Headline:Jeanine Áñez’s Portrait Donated to Bolivia‘s Casa de la Libertad Museum Ahead of Bicentennial
A portrait of Bolivia’s former interim president, Jeanine Áñez, has made its way to the Casa de la Libertad Museum in Sucre, Chuquisaca. The institution plans to include the artwork in its gallery of former presidents, aiming to complete the collection by Bolivia’s bicentennial.
The museum invited family members and close relatives of former presidents to donate their portraits in March 2024. The invitation was published in La Razón newspaper, leading Mr. Marcelo Sandi and Ms. Natalie Bothma to donate Áñez’s portrait. The couple expressed their desire for the image to be part of the permanent exhibition in the Salón de los Presidentes de Bolivia.
"Through this letter, and after learning about the public invitation dated March 3, 2024, published in the newspaper La Razón, we present the donation of a portrait of former president Jeanine Áñez Chávez, who ruled Bolivia from November 12, 2019, to November 7, 2020," the couple stated in their donation note.
The Salón de los Presidentes, formerly occupied by the Chamber of Senators, houses portraits of Bolivia’s presidents, from the first, Antonio José de Sucre, to Evo Morales. museum director Mario Linares confirmed that Áñez’s portrait has not yet been placed but will be included in the completion of the presidential gallery.
"Our plan is to complete the presidential gallery. Of course, that includes the portrait of Jeanine Áñez and any other president. Everyone must be represented; this is a museum of national history," Linares said.
In response, Áñez thanked the couple for donating the portrait and the museum administration for issuing the invitation.
The museum’s invitation sparked reactions among internauts, with some supporting and others criticizing the inclusion of Áñez’s portrait.
Áñez assumed the presidency on November 12, 2019, two days after Evo Morales resigned, following mass protests and allegations of election fraud. She completed her interim term on November 8, 2020, but did not hand over power to Luis Arce, who won the elections. Áñez later faced five criminal charges in the Bolivian justice system.
