Plácida Espinoza Mamani (born 5 October 1948) is a Bolivian educator, politician, and trade unionist who served as senator for Oruro from 2015 to 2020. A member of the Movement for Socialism, she stood out as one of the eldest parliamentarians in a historically youthful legislature and was one of the few legislators born before the 1952 National Revolution. Born into a rural indigenous community in central Oruro's Carangas Province, Espinoza began her professional career in the field of education, working as a schoolteacher and administrator and serving on her local school board. During this time, she began participating in her region's trade syndicates, holding positions within regular workers' unions before joining the women-specific Bartolina Sisa Federation. An ethnic Aymara, Espinoza started taking up positions of traditional authority at a time when such posts began regaining their importance within native society. Through her marriage with a local indigenous leader, she assumed titles of local and regional importance, be it in the ayllu, the marka, or the suyu. This, coupled with her union roles, opened the door to politics, given the organic alliance formed between indigenous, peasant, and syndical organizations with the powerful Movement for Socialism. In 2014, Espinoza was elected as a senator for the party. Early life and career Early life and education Plácida Espinoza was born on 5 October 1948 in Chachacomani, a minor hamlet nestled in the northern Altiplano Plateau of central Oruro. The town, according to Aymara indigenous custom, is situated in the Mallcunaca Ayllu, a subdivision of the Corque Marka in the Jach'a Karangas Suyu—a region roughly corresponding to the borders of Oruro's Carangas Province. Although raised in rural poverty at a time of particular social exclusion for women, Espinoza nonetheless managed to attain an education where she prospered academically. She completed her primary schooling and initiated secondary at the Aniceto Arce and José Trifiro schools in the town of Corque before then moving to Oruro, where she attended the Marcos Beltrán Ávila Educational Unit, finally finishing out her secondary studies at the Antofagasta Lyceum. After that, Espinoza moved to Sucre, where she graduated as a teacher from the Marshal Sucre Normal School. In addition, she holds a postgraduate degree in education from the Higher Institute of Rural Education and completed specialization courses in media coverage at the Bolivian Catholic University's rural education affiliate in Tiwanaku. Returning to Corque, Espinoza worked as a professor at