Tito Veizaga

Tito Veizaga Cossío (born 15 June 1961) is a Bolivian cocalero activist, politician, and trade unionist who served as a member of the Chamber of Deputies from La Paz, representing circumscription 17 from 2015 to 2020. A member of the Movement for Socialism, Veizaga followed the usual path taken by rural union leaders, scaling the ranks of trade syndicate leadership until reaching the departmental level. In 2004, he was elected to serve as mayor of Cajuata, and though he failed in his attempt at reelection in 2010, he maintained a presence in his party's internal structure. In 2014, Veizaga was elected to represent the Yungas region in the Chamber of Deputies. Though many local cocaleros opposed the government's attempt at regulating their crop, Veizaga held the party line, supporting the passage of the 2017 General Law of Coca. He was not nominated for reelection.

Early life and political career An ethnic Quechua, Tito Veizaga was born on 15 June 1961 in Cochabamba. During his childhood, Veizaga and his family moved to Inquisivi, a province in La Paz's tropical coca-growing Yungas region. He spent a large part of his early life scaling local leadership positions in his community, in addition to those of the area's trade unions, holding posts at the municipal, provincial, and, ultimately, departmental levels.

Veizaga's entry into politics was facilitated through the Movement for Socialism (MAS-IPSP), a party historically affiliated with Cochabamba's Chapare coca growers but which, since 2001, had begun making inroads with Yungas-based growers' unions as well. The MAS's increased cooperation with these rural syndicates and trade associations provided it with a solid pool of political candidates for the 2004 municipal elections, with which it made notable incursions into local administration in regions such as the Yungas, where figures like Veizaga were elected as mayors and city councillors. Specifically, Veizaga was nominated to run in Cajuata, winning the mayoralty by a low but not insubstantial popular vote plurality. However, he failed in his attempt to seek reelection in 2010, being defeated by Freddy Laura of the Departmental Association of Coca Producers (ADEPCOCA). by the start of the 2010s, many Yungas cultivators had gown malcontent with the government's seeming favoritism towards Chapare growers.

Chamber of Deputies Election

Despite his defeat, Veizaga maintained the trust of MAS leadership and continued to operate within the party, serving as its departmental president for La Paz. In 2014, he was nominated for a seat in the Chamber of Deputies in representation of La Paz's circumscription 17, encompassing the three Yungas-based provinces. As a result, Veizaga overwhelmingly won his race, nearly septupling the vote of his next closest competitor, though his margin is reduced to just fifty-six percent when considering the abundant number of blank and null ballots cast. In a bid to block the legislation, ADEPCOCA sought the support of the Yungas' two parliamentary representatives: Veizaga and Senator Ancelma Perlacios. However, both legislators refused to file a motion of unconstitutionality on the coca growers' behalf, leading ADEPCOCA to censure them and enlist five opposition deputies to represent them instead. Ultimately, the passage of the General Law of Coca—ratified six months later by MAS parliamentarians, including Veizaga, and upheld by the Plurinational Constitutional Court—broke the government's fragile relationship with ADEPCOCA and other Yungas cocaleros. For his part, the situation surrounding the General Law of Coca marked the highlight of Veizaga's tenure. He was not nominated for reelection, with the MAS maintaining the practice of almost entirely renewing its party lists for each successive electoral cycle.

Commission assignments Constitution, Legislation, and Electoral System Commission Constitutional Development and Legislation Committee (–) Rural Native Indigenous Peoples and Nations, Cultures, and Interculturality Commission Coca Leaf Committee (Secretary; –) Planning, Economic Policy, and Finance Commission Science and Technology Committee (–)

Electoral history + Year Office Party Votes Result . Total % . 2004 Mayor Movement for Socialism 597 27.61% 1st 2010 Movement for Socialism 907 28.89% 2nd 2014 Deputy Movement for Socialism 40,308 78.50% 1st Source: Plurinational Electoral Organ Electoral Atlas