{{Short description|Bolivian politician (born 1966)}} {{For|the British singer-songwriter|Rebekah Delgado}} {{Family name hatnote|Delgado|Burgoa|lang=Spanish}} {{Good article}} {{Use American English|date=September 2022}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2022}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Rebeca Delgado | image = Rebeca Elvira Delgado Burgoa (Official Photo, 2012) Chamber of Deputies of Bolivia.png | caption = Official portrait, 2012 | alt = Official portrait of Rebeca Delgado flanked to the left by the Bolivian tricolor and the Wiphala. <!-- Political Offices --> | office = President of the Chamber of Deputies | term_start = 20 January 2012 | term_end = 18 January 2013 | predecessor = Héctor Arce | successor = Betty Tejada | office1 = {{Br list|Member of the Chamber of Deputies|from Cochabamba}} | 1blankname1 = {{Nowrap|Substitute}} | 1namedata1 = Samuel Pereira | term_start1 = 19 January 2010 | term_end1 = 16 December 2014 | predecessor1 = Sabina Orellana | successor1 = Romina Pérez | constituency1 = Party list | office2 = Vice Minister of Government Coordination | president2 = Evo Morales | 1blankname2 = {{Nowrap|Minister}} | 1namedata2 = Juan Ramón Quintana | term_start2 = 16 June 2008 | term_end2 = 23 April 2009 | predecessor2 = Héctor Arce | successor2 = Martín Burgoa (acting) | office3 = {{Br list|Constituent of the Constituent Assembly|from Cochabamba}} | term_start3 = 6 August 2006 | term_end3 = 14 December 2007 | constituency3 = Party list <!-- Personal Details --> | birth_name = Rebeca Elvira Delgado Burgoa | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1966|06|01|df=y}} | birth_place = La Paz, Bolivia | death_date = | death_place = | party = Freedom of Thought for Bolivia {{Nowrap|(2014–2015)}}<ref>{{Cite news |date=2015-05-26 |title=Librepensantes y 12 organizaciones perdieron su personalidad jurídica |language=es |work=Opinión |publication-place=Cochabamba |url=https://www.opinion.com.bo/articulo/cochabamba/librepensantes-12-organizaciones-perdieron-personalidad-jur-iacute-dica/20150526195800522063.html |url-status=live |access-date=2023-06-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230616084511/https://www.opinion.com.bo/articulo/cochabamba/librepensantes-12-organizaciones-perdieron-personalidad-jur-iacute-dica/20150526195800522063.html |archive-date=2023-06-16}}</ref> | other_party = Movement for Socialism {{Nowrap|(2006–2013)}} | alma_mater = Higher University of San Simón | occupation = {{Hlist|Educator|lawyer|magistrate|politician}} | signature = (Signature) Rebeca Deglado.svg | signature_alt = Cursive signature in ink }}
'''Rebeca Elvira Delgado Burgoa''' (born 1 June 1966) is a Bolivian academic, lawyer, magistrate, and politician who served as president of the Chamber of Deputies from 2012 to 2013. As a member of the Movement for Socialism, she served as a party-list member of the Chamber of Deputies from Cochabamba from 2010 to 2014. Prior to her election to the lower chamber, Delgado served as a party-list member of the Constituent Assembly from Cochabamba from 2006 to 2007 and was vice minister of government coordination from 2008 to 2009. Delgado's near-decade-long political and legislative tenure was preceded by a fifteen-year career as a public servant, during which time she worked as a public defender and examining magistrate, was a magistrate on the Departmental Electoral Court of Cochabamba, and served as the Ombudsman's Office's delegate for the fight against corruption in Cochabamba.
Born in La Paz and raised in Cochabamba, Delgado graduated as a lawyer at the Higher University of San Simón. She ventured into public activity through the field of human rights, supporting the Departmental Human Rights Assembly during her days as a law student. She worked as coordinator for public defense in Cochabamba and as an examining magistrate before being selected to serve on the department's Departmental Electoral Court, part of the first group of women to hold seats on the bench. Delgado became politically involved during the first government of Evo Morales when she was invited to run for a seat in the Constituent Assembly, tasked with drafting the country's current Constitution. She continued in public administration following the assembly's closure, serving as presidential delegate in Cochabamba, vice minister of government coordination, and head of the Departmental Coordinator of Autonomies.
In 2009, Delgado was elected to represent Cochabamba in the Chamber of Deputies, and was elected to the presidency of the lower chamber in 2012. Delgado's tenure saw a deterioration in relations between herself and the administration due to her willingness to challenge executive interference in legislative matters, briefly upending the subservient role the legislature had begun to take starting from Morales's second term. Delgado was not reelected to the presidency and spent the remainder of her term as ''persona non grata'' within her own party, assuming leadership over a nascent group of "freethinkers" that defected from the ruling party in the latter years of the 1st Plurinational Legislative Assembly. In late 2014, she launched a bid for the Cochabamba mayoralty on behalf of her own party, Freedom of Thought for Bolivia. However, her candidacy was disqualified due to a controversial judicial ruling that barred most outgoing legislators from running for local public office. Delgado took her grievance to the United Nations, which in 2018 ruled that the government had violated her civil and political rights.
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== Early life and career == Rebeca Delgado was born on 1 June 1966 in La Paz to Alfredo Delgado and Rebeca Burgoa.{{sfn|Vargas|Villavicencio|2014|p=65}} Delgado's mother was raised in Charazani, the cultural center of the Kallawaya, an itinerant group native to the Saavedra Province. Her father was the son of a local landlord from the rural town of Pumujri in the adjoining Camacho Province. Orphaned as a child, Alfredo Delgado spent much of his youth in the care of the area's Kallawaya community, to whom he later bequeathed his inherited land titles in gratitude. Her parents' rural roots led Delgado to heavily identify with Kallawaya culture as a child, with the family often returning to vacation in Pumujri, where she participated in indigenous festivities and traditions.{{sfn|Gonzales Salas|2013|p=65}}<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sahonero Camacho |first=Mirla |date=28 January 2017 |title=Freddy Delgado B. Agroecólogo y mediador |language=es |work=Opinión |publication-place=Cochabamba |url=https://www.opinion.com.bo/articulo/tendencias/freddy-delgado-b-agroec-oacute-logo-mediador/20170128231700674306.html |url-status=live |access-date=21 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220921184333/https://www.opinion.com.bo/articulo/tendencias/freddy-delgado-b-agroec-oacute-logo-mediador/20170128231700674306.html |archive-date=21 September 2022}}</ref>
Delgado concluded her primary studies in La Paz before moving with her family to Cochabamba, where she attended the city's Catholic Handmaids institute. She studied law at the Higher University of San Simón, graduating with a master's in criminal science and a diploma in higher education with a specialization in human rights.{{sfn|Vargas|Villavicencio|2014|p=65}}{{sfn|Romero Ballivián|2018|p=194}} During her time in university, Delgado made her first forays into the public sector, serving as a volunteer member of the Departmental Human Rights Assembly's legal commission. Upon graduating, she briefly worked as a university professor at the Bolivian Catholic University and the Bolivian Private University before moving on to serve as coordinator for public defense of Cochabamba, her first official public function.{{sfn|Gonzales Salas|2013|p=65}}{{sfn|Romero Ballivián|2018|p=194}} It was while exercising this position in the 1990s that Delgado first became acquainted with ''cocalero'' activist Evo Morales when she was assigned to assume the defense of the region's coca growers.<ref name="LR-2013-06-23">{{Cite news |last=Paredes Tamayo |first=Iván |date=23 June 2013 |title=Rebeca Delgado: Creemos en el liderazgo de Evo; la cúpula que lo rodea es la inorgánica |language=es |work=La Razón |publication-place=La Paz |url=https://www.la-razon.com/lr-article/rebeca-delgado-creemos-en-el-liderazgo-de-evo-la-cupula-que-lo-rodea-es-la-inorganica/ |url-status=live |access-date=21 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220921225754/https://www.la-razon.com/lr-article/rebeca-delgado-creemos-en-el-liderazgo-de-evo-la-cupula-que-lo-rodea-es-la-inorganica/ |archive-date=21 September 2022}}</ref>
In the ensuing years, Delgado worked as an examining magistrate and was an active member of several women's organizations. In 1991, during the period of judicial reform spearheaded by René Blattmann—which for the first time prioritized the appointment of impartial professionals over fulfilling partisan quotas—Delgado was nominated by these women's organization to serve as a magistrate on Cochabamba's Departmental Electoral Court. The hard-fought push for women's representation in the judiciary meant that not only was Delgado part of the first group of women to serve on the court, but the body actually held a female majority. Upon the conclusion of her term, Delgado was appointed to work for the Ombudsman's Office as its delegate for the fight against corruption in Cochabamba.{{sfn|Gonzales Salas|2013|p=65}}{{sfn|Romero Ballivián|2018|p=194}}
== Constituent Assembly == === Election === {{Further|2006 Bolivian Constituent Assembly election}} Throughout her fifteen years of public service, Delgado remained on the sidelines of partisan politics, a situation that changed in late 2005, when her name was put forward by several women's organizations as a potential candidate for a seat in the newly-formed Constituent Assembly on behalf of the Movement for Socialism (MAS-IPSP). Delgado received the formal invitation in 2006, accepted, and was elected on the MAS's party list in that year's constituent elections.<ref name="LR-2013-06-23" /> The postulation of retired former magistrates to contest elective office was a not uncommon tactic among political parties of the day, taking advantage of the good public image individuals like Delgado had accrued as impartial arbiters of the law.{{sfn|Romero Ballivián|2018|p=194}}
=== Tenure === As a constituent, Delgado chaired the assembly's Justice Commission, applying her legal knowledge to the process of writing and drafting articles in the new Constitution related to judicial matters. Of particular note was the decision to open up the designation of the country's highest judicial officials to popular vote, with candidates pre-selected by the Legislative Assembly. Though intended to alleviate the crisis of judicial independence the country faced at the time, Delgado later lamented that the legislature's ability to pre-select candidates made the judiciary subject to the whims of "buddies and friends" in the Legislative Assembly. Years later, she called for amendments to the Constitution allowing for popular participation in the pre-selection of judicial candidates.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Quiroz Terán |first=Mauricio |date=11 February 2022 |title=Rebeca Delgado demanda participación ciudadana para eliminar 'el cuateo político' de la Justicia |language=es |work=El Deber |publication-place=Santa Cruz de la Sierra |url=https://eldeber.com.bo/pais/rebeca-delgado-demanda-participacion-ciudadana-para-eliminar-el-cuateo-politico-de-la-justicia_267114 |url-status=live |url-access=registration |access-date=22 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220309233225/https://eldeber.com.bo/pais/rebeca-delgado-demanda-participacion-ciudadana-para-eliminar-el-cuateo-politico-de-la-justicia_267114 |archive-date=9 March 2022}}</ref> Regardless of its shortfalls, Delgado regarded her term in the Constituent Assembly as her "strongest political moment and proof of political commitment".<ref name="LR-2013-06-23" />
== Government official == Half a year after the closure of the Constituent Assembly, Delgado was appointed to serve as the government's presidential delegate in Cochabamba, charged with coordinating government actions with the region's social sectors. Added to this was the mission of acting as a liaison between executive and departmental authorities, a task of particular import when managing relations between the government and opposition-led regions like Cochabamba.<ref>{{Cite news |date=16 May 2008 |title=Evo Morales cambia a su delegada en Cochabamba |language=es |work=Los Tiempos |publication-place=Cochabmaba |url=https://www.lostiempos.com/actualidad/nacional/20080516/evo-morales-cambia-su-delegada-cochabamba |url-status=live |access-date=22 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922191846/https://www.lostiempos.com/actualidad/nacional/20080516/evo-morales-cambia-su-delegada-cochabamba |archive-date=22 September 2022}}</ref> Delgado's prominent position as a regional authority led President Morales to consider appointing her as the department's acting prefect in replacement of Manfred Reyes Villa, whom voters had recently recalled. For a while, she remained the president's preferred pick among a crowded field of possible candidates and was one of the final two contenders for the position, together with David Herrera, who enjoyed the support of the department's social movements. Ultimately, however, neither were chosen, with Morales instead designating Rafael Puente to hold the post.<ref>{{Cite news |date=24 August 2008 |title=El MAS se apresta a posesionar al Prefecto interino en Cochabamba |language=es |work=Opinión |publication-place=Cochabamba |url=https://www.opinion.com.bo/articulo/el-pais/mas-apresta-posesionar-prefecto-interino-cochabamba/20080824230134289701.html |url-status=live |access-date=22 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922191911/https://www.opinion.com.bo/articulo/el-pais/mas-apresta-posesionar-prefecto-interino-cochabamba/20080824230134289701.html |archive-date=22 September 2022}}</ref>
Just a month after being sworn in as a presidential delegate, Delgado was reassigned to head the Vice Ministry of Government Coordination.<ref>{{Cite news |date=16 June 2008 |title=Gobierno posesionó a nueva viceministra y delegado presidencial |language=es |agency=Agencia de Noticias Fides |publication-place=La Paz |url=https://www.noticiasfides.com/nacional/politica/gobierno-posesiono-a-nueva-viceministra-y-delegado-presidencial-39935 |url-status=live |access-date=22 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922192122/https://www.noticiasfides.com/nacional/politica/gobierno-posesiono-a-nueva-viceministra-y-delegado-presidencial-39935 |archive-date=22 September 2022}}</ref> In her service as vice minister, Delgado assisted in drafting and elaborating supreme decrees issued by the executive branch, contributed to the process of implementing the new Constitution, and successfully developed a system for monitoring the performance of public management. In April 2009, having spent the past two years in public administration, Delgado resigned and returned to Cochabamba to focus on her family.<ref>{{Cite news |date=23 April 2009 |title=Renuncia viceministra de Coordinación Gubernamental |language=es |agency=Agencia de Noticias Fides |publication-place=La Paz |url=https://www.noticiasfides.com/nacional/politica/renuncia-viceministra-de-coordinacion-gubernamental--28818 |url-status=live |access-date=22 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922225911/https://www.noticiasfides.com/nacional/politica/renuncia-viceministra-de-coordinacion-gubernamental--28818 |archive-date=22 September 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=24 April 2009 |title=Renuncia viceministra de Coordinación Gubernamental |language=es |work=Los Tiempos |publication-place=Cochabamba |url=https://www.lostiempos.com/actualidad/nacional/20090424/renuncia-viceministra-coordinacion-gubernamental |url-status=live |access-date=22 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922220619/https://www.lostiempos.com/actualidad/nacional/20090424/renuncia-viceministra-coordinacion-gubernamental |archive-date=22 September 2022}}</ref> She was quickly substituted by Martín Burgoa, who served in an acting capacity until Wilfredo Chávez was appointed as Delgado's permanent replacement in May.<ref>{{Cite news |date=24 April 2009 |title=Gobierno nombra sucesor de Rebeca Delgado |language=es |work=Opinión |publication-place=Cochabamba |url=https://www.opinion.com.bo/articulo/sin-categoria/gobierno-nombra-sucesor-rebeca-delgado/20090424213804310957.html |url-status=live |access-date=22 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922221110/https://www.opinion.com.bo/articulo/sin-categoria/gobierno-nombra-sucesor-rebeca-delgado/20090424213804310957.html |archive-date=22 September 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|author=Staff writer |date=6 May 2009 |title=Chávez jura como 'Vice' |language=es |work=Los Tiempos |agency=Agencia de Noticias Fides |location=La Paz |publication-place=Cochabamba |url=https://www.lostiempos.com/actualidad/nacional/20090506/chavez-jura-como-vice |url-status=live |access-date=22 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922221209/https://www.lostiempos.com/actualidad/nacional/20090506/chavez-jura-como-vice |archive-date=22 September 2022}}</ref> The following month, Delgado returned to public service in a more localized role, being appointed to head the Departmental Coordinator of Autonomies of Cochabamba, a position focused on developing the department's newly granted political autonomy, including drafting its autonomous statute.<ref>{{Cite news |date=17 June 2009 |title=Rebeca Delgado asume cargo de coordinadora regional de autonomías |language=es |work=Opinión |publication-place=Cochabamba |url=https://www.opinion.com.bo/articulo/el-pais/rebeca-delgado-asume-cargo-coordinadora-regional-autonomias/20090617190708315255.html |url-status=live |access-date=22 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922223928/https://www.opinion.com.bo/articulo/el-pais/rebeca-delgado-asume-cargo-coordinadora-regional-autonomias/20090617190708315255.html |archive-date=22 September 2022}}</ref>
== Chamber of Deputies == === Election === {{Further|2009 Bolivian general election}} A month and a half into her new position, Delgado was informed that the MAS's departmental directorate, together with local social organizations, had agreed to nominate her as a candidate in that year's general elections. She topped the MAS's party list in Cochabamba and was elected to represent the department in the Chamber of Deputies, becoming one of roughly a tenth of former constituents who continued national political careers following the conclusion of their terms in the Constituent Assembly.{{sfn|Gonzales Salas|2013|p=66}}{{sfn|Romero Ballivián|2018|p=19}}
=== Tenure === Entering parliament, Delgado was selected to serve as chair of the MAS caucus in the Chamber of Deputies, a decision in line with Morales's stated gender equity criteria for leadership positions.<ref>{{Cite news|author=Staff writer |date=19 January 2010 |title=Evo dice la equidad se impuso para elegir a Anamar y Arce en las directivas de la Asamblea Legislativa |language=es |work=Los Tiempos |location=La Paz |publication-place=Cochabamba |url=https://www.lostiempos.com/actualidad/nacional/20100119/evo-dice-equidad-se-impuso-elegir-anamar-arce-directivas-asamblea |url-status=live |access-date=24 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220924221536/https://www.lostiempos.com/actualidad/nacional/20100119/evo-dice-equidad-se-impuso-elegir-anamar-arce-directivas-asamblea |archive-date=24 September 2022}}</ref> She continued as the MAS's standard-bearer in the lower chamber for half a year before unexpectedly resigning at the end of May, citing coordination issues with the body's president, Héctor Arce.<ref>{{Cite news|author=Staff writer |date=1 June 2010 |title=Rebeca Delgado confirma que deja jefatura de MAS |language=es |work=Los Tiempos |location=La Paz |publication-place=Cochabamba |url=https://www.lostiempos.com/actualidad/nacional/20100601/rebeca-delgado-confirma-que-deja-jefatura-mas |url-status=live |access-date=24 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220924221719/https://www.lostiempos.com/actualidad/nacional/20100601/rebeca-delgado-confirma-que-deja-jefatura-mas |archive-date=24 September 2022}}</ref> The primary highlight of Delgado's early term was in the international sphere, where she served as vice president and later president of the Andean Parliament, the first Bolivian woman to assume either position.{{sfn|Vargas|Villavicencio|2014|p=65}}<ref>{{Cite news|author=Staff writer |date=28 March 2010 |title=Delgado en Parlamento Andino |language=es |work=Los Tiempos |agency=Agencia Boliviana de Información |location=Bogotá |publication-place=Cochabamba |url=https://www.lostiempos.com/actualidad/nacional/20100328/delgado-parlamento-andino |url-status=live |access-date=24 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220924221838/https://www.lostiempos.com/actualidad/nacional/20100328/delgado-parlamento-andino |archive-date=24 September 2022}}</ref> Her presidency focused on combating the illicit drug trade in the region and restructuring the Andean Integration System in support of the more than ten million migrants from Andean Community member states residing in the United States and European Union.<ref>{{Cite news |date=8 August 2011 |title=Delgado asume Presidencia del Parlamento Andino |language=es |work=La Razón |publication-place=La Paz |url=https://www.la-razon.com/economia/2011/08/08/delgado-asume-presidencia-del-parlamento-andino/ |url-status=live |access-date=24 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220924222008/https://www.la-razon.com/economia/2011/08/08/delgado-asume-presidencia-del-parlamento-andino/ |archive-date=24 September 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|author=Staff writer |date=9 August 2011 |title=Delgado anuncia reestructuración |language=es |work=Los Tiempos |location=La Paz |publication-place=Cochabamba |url=https://www.lostiempos.com/actualidad/nacional/20110809/delgado-anuncia-reestructuracion |url-status=live |access-date=24 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220924222108/https://www.lostiempos.com/actualidad/nacional/20110809/delgado-anuncia-reestructuracion |archive-date=24 September 2022}}</ref>
==== President of the Chamber of Deputies ==== In January 2012, the MAS's Cochabamba caucus presented Delgado as their nominee for the presidency of the Chamber of Deputies, challenging incumbent Héctor Arce for the post.<ref name=":LT-2012-06-04">{{Cite news |date=4 June 2012 |title=Delgado: Hay leyes del Ejecutivo que cambiamos en 80 por ciento |language=es |work=Los Tiempos |publication-place=Cochabamba |url=https://www.lostiempos.com/actualidad/nacional/20120604/delgado-hay-leyes-del-ejecutivo-que-cambiamos-80-ciento |url-status=live |access-date=24 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220925014655/https://www.lostiempos.com/actualidad/nacional/20120604/delgado-hay-leyes-del-ejecutivo-que-cambiamos-80-ciento |archive-date=25 September 2022}}</ref> After a prolonged period of arduous debate lasting several hours, the broader MAS caucus in the Chamber of Deputies designated Delgado to succeed Arce as the body's president. She defeated the two-term incumbent by a margin of twenty-five votes, owing to Arce's lack of support among multiple departmental caucuses.<ref>{{Cite news |date=14 January 2012 |title=Rebeca Delgado dirigirá la Cámara de Diputados |language=es |work=Los Tiempos |publication-place=Cochabamba |url=https://www.lostiempos.com/actualidad/nacional/20120114/rebeca-delgado-dirigira-camara-diputados |url-status=live |access-date=24 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220924230143/https://www.lostiempos.com/actualidad/nacional/20120114/rebeca-delgado-dirigira-camara-diputados |archive-date=24 September 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=15 January 2012 |title=Arce destaca la elección de Delgado en diputados |language=es |work=Los Tiempos |publication-place=Cochabamba |url=https://www.lostiempos.com/actualidad/nacional/20120115/arce-destaca-eleccion-delgado-diputados |url-status=live |access-date=24 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220924230252/https://www.lostiempos.com/actualidad/nacional/20120115/arce-destaca-eleccion-delgado-diputados |archive-date=24 September 2022}}</ref> Delgado was sworn in on 20 January, in tandem with the inauguration of Gabriela Montaño as president of the Senate. Their shared term holds the distinction of being the first time in Bolivian history that both chambers of the Legislative Assembly were simultaneously presided by women.<ref>{{Cite news|author=Staff writer |date=20 January 2012 |title=Dos mujeres presiden por primera vez Senado y Cámara de Diputados de Bolivia |language=es |work=ABC Color |agency=EFE |location=La Paz |publication-place=Asunción |url=https://www.abc.com.py/internacionales/dos-mujeres-presiden-por-primera-vez-senado-y-camara-de-diputados-de-bolivia-357848.html |url-status=live |access-date=24 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220924230415/https://www.abc.com.py/internacionales/dos-mujeres-presiden-por-primera-vez-senado-y-camara-de-diputados-de-bolivia-357848.html |archive-date=24 September 2022}}</ref>
thumb|Official portrait, 2014|left|291x291px|alt=Headshot of Rebeca Delgado
Delgado's presidency prioritized the passage of laws benefiting the most marginalized sectors of society.<ref name=":LT-2012-06-04"/> Her tenure saw the Chamber of Deputies approve legislation aimed at guaranteeing equal conditions for disabled persons and combating human trafficking,<ref>{{Cite news|author=Staff writer |date=4 February 2012 |title=Diputados aprueba en detalle y con modificaciones el proyecto de Ley para discapacitados |language=es |work=Los Tiempos |location=La Paz |publication-place=Cochabamba |url=https://www.lostiempos.com/actualidad/nacional/20120224/diputados-aprueba-detalle-modificaciones-proyecto-ley-discapacitados |url-status=live |access-date=24 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220925063148/https://www.lostiempos.com/actualidad/nacional/20120224/diputados-aprueba-detalle-modificaciones-proyecto-ley-discapacitados |archive-date=25 September 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|author=Staff writer |date=13 June 2012 |title=Diputados aprueba en detalle ley contra la trata |language=es |work=Los Tiempos |location=La Paz |publication-place=Cochabamba |url=https://www.lostiempos.com/actualidad/nacional/20120613/diputados-aprueba-detalle-ley-contra-trata |url-status=live |access-date=24 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220925064305/https://www.lostiempos.com/actualidad/nacional/20120613/diputados-aprueba-detalle-ley-contra-trata |archive-date=25 September 2022}}</ref> and though she opposed the legal recognition of same-sex marriage, viewing it as contravening the Constitution, she did not rule out the possibility of regulating civil unions and division of property.<ref>{{Cite news |date=24 May 2012 |title=Delgado descarta matrimonios entre personas del mismo sexo |language=es |work=El Diario |publication-place=La Paz |url=https://www.pub.eldiario.net/noticias/2012/2012_05/nt120524/politica.php?n=117&-delgado-descarta-matrimonios-entre-personas-del-mismo-sexo |url-status=live |access-date=24 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220925064704/https://www.pub.eldiario.net/noticias/2012/2012_05/nt120524/politica.php?n=117&-delgado-descarta-matrimonios-entre-personas-del-mismo-sexo |archive-date=25 September 2022}}</ref> In April, the chamber unanimously passed the Law Against Harassment and Political Violence Against Women, a historic piece of legislation seeking to guarantee the free exercise of women's political rights.<ref>{{Cite news |date=11 April 2012 |title=Diputados aprueban Ley contra el Acoso Político a Mujeres |language=es |work=Opinión |publication-place=Cochabamba |url=https://www.opinion.com.bo/articulo/el-pais/diputados-aprueban-ley-acoso-politico-mujeres/20120411070600412105.html |url-status=live |access-date=24 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220925064837/https://www.opinion.com.bo/articulo/el-pais/diputados-aprueban-ley-acoso-politico-mujeres/20120411070600412105.html |archive-date=25 September 2022}}</ref>
Regarding longstanding accusations of legislative "submission" before the executive branch, Delgado rebutted that many bills sent by the president and his team often saw up to eighty percent of their text amended and modified before final approval by the chamber.<ref name=":LT-2012-06-04" /> Delgado's relative willingness to challenge executive interference sparked controversy late into the year following disagreements over an asset forfeiture bill.<ref>{{Citation|author=United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ''Decision''|title=''Rebeca Delgado v. Bolivia'' '''CCPR/C/122/D/2628/2015'''|url=https://www.legal-tools.org/doc/51vi5k/pdf|page=2|access-date=25 September 2022|date=28 March 2018|language=en|via=Legal Tools}}</ref> The legislation, drafted by Minister of Government Carlos Romero, sought to expand the government's ability to seize and sell off illicitly-acquired property. Though constitutional experts expressed concern over the bill's perceived infringement on the right to property, the government nonetheless demanded that the legislature pass it without modifications. Despite approval from the Senate, the bill stalled in the Chamber of Deputies, with Delgado stating that some sixty percent of the law's text would have to be modified for constitutionality.<ref>{{Cite news |date=6 November 2012 |title=Una ley causa discordia en el Ejecutivo y Legislativo, y Evo pide al TCP que dirima el conflicto de poderes |language=es |work=Bolpress |publication-place=La Paz |url=https://www.bolpress.com/?Cod=2012110601 |url-status=live |access-date=25 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190825104721/https://www.bolpress.com/?Cod=2012110601 |archive-date=25 August 2019}}</ref> The ensuing public spat continued through the month, with Delgado calling on Romero to exercise more responsibility when drafting laws.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1 November 2012 |title=Delgado critica a Romero por la ley de Extinción |language=es |work=Los Tiempos |publication-place=Cochabamba |url=https://www.lostiempos.com/actualidad/nacional/20121101/delgado-critica-romero-ley-extincion |url-status=live |access-date=25 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220925080844/https://www.lostiempos.com/actualidad/nacional/20121101/delgado-critica-romero-ley-extincion |archive-date=25 September 2022}}</ref> Romero, in turn, lambasted Delgado for having "[never] developed a serious proposal in her life", asserting that he would not argue with a person he considered politically and academically beneath him.<ref>{{Cite news |date=26 November 2012 |title=Romero y Delgado develan sus roces |language=es |work=Los Tiempos |publication-place=Cochabamba |url=https://www.lostiempos.com/actualidad/nacional/20121126/romero-delgado-develan-sus-roces |url-status=live |access-date=25 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220925081043/https://www.lostiempos.com/actualidad/nacional/20121126/romero-delgado-develan-sus-roces |archive-date=25 September 2022}}</ref> Ultimately, President Morales ordered the bill's withdrawal from parliament, announcing his intent to present it before the Plurinational Constitutional Court for review.<ref>{{Cite news |date=5 November 2012 |title=Evo suspende tratamiento del Proyecto de Ley de Extinción de Dominio |language=es |agency=ERBOL |publication-place=La Paz |url=https://anteriorportal.erbol.com.bo/noticia/politica/05112012/evo_suspende_tratamiento_del_proyecto_de_ley_de_extincion_de_dominio |url-status=live |access-date=25 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220925081151/https://anteriorportal.erbol.com.bo/noticia/politica/05112012/evo_suspende_tratamiento_del_proyecto_de_ley_de_extincion_de_dominio |archive-date=25 September 2022}}</ref>{{efn-lg|In 2013, the court found seven articles of the bill unconstitutional. Delgado highlighted her vindication but considered that the entire bill should have been thrown out to allow for the elaboration of a new law.<ref>{{Cite news |date=26 April 2013 |title=TCP observa 7 artículos de la ley de extinción |language=es |work=Los Tiempos |publication-place=Cochabamba |url=https://www.lostiempos.com/actualidad/nacional/20130426/tcp-observa-7-articulos-ley-extincion |url-status=live |access-date=25 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220925223840/https://www.lostiempos.com/actualidad/nacional/20130426/tcp-observa-7-articulos-ley-extincion |archive-date=25 September 2022}}</ref>}}
Delgado's much-publicized face-off with the minister of government soured relations between herself and the executive branch, and though some groups within the MAS and the opposition expressed support for her continuation as president, the political damage done proved insurmountable. Early into the new year, Morales expressed discontent with the "many problems" Delgado's presidency had brought, pointing out that compared to Arce's prior terms, Delgado's tenure was "[the] first time there was disconnect between the executive branch and the legislative branch".<ref>{{Cite news |date=3 January 2013 |title=Morales admite 'problemas' con Delgado |language=es |work=La Razón |publication-place=La Paz |url=https://dev-qa.la-razon.com/nacional/2013/01/03/morales-admite-problemas-con-delgado/ |url-status=live |access-date=25 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220925222213/https://dev-qa.la-razon.com/nacional/2013/01/03/morales-admite-problemas-con-delgado/ |archive-date=25 September 2022}}</ref> Vice President Álvaro García Linera was more explicit, commenting that if individuals like Delgado wanted to be "freethinkers", they could leave the party.<ref>{{Cite news |date=10 January 2013 |title=García Linera les dice a los masistas que si son 'libre pensantes' pueden irse |language=es |agency=Agencia de Noticias Fides |publication-place=La Paz |url=https://www.noticiasfides.com/nacional/politica/garcia-linera-les-dice-a-los-masistas-que-si-son-libre-pensantes-pueden-irse-326227-326214 |url-status=live |access-date=25 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201119165744/https://www.noticiasfides.com/nacional/politica/garcia-linera-les-dice-a-los-masistas-que-si-son-libre-pensantes-pueden-irse-326227-326214 |archive-date=19 November 2020}}</ref> Having lost the confidence of party leaders, the Cochabamba caucus opted not to nominate Delgado for a second term, and she was replaced by Betty Tejada as president of the Chamber of Deputies. Delgado's status as ''persona non grata'' within her own party continued beyond her failure to be reelected to the presidency.<ref>{{Cite news |date=12 January 2013 |title=Evo recoge propuestas y candidaturas de 4 bancadas |language=es |work=Los Tiempos |publication-place=Cochabamba |url=https://www.lostiempos.com/actualidad/nacional/20130112/evo-recoge-propuestas-candidaturas-4-bancadas |url-status=live |access-date=25 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220925222415/https://www.lostiempos.com/actualidad/nacional/20130112/evo-recoge-propuestas-candidaturas-4-bancadas |archive-date=25 September 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=18 January 2013 |title=Betty Tejada será la nueva presidenta de Diputados y Montaño se queda en Senadores |language=es |work=El Diario |publication-place=La Paz |url=https://www.pub.eldiario.net/noticias/2013/2013_01/nt130118/principal.php?n=84&-betty-tejada-sera-la-nueva-presidenta-de-diputados-y-montanio-se-qued |url-status=live |access-date=25 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220925222524/https://www.pub.eldiario.net/noticias/2013/2013_01/nt130118/principal.php?n=84&-betty-tejada-sera-la-nueva-presidenta-de-diputados-y-montanio-se-qued |archive-date=25 September 2022}}</ref> In its yearly reallocation of legislative positions, Delgado found herself left out of any and all of the chamber's commissions and committees, and her participation in party meetings was limited only to those held by her own departmental caucus, a situation she described as punishment for thinking freely. In his analysis of Delgado's post-presidency prospects, analyst Marcelo Silva stated she had been effectively relegated to "the MAS's freezer".<ref>{{Cite news |date=25 January 2013 |title=El MAS pone en la congeladora a Rebeca Delgado, ella dice que asume el 'castigo' |language=es |work=Red UNO |url=https://eju.tv/2013/01/el-mas-pone-en-la-congeladora-a-rebeca-delgado-ella-dice-que-asume-el-castigo/ |url-status=live |access-date=25 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515125829/https://eju.tv/2013/01/el-mas-pone-en-la-congeladora-a-rebeca-delgado-ella-dice-que-asume-el-castigo/ |archive-date=15 May 2013 |via=eju!}}</ref>
==== Defection from the MAS ==== For the remaining two years of her term, Delgado assumed a markedly antagonistic position in relation to the ruling party. She became a leading advocate of the "freethinkers", a faction of MAS defectors that criticized the ruling party's methods and practices without breaking with the government's left-wing ideological position nor aligning with the conservative opposition.<ref>{{Cite news|author=Staff writer |date=22 September 2013 |title=Rebeca Delgado: 'Librepensantes' inician nueva forma de hacer política |language=es |work=La Patria |agency=Agencia de Noticias Fides |location=La Paz |publication-place=Oruro |url=https://impresa.lapatria.bo/noticia/158018 |url-status=live |url-access=registration |access-date=25 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220926015531/https://impresa.lapatria.bo/noticia/158018 |archive-date=26 September 2022}}</ref> This small but not insignificant group grew steadily in the closing years of the Legislative Assembly, including among its ranks at least ten deputies and some senators.<ref>{{Cite news |date=9 May 2013 |title=Creen que el MAS puede perder sus 2/3 |language=es |work=Los Tiempos |publication-place=Cochabamba |url=https://www.lostiempos.com/actualidad/nacional/20130509/creen-que-mas-puede-perder-sus-23 |url-status=live |access-date=25 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220926022716/https://www.lostiempos.com/actualidad/nacional/20130509/creen-que-mas-puede-perder-sus-23 |archive-date=26 September 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=11 June 2013 |title=Cinco asambleístas del MAS se reunieron con disidentes |language=es |work=Opinión |publication-place=Cochabamba |url=https://www.opinion.com.bo/articulo/el-pais/asambleistas-mas-reunieron-disidentes/20130611064000473671.html |url-status=live |access-date=25 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220926022923/https://www.opinion.com.bo/articulo/el-pais/asambleistas-mas-reunieron-disidentes/20130611064000473671.html |archive-date=26 September 2022}}</ref> Though never able to break the MAS majority in either legislative chamber, Delgado's movement was able to tip the scales in the Chamber of Deputies, where the ruling party lost its supermajority.{{efn-lg|Apart from the preexisting elected opposition led by National Convergence with thirty-seven deputies, followed by the National Unity Front with three and the Social Alliance at two, the MAS had also lost the support of several legislators from the Fearless Movement and the caucus of indigenous deputies, both of whom entered parliament with the ruling party before breaking with it for various reasons.}} It thus also lost the ability to make decisions that necessitated the support of two-thirds of both chambers. By that point, however, analysts noted that so late into the Legislative Assembly's term, major decisions requiring two-thirds majority, such as appointing officials and constitutional reforms, were unlikely, reducing the significance of the opposition's achievement.<ref>{{Cite news |date=28 May 2013 |title=Los dos tercios dejan de ser importantes en el Legislativo |language=es |work=Opinión |publication-place=Cochabamba |url=https://www.opinion.com.bo/articulo/el-pais/tercios-dejan-ser-importantes-legislativo/20130528213300472359.html |url-status=live |access-date=25 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220926021909/https://www.opinion.com.bo/articulo/el-pais/tercios-dejan-ser-importantes-legislativo/20130528213300472359.html |archive-date=26 September 2022}}</ref>
In late 2013, Delgado's group signed an agreement with the National Council of Ayllus and Markas of Qullasuyu (CONAMAQ) to promote legislation supporting Bolivia's indigenous population.<ref>{{Cite news |date=10 August 2013 |title='Libre pensantes' firman con Conamaq y forman bancada indígena en la Asamblea |language=es |work=La Patria |agency=Agencia de Noticias Fides |publication-place=Oruro |url=https://impresa.lapatria.bo/index2.php?nota=153396 |url-status=live |url-access=registration |access-date=26 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220926070720/https://impresa.lapatria.bo/index2.php?nota=153396 |archive-date=26 September 2022}}</ref> Later that year, CONAMAQ secured an alliance with the Green Party (PVB-IEP) to support Rafael Quispe as a candidate for the presidency in the 2014 general election. Following the announcement, Quispe expressed interest in expanding CONAMAQ's existing pact with Delgado's bloc to include them in the new coalition.<ref>{{Cite news |date=26 November 2013 |title=Quispe quiere la sigla del Partido Verde |language=es |work=La Razón |publication-place=La Paz |url=https://dev-qa.la-razon.com/nacional/2013/11/26/quispe-quiere-la-sigla-del-partido%E2%80%88verde/ |url-status=live |access-date=26 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220926070854/https://dev-qa.la-razon.com/nacional/2013/11/26/quispe-quiere-la-sigla-del-partido%E2%80%88verde/ |archive-date=26 September 2022}}</ref> The MAS dissidents, however, pronounced their discomfort with the idea of moving forward with Quispe as a candidate, instead lobbying for Delgado to head the PVB's ticket.<ref>{{Cite news |date=29 October 2013 |title=¿Rebeca o Quispe? Conamaq, Cidob y librepensantes no se ponen de acuerdo |language=es |agency=ERBOL |publication-place=La Paz |url=https://eju.tv/2013/10/rebeca-o-quispe-conamaq-cidob-y-librepensantes-no-se-ponen-de-acuerdo/ |url-status=live |access-date=5 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220807034927/https://eju.tv/2013/10/rebeca-o-quispe-conamaq-cidob-y-librepensantes-no-se-ponen-de-acuerdo/ |archive-date=7 August 2022 |via=eju!}}</ref> Ultimately, internal disputes over the coalition's presidential ballot forced Delgado to seek different political partners. She found them in Juan del Granado's Fearless Movement (MSM), with whom her bloc—now organized into the Freedom of Thought for Bolivia (LPB)—signed an electoral pact.<ref>{{Cite news |date=3 June 2014 |title=Delgado confirma pacto con MSM |language=es |work=El Diario |publication-place=La Paz |url=https://www.pub.eldiario.net/noticias/2014/2014_06/nt140603/politica.php?n=107&-delgado-confirma-pacto-con-msm |access-date=26 September 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=4 June 2014 |title=LPB suscribe acuerdo de alianza con MSM |language=es |work=El Diario |publication-place=La Paz |url=https://www.pub.eldiario.net/noticias/2014/2014_06/nt140604/politica.php?n=110&-lpb-suscribe-acuerdo-de-alianza-con-msm |url-status=live |access-date=26 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220926075343/https://www.pub.eldiario.net/noticias/2014/2014_06/nt140604/politica.php?n=110&-lpb-suscribe-acuerdo-de-alianza-con-msm |archive-date=26 September 2022}}</ref> Following the agreement, Delgado was invited to accompany del Granado as his running mate; however, she rejected the offer, stating that her aim was establishing a long-term alternative progressive political project for the country, not seeking a candidacy.<ref>{{Cite news |date=25 June 2014 |title=El MSM suma alianzas políticas en Cochabamba |language=es |work=Página Siete |publication-place=La Paz |url=https://www.paginasiete.bo/nacional/el-msm-suma-alianzas-politicas-en-cochabamba-EJPS25116 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=26 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220926075604/https://www.paginasiete.bo/nacional/el-msm-suma-alianzas-politicas-en-cochabamba-EJPS25116 |archive-date=26 September 2022}}</ref> Delgado also declined to seek another term in the Legislative Assembly, preferring to work towards consolidating a candidacy in Cochabamba at the municipal or departmental level.<ref>{{Cite news |date=9 July 2014 |title=Rebeca Delgado y Marcela Revollo no buscarán la reelección como parlamentarias |language=es |agency=Oxígeno |publication-place=La Paz |url=https://www.oxigeno.bo/pol%C3%ADtica/2233 |url-status=live |access-date=26 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220926080841/https://www.oxigeno.bo/pol%C3%ADtica/2233 |archive-date=26 September 2022}}</ref>
== Later career and retirement == The MSM's disappointing electoral performance, garnering less than three percent of the national popular vote, lost the party its legal status, leaving it unable to contest the 2015 regional elections.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Vargas |first=Rubén |date=19 October 2014 |title=El MSM y el PVB pierden su personería jurídica |language=es |work=La Razón |publication-place=La Paz |url=https://www.la-razon.com/nacional/2014/10/19/el-msm-y-el-pvb%E2%80%88pierden-su-personeria-juridica/ |url-status=live |access-date=26 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220926215132/https://www.la-razon.com/nacional/2014/10/19/el-msm-y-el-pvb%E2%80%88pierden-su-personeria-juridica/ |archive-date=26 September 2022}}</ref> By that point, Delgado had already distanced herself from the party's electoral campaign, stating that a lack of coordination and mutual mistrust between herself and del Granado had harmed their ability to develop a shared political project. As a result, by September, Delgado had already shifted her focus toward consolidating LPB's legal status.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2014-10-24 |title=Desconfianza acabó con oposición |language=es |work=El Diario |publication-place=La Paz |url=https://www.pub.eldiario.net/noticias/2014/2014_10/nt141024/politica.php?n=63& |url-status=live |access-date=2022-10-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221021082706/https://www.pub.eldiario.net/noticias/2014/2014_10/nt141024/politica.php?n=63& |archive-date=2022-10-21}}</ref> Following the October general elections, Delgado moved forward with announcing her bid for the Cochabamba mayoralty, resigning her seat in the Legislative Assembly to focus on the race.<ref>{{Cite news|author=Staff writer |date=22 October 2014 |title=Rebeca Delgado crea su agrupación política LPB |language=es |work=Página Siete |agency=ERBOL |location=Cochabamba |publication-place=La Paz |url=https://www.paginasiete.bo/nacional/rebeca-delgado-crea-su-agrupacion-politica-lpb-HLPS36119 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=26 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220923015520/https://www.paginasiete.bo/nacional/rebeca-delgado-crea-su-agrupacion-politica-lpb-HLPS36119 |archive-date=23 September 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=17 December 2014 |title=Delgado deja curul para dedicarse a la campaña |language=es |work=Los Tiempos |publication-place=Cochabamba |url=https://www.lostiempos.com/actualidad/nacional/20141217/delgado-deja-curul-dedicarse-campana |url-status=live |access-date=26 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922142020/https://www.lostiempos.com/actualidad/nacional/20141217/delgado-deja-curul-dedicarse-campana |archive-date=22 September 2022}}</ref> With the MSM out of the running and LPB still lacking legal status,{{efn-lg|The Departmental Electoral Tribunal of Cochabamba eventually granted LPB legal status in December, days after Delgado had already consolidated an alternative electoral alliance.<ref>{{Cite news |date=14 December 2014 |title=Agrupación LPB obtiene su personería |language=es |work=Los Tiempos |publication-place=Cochabamba |url=https://www.lostiempos.com/actualidad/nacional/20141214/agrupacion-lpb-obtiene-su-personeria |url-status=live |access-date=26 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220926220520/https://www.lostiempos.com/actualidad/nacional/20141214/agrupacion-lpb-obtiene-su-personeria |archive-date=26 September 2022}}</ref>}} Delgado turned to other fronts to sponsor her candidacy. She eventually reached an agreement with the opposition National Unity Front (UN) alongside the Revolutionary Left Front (FRI) and Solidarity Civic Unity (UCS) to form the United for Cochabamba (UNICO) alliance.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rojas |first=Christian |date=12 October 2014 |title=La UN, la UCS y el FRI se alían para postular a Rebeca Delgado a la Alcaldía de Cochabamba |language=es |agency=Oxígeno |publication-place=La Paz |url=https://www.oxigeno.bo/pol%C3%ADtica/4908 |url-status=live |access-date=26 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220926215711/https://www.oxigeno.bo/pol%C3%ADtica/4908 |archive-date=26 September 2022}}</ref> With that, Delgado quickly emerged as the favorite in the polls to become Cochabamba's next municipal mayor.<ref name=":ED-2018-04-18">{{Cite news |last=Andre |first=Christopher |date=18 April 2018 |title=Fallo a favor de Delgado advierte a Bolivia que no pueden vetar candidatos |language=es |work=El Deber |publication-place=Santa Cruz de la Sierra |url=http://www.eldeber.com.bo/bolivia/El-fallo-favor-de-Delgado-advierte-a-Bolivia-que-no-pueden-vetar-candidatos-20180418-0015.html |url-status=dead |access-date=26 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180418171857/http://www.eldeber.com.bo/bolivia/El-fallo-favor-de-Delgado-advierte-a-Bolivia-que-no-pueden-vetar-candidatos-20180418-0015.html |archive-date=18 April 2018}}</ref>
That all came crashing down in December when the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) issued Circular 071/2014, a controversial ruling that barred nearly all legislators from the outgoing assembly from running in the 2015 elections. The electoral court argued that for the last two years, the primary residence of these individuals had been the seat of government in La Paz and not their respective regions, contravening the Constitution's residency requirements for candidates.<ref>{{Cite news |author=Staff writer |date=29 December 2014 |title=TSE ordena inhabilitar candidatura de legisladores |language=es |work=Opinión |agency=Agencia de Noticias Fides |location=La Paz |publication-place=Cochabamba |url=https://www.opinion.com.bo/articulo/el-pais/%EF%BB%BFtse-ordena-inhabilitar-candidatura-legisladores/20141229202300509267.html |url-status=live |access-date=25 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220625222336/https://www.opinion.com.bo/articulo/el-pais/%EF%BB%BFtse-ordena-inhabilitar-candidatura-legisladores/20141229202300509267.html |archive-date=25 June 2022}}</ref> According to sociologist {{ill|Salvador Romero|es}}: "above all, this measure affected candidates who had broken with the MAS and were running for local office; it joined [other] controversial rulings that{{Nbsp}}... discredited the TSE for its [apparent] bias in favor of the ruling party".{{sfn|Romero Ballivián|2018|p=195}} In January, the TSE disqualified Delgado's candidacy, along with those of other prominent MAS defectors Eduardo Maldonado, Ever Moya, and Edwin Tupa, all of whom had been running for the mayoralty of their respective department's capital cities.<ref name=":LR-2015-01-15">{{Cite news |last1=Melgarejo |first1=Angélica |last2=Corz |first2=Carlos |date=15 January 2015 |title=El TSE inhabilita a casi la mitad de candidatos inscritos en el país |language=es |work=La Razón |publication-place=La Paz |url=https://www.la-razon.com/nacional/2015/01/15/el-tse-inhabilita-a-casi-la-mitad-de-candidatos-inscritos-en-el-pais-3/ |url-status=live |access-date=26 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220926220019/https://www.la-razon.com/nacional/2015/01/15/el-tse-inhabilita-a-casi-la-mitad-de-candidatos-inscritos-en-el-pais-3/ |archive-date=26 September 2022}}</ref>
In response to her disqualification, Delgado filed a lawsuit against the government before the United Nations Human Rights Committee. The case ''Delgado v. Bolivia'' was closed in 2018, with the international body ruling in favor of Delgado, stating that the Bolivian government had violated her civil and political rights, for which it was ordered to pay "adequate compensation", including legal expenses at the national and international level. In addition, the court ruled that Bolivia, as a signatory of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, "has the obligation to adopt the necessary measures to prevent similar violations from being committed in the future", thus expressly prohibiting the government from ever issuing a resolution similar to the TSE's 2014 circular.<ref name=":ED-2018-04-18"/> For Delgado, the precedent set was "the most important thing",<ref>{{Cite news |date=19 April 2018 |title='El dictamen de la ONU sienta un precedente' |language=es |work=Página Siete |publication-place=La Paz |url=https://www.paginasiete.bo/nacional/el-dictamen-de-la-onu-sienta-un-precedente-EFPS177131 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=26 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220926232556/https://www.paginasiete.bo/nacional/el-dictamen-de-la-onu-sienta-un-precedente-EFPS177131 |archive-date=26 September 2022}}</ref> though, in the ensuing years, she continued to fight to receive economic damages owed, even as the government asserted that that section of the UN's ruling was "eminently recommendatory".<ref>{{Cite news |date=19 April 2019 |title=Afirman que el Gobierno descarta resarcir a Delgado y Maldonado |language=es |work=El Potosí |agency=Agencia de Noticias Fides |location=La Paz |url=https://elpotosi.net/nacional/20190419_afirman-que-el-gobierno-descarta-resarcir-a-delgado-y-maldonado.html |url-status=live |access-date=26 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030020637/https://elpotosi.net/nacional/20190419_afirman-que-el-gobierno-descarta-resarcir-a-delgado-y-maldonado.html |archive-date=30 October 2020}}</ref> Beyond that, Delgado retired from partisan political life, returning to her origins as an academic.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Carballo |first=María |date=27 April 2018 |title='No volveré a la política, estaré con mis proyectos académicos' |language=es |work=Página Siete |url=https://www.paginasiete.bo/nacional/no-volvere-a-la-politica-estare-con-mis-proyectos-academicos-MFPS178062 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=26 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220923110913/https://www.paginasiete.bo/nacional/no-volvere-a-la-politica-estare-con-mis-proyectos-academicos-MFPS178062 |archive-date=23 September 2022}}</ref>
== Electoral history == {| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%; text-align:center;" |+ {{sronly|Electoral history of Rebeca Delgado}} ! style="background-color:#EAECF0;" rowspan=2 | Year ! style="background-color:#EAECF0;" rowspan=2 | Office ! style="background-color:#EAECF0;" colspan=2 rowspan=2 | Party ! style="background-color:#EAECF0;" colspan=2 rowspan=2 | Alliance ! style="background-color:#EAECF0;" colspan=3 | Votes ! style="background-color:#EAECF0;" rowspan=2 | Result ! style="background-color:#EAECF0;" rowspan=2 | {{abbr|2=Reference|Ref}}. |- ! style="background-color:#EAECF0;" | Total ! style="background-color:#EAECF0;" | % ! style="background-color:#EAECF0;" | {{abbr|2=Position|P}}. |- | style="background-color:#EAECF0;" | 2006 | Constituent | style="background-color:{{party color|Movement for Socialism (Bolivia)}};"| | Movement for Socialism | colspan=2 {{CNone|None}} | 286,143 | 60.37% | 1st | {{yes2|Won}} | <ref>{{Cite web |title=Elecciones Constituyentes 2006 {{!}} Atlas Electoral |url=https://atlaselectoral.oep.org.bo/#/subproceso/49/37/3 |access-date=5 June 2022 |website=atlaselectoral.oep.org.bo |publisher=Plurinational Electoral Organ |language=es |location=La Paz}}</ref>{{efn-lg|name=fn1|Presented on an electoral list. The data shown represents the share of the vote the entire party/alliance received in that constituency.}} |- | style="background-color:#EAECF0;" | 2009 | Deputy | style="background-color:{{party color|Movement for Socialism (Bolivia)}};"| | Movement for Socialism | colspan=2 {{CNone|None}} | 569,237 | 68.82% | 1st | {{yes2|Won}} | <ref>{{Cite web |title=Elecciones Generales 2009 {{!}} Atlas Electoral |url=https://atlaselectoral.oep.org.bo/#/subproceso/82/37/3 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/re5Dk |archive-date=2023-01-31 |access-date=20 September 2022 |website=atlaselectoral.oep.org.bo |publisher=Plurinational Electoral Organ |language=es |location=La Paz}}</ref>{{efn-lg|name=fn1}} |- | style="background-color:#EAECF0;" | 2015 | Mayor | style="background-color:#F07D00;"| | Freedom of Thought | style="background-color:#E26700;"| | United for Cochabamba | colspan=3 {{CNone|Disqualified}} | {{no2|Lost}} | <ref name=":LR-2015-01-15"/> |- | style="background-color:#EAECF0;" colspan=11 | '''Source:''' Plurinational Electoral Organ {{!}} [https://atlaselectoral.oep.org.bo/#/ Electoral Atlas] |}
== Publications == {{Refbegin}} * {{Cite book |last1=Delgado |first1=Rebeca |url=https://issuu.com/vicepresidenciabolivia/docs/ncpe_cepd |title=Bolivia, Nueva Constitución Política del Estado: Conceptos Elementales para su Desarrollo Normativo |last2=Cárdenas Aguilar |first2=Félix |last3=Pinto |first3=Juan Carlos |last4=Chivi |first4=Idón |last5=Clavero |first5=Bartolomé |last6=Zaffaroni |first6=Raúl |last7=Stippel |first7=Jörg |last8=Paz |first8=Sarela |last9=García |first9=Fernando |last10=Prada |first10=Raúl |publisher=Vicepresidencia del Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia |year=2010 |isbn=978-99954-735-6-3 |editor-last=Chivi |editor-first=Idón |location=La Paz |language=es |oclc=713917995 |display-authors=1}} {{Refend}}
== References == {{Commons category}}
=== Notes === {{Notelist-lg}}
=== Footnotes === {{Reflist}}
=== Bibliography === {{Refbegin|40em|indent=yes}} * {{Cite book|editor-last=Gonzales Salas|editor-first=Inés|url=https://library.fes.de/pdf-files/bueros/bolivien/10697.pdf|title=Biografías: Historias de Vida en la Asamblea Legislativa Plurinacional|publisher=Instituto Internacional para la Democracia y la Asistencia Electoral; Fundación Friedrich Ebert; ERBOL; Editorial Gente Común|year=2013|isbn=978-99954-93-05-9|oclc=876429743|pages=65–67|language=es}} * {{Cite book|last=Romero Ballivián|first=Salvador|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/324569555|title=Diccionario Biográfico de Parlamentarios 1979–2019|publisher=Fundación de Apoyo al Parlamento y la Participación Ciudadana; Fundación Konrad Adenauer|year=2018|isbn=978-99974-0-021-5|oclc=1050945993|editor-last=Quiroga Velasco|editor-first=Camilo Sergio|edition=2nd|location=La Paz|pages=194–195|language=es|author-link=Salvador Romero |via=ResearchGate}} * {{Cite book|editor-last1=Vargas|editor-first1=María Elena|url=https://en.calameo.com/read/0041400856667cf344860|title=Primera Asamblea Legislativa Plurinacional de Bolivia, Cámara de Diputados: Diccionario Biográfico, Diputadas y Diputados Titulares y Suplentes 2010–2015|editor-last2=Villavicencio|editor-first2=Jois|publisher=Cámara de Diputados del Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia|year=2014|location=La Paz|page=65|language=es|oclc=961105285|via=Calaméo}} {{Refend}}
== External links == * [https://www.vicepresidencia.gob.bo/spip.php?page=parlamentario&id_parlamentario=70 Parliamentary profile] Office of the Vice President {{in lang|es}}. * [https://erbol.com.bo/podcast/biografias_asamblea_plurinacional/rebeca_delgado Biographic profile] ERBOL {{in lang|es}}. * ''[https://www.legal-tools.org/doc/51vi5k/ Delgado v. Bolivia]'' Legal Tools.
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Delgado, Rebeca}} Category:1966 births Category:Living people Category:20th-century Bolivian judges Category:20th-century Bolivian lawyers Category:21st-century Bolivian lawyers Category:21st-century Bolivian politicians Category:21st-century Bolivian women politicians Category:Bolivian educators Category:Bolivian women educators Category:Bolivian Roman Catholics Category:Deputy government ministers of Bolivia Category:Evo Morales administration personnel Category:Higher University of San Simón alumni Category:Members of the Bolivian Chamber of Deputies from Cochabamba Category:Members of the Bolivian Constituent Assembly Category:Movimiento al Socialismo politicians Category:People from Cochabamba Category:Politicians from La Paz Category:Presidents of the Chamber of Deputies (Bolivia) Category:Women members of the Chamber of Deputies (Bolivia) Category:20th-century Bolivian women lawyers Category:21st-century Bolivian women lawyers