Donato Rubén Callisaya Mayta (born 24 May 1961) is a Bolivian politician and trade unionist who served as a party-list member of the Chamber of Deputies from La Paz from 2010 to 2015.
Following his dismissal, Callisaya established himself as a share taxi driver in urban La Paz. He joined the department's drivers' federation and assumed positions of union leadership: secretary of conflicts from 1999 to 2002, then general secretary from 2003 to 2006. A member of the Movement for Socialism, Callisaya suffered two electoral defeats before being appointed counselor to the La Paz prefecture in 2008. He won a seat in the Chamber of Deputies the following year and was not nominated for reelection.
Early life and career
Early life and education
Rubén Callisaya was born on 24 May 1961 in Coripata,[2] an Aymara settlement in the Nor Yungas Province of eastern La Paz Department. The area is known for its coca cultivation:[3] Callisaya's father, Eulogio, was a cocalero who made a living as a carrier.[4] He made regular trips through the treacherous Yungas trail route – better known as "Death Road" – to make cargo deliveries.[5] Cristina Mayta, Rubén's mother, was an esteemed merchant in their community.[2]
Callisaya attended school in Coripata, where he studied through seventh-grade primary. He moved to La Paz to pursue secondary education, attending the Gualberto Villarroel School – an institute noted for catering to the country's rural migrant youth.[6][β] He paused his studies after receiving his baccalaureate [es] to focus on work and later took them back up at the Higher University of San Andrés, where he studied law and political science for two years.[8]
Forced into early retirement, Callisaya found self-employment as a driver for hire. Using funds from his severance package, he purchased two minibuses, which he operated as share taxis.[5] He joined the 1 May Departmental Federation of Drivers of La Paz shortly thereafter and gained a foothold in union politics as the organization's secretary of conflicts from 1999 to 2002.[11] He went on to hold a succession of union posts through the early 2000s, capped by his election as general secretary of the Christ of May Mixed Transport Union in 2003 to 2006.[4]
Financial constraints prevented Callisaya from running for office in the 2005 election.[5] He gained his first political position in 2008 when – following the recall of Prefect José Luis Paredes [es] and the appointment of Pablo Ramos [es] – he was made departmental counselor to the prefecture, representing Murillo Province.[16][δ] His term kept him in good standing with the department's drivers' unions, who, in 2009, selected him as their representative in parliament.[18] He was the lowest-ranked candidate on the MAS's parliamentary list in the La Paz Department to win a seat.[19]
Tenure
Callisaya served the length of his term on the Industry, Commerce, Transport, and Tourism Committee and was leader of the MAS delegation in La Paz Department from 2012 to 2013.[2] He took part in the elaboration and passage of the General Law on Transport, a landmark piece of legislation for members of the transportation sector.[20]
At the same time, Callisaya's term was rocked by scandal over his ties to the "Narco-Lebanese" Georges Chafic, a Lebanon-born dual national caught smuggling some 390 kilograms (860 lb) of cocaine. Per his own account, Callisaya met Chafic – a member of the MAS – through colleague deputy Samuel Pamuri; the pair granted Chafic permits to use official vehicles and even suggested him for a diplomatic role, given his Lebanese language fluency.[21] The controversy led some in the MAS to seek the two lawmakers' suspension or even expulsion from office.[22]
Callisaya was not nominated for reelection at the end of his term. In general, the seats afforded to the drivers' unions belonged to the sector at-large, as opposed to any single individual. Rarely were incumbents re-nominated: preference among the organizations was to rotate out their representatives.[23] Union executive Franklin Durán – whom Callisaya had lobbied be nominated for Senate – instead succeeded him as the drivers' member for La Paz.[24]
Commission assignments
Plural Economy, Production, and Industry Commission
Industry, Commerce, Transport, and Tourism Committee (2010–2015)[25]
^Like many lawmakers,[7] Callisaya took his first political steps in student leadership, where he held some positions. His first instincts, however, were to pursue a career in football: he played semi-professional Fourth and Third Division for The Strongest but did not advance further.[5]
^The MAS offered union leaders privileged positions on its electoral lists. The unions, in turn, mobilized their sector in support of the party and its platform.[13] Drivers like Callisaya took part in the mass protests that toppled the government of Sánchez de Lozada in October 2003, for example.[14]
^Callisaya ranked ninth on the MAS's registered slate of party-list candidates.[26] He no longer appeared on the National Electoral Court's final published list of qualified candidates.[27]
^ abPresented on an electoral list. The data shown represents the share of the vote the entire party/alliance received in that constituency.
"Anuncian que Franklin Durán irá por una diputación" [Callisaya Announces That Franklin Durán Will Seek Election to the Lower Chamber] (in Spanish). La Paz. ERBOL. 10 July 2014. Archived from the original on 23 October 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
Tedesqui, Marcelo (10 April 2013). "Narcolibanés se infiltró con aportes al MAS" [Lebanese Narco Had Support Infiltrating the MAS]. El Deber (in Spanish). Santa Cruz de la Sierra. Archived from the original on 5 October 2013. Retrieved 23 October 2023 – via eju!.
