Luis Fernando Camacho

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Camacho and the second or maternal family name is Vaca.

Luis Fernando Camacho
Headshot of Luis Fernando Camacho adorned in gubernatorial regalia and holding a baton.
Camacho at his gubernatorial inauguration
2nd Governor of Santa Cruz
Suspended from 25 January 2024
In office
3 May 2021 – 26 January 2024
Vice GovernorMario Aguilera Cirbián
Preceded byRubén Costas
Succeeded byMario Aguilera Cirbián (Acting)
  • President of the Pro-Santa Cruz
  • Civic Committee
In office
2 February 2019 – 29 November 2019
Preceded byFernando Cuéllar [es]
Succeeded byRómulo Calvo [es]
Personal details
Born
Luis Fernando Camacho Vaca

(1979-02-15) 15 February 1979 (age 45)
Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia
Political partyCreemos
Other political
affiliations		Revolutionary Nationalist Movement
RelativesEliodoro Camacho
Alma mater
Occupation
  • Businessman
  • lawyer
  • politician
SignatureCursive signature in ink

Luis Fernando Camacho Vaca (born 15 February 1979) is a Bolivian activist, businessman, lawyer, and politician serving as the 2nd governor of Santa Cruz since 2021.[1][2] He is the leader of Creemos, opposition bench in the Plurinational Legislative Assembly and was the chair of the Santa Cruz Civic Committee in 2019.

Camacho emerged as a major critic of President Evo Morales and influential public figure during the highly controversial 2019 Bolivian general election, demanding Morales resign on 5 November 2019.[3] Following Morales' resignation on 10 November 2019 and the scheduling of new elections, Camacho entered Bolivian politics as a presidential candidate for the right-wing party Creemos along with Potosi Civic Committee leader Marco Pumari as his running mate. Camacho would go on to receive 14% of the vote, but losing to Luis Arce or Carlos Mesa in every Bolivian department except his birthplace of Santa Cruz. In the 2021 regional elections, he was elected Governor of Santa Cruz, assuming office on 3 May 2021.

Camacho is widely recognized as a major opposition leader in Bolivia.[4][5][6][7][8]

  1. ^ Noticias, Éxito (7 November 2019). "Revelan que Camacho se transporta en vehículo de Marinkovic en La Paz". Éxito Noticias (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 20 November 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  2. ^ Kovarik, Jacquelyn (13 November 2019). "Bolivia's Anti-Indigenous Backlash Is Growing". The Nation. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  3. ^ "Así es Luis Fernando Camacho, el líder opositor boliviano que le dio un ultimátum a Evo Morales" (in European Spanish). CNN. 5 November 2019. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  4. ^ "Bolivian opposition leader held on 'terrorism' charges". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
  5. ^ "Bolivia court sentences opposition leader Camacho to four months of pre-trial detention". France 24. 30 December 2022. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
  6. ^ "'People were enraged': civil strike called in Bolivia after arrest of opposition leader". The Guardian. 30 December 2022. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
  7. ^ "Explainer: Who is Luis Fernando Camacho, the opposition leader arrested in Bolivia?". Reuters. 29 December 2022. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
  8. ^ "Protests as Bolivian opposition leader is arrested". BBC News. 29 December 2022. Retrieved 31 December 2022.