was sworn in as mayor of El Alto.
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Eva Copa highlighted education, public health, and jobs as the top priority for her administration and stated that the biggest challenge would be to manage the numerous financial and income issues inherited from the previous government.
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In keeping with her promise to promote the political participation of youth leaders, Eva Copa announced that twenty-year-old councillor Iris Flores would head the Municipal Council as its president.
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Additionally, Eva Copa introduced a bill that would authorize the use of chlorine dioxide as a treatment for COVID-19 "voluntarily" and "with informed consent" in order to prevent the unsanctioned sale of the substance.
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Shortly after, Daniel Ramos, president of the MAS in El Alto, ruled out the possibility of Eva Copa rejoining the party because its statutes prohibit it.
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Eva Copa similarly rejected a return to the MAS, stating that she would "never again" be a member of the party, despite the rapprochement between herself and President Luis Arce through their collaborations in combating the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Apaza confirmed this, stating that her campaign slogan RenuEva Copa "is already there" and that she would seek to register her political platform with the Supreme Electoral Tribunal under that acronym.