Víctor Hugo Cárdenas

Who is Víctor Hugo Cárdenas?

Víctor Hugo Cárdenas Conde is a Bolivian indigenous Aymara activist and politician. He is the leader of the MRTKL party. He was Vice President of Bolivia from 1993 and 1997 during the first presidency of Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada.

Cárdenas was born in the Aymara village of Achica Bajo on the shores of Lake Titicaca, the son of a rural school teacher. When he was still a child, his father changed his name from Choquehuanca to Cárdenas, in order to mask his indigenous origin and remove what at the time was an obstacle to his educational and professional advancement. His wife has never renounced the typical dress of the chola, an urbanized woman who retains her indigenous identity.

Cardenas holds a PhD in linguistics and is a university professor.

Cárdenas was an unsuccessful candidate in the 2009 Bolivian presidential election, losing to Evo Morales. He claimed that his ticket was seeking a national consensus rather than division.