did finally convene in early 2012, Montes sought a second term but was unexpectedly defeated by Juan Carlos Trujillo, putting an end to his tenure as the organization's executive secretary. Chamber of Senators Election Following the end of his term as head of the COB, Montes returned to Huanuni, where, in 2013, he launched a campaign for the post of general secretary of the sector's leading trade union: the Mixed Syndicate of Mineworkers of Huanuni. His front, the Revolutionary Brigade of Syndical Unity, won in a landslide, attaining over sixty percent of the roughly 4,000 union members' vote. Sworn in on 31 October at a ceremony attended by Morales, Montes took his oath of office with his left fist raised—a symbolic gesture distinguishing MAS partisans. Montes's year-long tenure centered around the campaign for the 2014 general election, during which time the COB and its member organizations actively debated whether to contest the race independently or support Morales's reelection bid. Ultimately, the organization postponed previous plans to form its own Workers' Party, electing instead to align with the MAS in exchange for representation on the party's parliamentary lists. In January, Huanuni's mineworkers signed their own alliance with the MAS, for which Montes was incorporated onto the party's list as a candidate for a seat in the Senate in representation of Oruro. Despite his relatively low placement—third of four available slots—Montes won, owing to the MAS's wide victory in the department, which granted it complete control over Ouro's Senate seats. Tenure As a senator, Montes played a prominent role within the MAS's internal structure. He served as leader of the party's caucus in the Chamber of Senators for the first two years of his term and was reelected for a third non-consecutive time in 2018. In all, he led the MAS caucus for three of the six years he was in office. Upon the conclusion of his third leadership term in 2019, Montes positioned himself to be elected president of the Senate for its closing year, but the post was instead granted to Adriana Salvatierra. Following the collapse of the Morales government later that year, Montes was elected to form part of the Senate's reconstituted directorate, where he served as first vice president. Amid internal discontent over Senate President Eva Copa's more conciliatory stance towards the interim government of Jeanine Áñez, some MAS partisans put forward Montes as a viable replacement, given