Esther Morales

Esther Morales Ayma de Willacarani (13 November 1949 – 16 August 2020) was a Bolivian grocer, businesswoman and political activist. In 2006, she was designated to the role of First Lady of Bolivia by her younger brother, then-President of Bolivia Evo Morales, who was unmarried.

Biography Morales was born in Orinoca, One of seven children born to Dionisio Morales Choque and María Ayma Mamani, only Esther and two of her siblings, Evo and Hugo, survived past childhood. She was originally supposed to be named "Estefanía Morales", but her father decided to name her Esther at the last minute (likewise, her brother, Evo Morales, was supposed to be called "Evaristo" before their father changed his mind.)

Her family were farmers and Morales spent her youth farming and herding llamas.

In December 2005, her brother, Evo Morales, was elected president of Bolivia. President Evo Morales was unmarried throughout his presidency and questions arose if Bolivia would have an acting first lady, or its equivalent. She met with foreign dignitaries, traveled to South Korea, and represented Bolivia at a women's conference in the United Kingdom. Morales also spoke in favor of Bolivia's maritime claims to territory in neighboring Chile. (There were an estimated 55,000 Bolivians in Catalonia and 200,000 immigrants across Spain in 2012). In the announcement, Morales directly contradicted earlier statements that he had appointed his sister as first lady and called the title of first lady "an insult to women". though in a diminished capacity. On 9 August 2020, Morales, who had pre-existing health conditions, was finally admitted to Oruro Corea Hospital's intensive care unit, a public hospital, for treatment of COVID-19, but her condition continued to deteriorate. She developed severe complications associated with coronavirus, including respiratory failure, renal failure, septic shock, and sepsis.

Esther Morales died from complications of COVID-19 on Sunday, 16 August 2020, at the age of 70, at the Oruro hospital. She was survived by her husband, Ponciano Willcarani and their three sons, Ademar, Marcelo, and Roger. Morales was buried in her hometown of Orinoca.