moved back to La Paz and dedicated herself to a career in business, first as an employee for a local textile company, then as a member of the mutual organization La Primera, and finally as a worker at the (COTEL). Rodríguez's entry into union activity did not occur until after she retired, an atypical circumstance, given the relative youth of most individuals who initiate trade union careers. She first joined the COTEL Retirees Federation before later becoming a member of the National Confederation of Retirees, where she focused her efforts on activities relating to social control, overseeing the work of state-run hospitals to ensure they met basic standards for her sector. By 2008, Rodríguez had risen to the position of executive of the Light, Strength, Telephones National Federation of Retirees, a position she held until early 2010. Chamber of Deputies Election Since the 2005 elections, the union sector representing retirees and pensioners had aligned itself with the ruling Movement for Socialism (MAS-IPSP), a pact that procured positions for affiliated members on the party's parliamentary lists. In 2009, the National Confederation of Retirees' political arm selected Rodríguez as their candidate for that year's general election, through which she acceded to a seat in the Chamber of Deputies in representation of La Paz. Tenure In parliament, Rodríguez's work focused on legislating from the lower chamber's Social Policy Commission. She held seats on the commission's committees for four of the five years she was in office, serving on the Social Welfare Committee for one term and on the Labor Committee for three, including chairing said body from 2012 to 2013. Her tenure saw Bolivia become the country with one of the highest pension coverages in the region, with around ninety-seven percent of the retired population benefitting from a social safety net, far above its more developed neighbors. Aged 66 by the time her term expired, Rodríguez was not nominated for reelection. Commission assignments Plural Justice, Prosecutor's Office, and Legal Defense of the State Commission Ordinary Jurisdiction and Magistracy Council Committee (2013–2014) Social Policy Commission Labor and Employment Law Committee (2010–2012; Secretary: 2012–2013) Social Welfare and Protection Committee (2014–2015) Electoral history References Notes Footnotes Bibliography External links Deputies profile Vice Presidency . Biographic profile ERBOL . 1949 births Living people 21st-century Bolivian politicians 21st-century Bolivian women politicians Bolivian economists Bolivian student activists Bolivian trade union leaders Bolivian women economists Bolivian women trade unionists Higher