Carlos Eduardo Subirana Gianella (born 18 August 1986) is a Bolivian lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Chamber of Deputies from Santa Cruz, representing circumscription 50 from 2010 to 2015.
At age 23, Subirana was one of the youngest persons ever elected to parliament – a development brought about by the reduction of constitutional age limits in place until the 2009 election. Although elected as a member of the opposition, Subirana defected to the governing party in 2014, following the course of his father and other Santa Cruz elites.
After leaving office, Subirana joined his family's law firm, Subirana & Associates, where he previously worked as a paralegal. He served as general manager of the family-owned newspaper La Estrella del Oriente from 2015 to 2017 and sits on the publication's editorial board.
Outside of office, Subirana spent the bulk of his career employed at a number of family-related businesses and media outlets. He began as a paralegal at his family's firm, Subirana & Associates,[6] where he later practiced law after his term in parliament.[7] From 2015 to 2017, Subirana served as general manager of the family-owned newspaper La Estrella del Oriente;[β] he currently holds a seat on the publication's editorial board.[11] He is a co-host with his father on the pro bono legal advice radio program Subirana Responde.[12]
Before running for office, Subirana led a non-partisan youth political advocacy group based in Santa Cruz de la Sierra. Following the breakup of the organization, he took the unusual step of joining the Revolutionary Nationalist Movement (MNR), a front in such steep political decline that Subirana himself would later describe it as a "dead party". He led a cohort of youth activists that sought to reorient the MNR back to its ideological roots,[3] away from the centrist neoliberalism promoted by past leadership.[13] Subirana served on the board of the MNR's department branch office in Santa Cruz;[14] as a member of the party's youth wing, he composed part of the MNR campaign team for the 2006 Constituent Assembly election.[1]
The MNR did not contest the 2009 election. Its presidential candidate, Germán Antelo, dropped out to back National Convergence (CN), the big tent alliance of Manfred Reyes Villa.[15] For his support, CN granted Antelo broad discretion over its slate of candidates in Santa Cruz.[16] Subirana, who was still in law school,[17] was among the few MNR members Antelo selected.[14] He ran in and won single-member circumscription 50, an urban district encompassing western portions of Santa Cruz de la Sierra.[18] After his father and great-grandfather, he was the third in the Subirana family to hold a seat in parliament.[16]
Tenure
Subirana was sworn in on 19 January 2010;[19] at 23, he was the youngest voting[γ] member of the chamber and is one of the youngest persons ever elected to parliament.[21] He joined the first freshman class to be elected under the 2009 Constitution, which lowered the minimum age for holding office from 25 to 18 years.[16]
What's right is right and what's wrong [is wrong. There are times] in which I'm more radical than the ruling party... on other occasions, I'm more opposed than any opposition [lawmaker].
A self-styled "proactive opponent",[22] Subirana was more amicable toward the ruling Movement for Socialism (MAS) compared to other opposition lawmakers.[23] On occasion, this position earned him flack from more adversarial members of his caucus.[24]
In legislation, Subirana hitched his platform to public safety reform,[14] which he pursued while in office. He penned modifications to articles 133 of the criminal procedure code and 177 of the penal code, which – with some amendments and under a different name – were enacted into law.[25] In 2013, he authored a bill that declared 23 September as the National Day Against Human Trafficking, which also passed into law.[26]
In an about-face, Subirana flipped his support to the MAS in the 2014 election.[23] The reversal followed the nomination of his father to contest a seat in parliament for the ruling party.[27] Despite their previous opposition to the government, the flip was not unprecedented, as both Subiranas had long been open about their left-wing views.[28][δ] With his father running, Subirana was sidelined, meaning he was not nominated for a second term.[16]
Commission assignments
Chamber of Deputies Directorate (Third Secretary: 2013–2014)[30]
Constitution, Legislation, and Electoral System Commission
Constitutional Development and Legislation Committee (2010–2011)[31]
Democracy and Electoral System Committee (Secretary: 2011–2012)[32]
Education and Health Commission (President: 2012–2013)[33]
Government, Defense, and Armed Forces Commission
Fight Against Drug Trafficking Committee (2014–2015)[34]
^Subirana is listed as "general manager" on La Estrella del Oriente's impressum from its 7,892nd edition published 29 May 2015[8] until its 8,700th published 6 September 2017;[9] a relative, Sonia Satt Subirana, succeeded him on that date.[10]
^Three members elected as substitutes were younger than Subirana. When factoring in these, Rodolfo Avilés – born 6 March 1988 – becomes the youngest individual elected to office in 2009.[20]
^According to Salvador Romero [es], the Subiranas reflected a change in attitude among some Santa Cruz elites, who considered that Evo Morales's prolonged stay in power indicated a need to set aside previous animosity for the sake of regional business interests.[29]
Suárez, Marcelo (16 August 2017). "Kilibarda deja un valioso aporte a Santa Cruz" [Kilibarda Left a Worthy Contribution to Santa Cruz]. El Deber (in Spanish). Santa Cruz de la Sierra. Archived from the original on 26 August 2017. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
