indigenous vice president after Víctor Hugo Cárdenas. Choquehuanca's tenure as Arce's second-in-command saw him gain increased influence within the internally divided ranks of the Movement for Socialism, with a not insignificant Choquehuanquista faction vying to postulate him as the party's next presidential candidate, challenging the possibility of a second Arce term or even a Morales 2025 comeback. Early life and career Childhood and education David Choquehuanca was born on 7 May 1961 in Cota Cota Baja, a minor hamlet situated along the shoreline of Lake Titicaca in La Paz's Omasuyos Province. An ethnic Aymara, Choquehuanca traces his lineage to the Choquehuanca caciques of Asankaru, Peru, a bygone Inca noble family from the line of Paullu, the last titular sapa inca of the Inca Empire—a fact that once led him to controversially describe himself as "the last Inca". Choquehuanca was raised Baptist and spoke only his native language until age seven, when he also learned Spanish. His father, Nicolás Choquehuanca, was a prominent peasant leader in the neighboring town of Huarina, where he led the local agricultural cooperative. As a child, Choquehuanca's father taught him the base aspects of homesteading, including how to weave and sow as well as fishing and the practice of cuniculture. Choquehuanca completed primary education in his home town, later moving to Huarina in 1971 to complete secondary at the General José Miguel Lanza School, where he graduated in 1980. As a student, Choquehuanca was introduced to Marxist thought by his philosophy professor, Juan Rodríguez. "He told us that one day we would have to assume responsibilities, and for that, we had to be Marxists", he commented. Per his own account, Choquehuanca's Marxist teachings inspired him to become a revolutionary. Already in his third year, he assisted in organizing his school's first students' union, participating in multiple student protests, for which he was suspended multiple times and even nearly expelled. Shortly after graduating, Choquehuanca moved to La Paz, studying philosophy at the Simón Bolívar Higher Teacher Training School, during which time he joined another students' group, the Revolutionary Tendency of Student Teachers. He completed only one year at the institute before dropping out to briefly dedicate himself fully to trade union activity. In 1985, he returned to education, receiving a six-month scholarship to attend the Niceto Pérez Cadre Training School in Havana, Cuba, where he was instructed in philosophy and political economics. Returning to Bolivia, Choquehuanca completed