Rhina Aguirre

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 unites 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 movement 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 to assume a parliamentary seat.

Early life and career Early life and education Rhina was born on 20 May 1939 in Tarija to Humberto Aguirre Aoiz, an artisan jeweler and Chaco War veteran from Sucre, and Lucía Amézaga de Ameller, a woman from Camargo. The eldest of three siblings, Aguirre spent her childhood in relative poverty, raised primarily by her father and stepmother, her birth mother having died when Aguirre was 5 years old. Aguirre's father made a living operating a small watch shop in the city. A communist, well-read on the theories of Marxism–Leninism, Humberto Aguirre instilled in his daughter a sense of class consciousness and educated her on the need to combat social inequality:

Political activism In tandem with her other activities, Aguirre studied sociology and practiced social work. Forced into exile for her political activism against the García Meza regime, Aguirre took refuge in Ecuador, where she collaborated with Bishop Leonidas Proaño's Indigenous Ministry in Riobamba. Later, she moved to Quito, where she worked alongside local peasant and social movement organizations. Finally settling in Puyo, Aguirre was brought on as a public official in the municipality's Department of Culture. Around this time, Aguirre contracted toxoplasmosis, a parasitic disease transmitted by cats. By 1983, the condition had left her entirely blind in both eyes. In doing so, she became the first blind person ever to occupy a parliamentary seat in Bolivian history.

Tenure Throughout her senatorial term, Aguirre continued to promote legislation in favor of disabled persons, actions that bore fruit with the 2012 passage of the General Law on Persons with Disabilities, which promoted the sector's access to employment, equal opportunity, and social inclusion. Upon the conclusion of her term, Aguirre was not nominated for reelection but remained active in politics, holding the vice presidency of the MAS's Tarija affiliate for some time.

Commission assignments Constitution, Human Rights, Legislation, and Electoral System Commission Constitution, Legislation, and Legislative and Constitutional Interpretation Committee (Secretary: –) Territorial Organization of the State and Autonomies Commission (President: –) Rural Native Indigenous Peoples and Nations and Interculturality Commission (President: –) Social Policy, Education, and Health Commission Education, Health, Science, Technology, and Sports Committee (Secretary: –)

Personal life and death While in exile, Aguirre met Carlos Samaniego, an Ecuadorian sociologist from Loja, whom she married. A partisan of the Communist Party of Ecuador, Samaniego accompanied his wife on her return to Bolivia, where he joined the MAS; in 2010, he was appointed ombudsman of Tarija, and he later served as departmental coordinator of the Ministry of Autonomies in Tarija. On account of her toxoplasmosis, Aguirre suffered several miscarriages in her attempts to have children, a situation that led her to choose adoption. Her son, Carlos Saúl Samaniego, was born in Vilcabamba and studied industrial engineering in Ecuador. Her death was commemorated by the Chamber of Senators, which issued an official posthumous recognition of her work two days after her death.

Electoral history + Year Office Party Votes Result . Total % . 2009 Senator Movement for Socialism 114,577 51.09% 1st Source: Plurinational Electoral Organ Electoral Atlas