María Elva Pinckert Vaca (born 15 January 1961) is a Bolivian businesswoman, lawyer, and politician who served as minister of environment and water from 2019 to 2020. Pinckert developed her career in Santa Cruz's agro-industrial heartland, during which time she rose to key positions of regional economic and political influence, including presiding over the Montero Civic Committee and serving as vice president of the Santa Cruz Chamber of Industry and Commerce. Elected to the Montero Municipal Council as a member of the Revolutionary Nationalist Movement in 1999, Pinckert later switched to the New Republican Force, with which she won reelection. In 2009, the party promoted her to the Senate as a substitute senator under Germán Antelo. Amid the disunity brought about by the fragmentation of her parliamentary caucus, Pinckert aligned with the Social Democratic Movement, which nominated her for a full Senate seat. Elected in 2014, Pinckert held office until 2019, when she joined the Áñez administration as head of environmental and water policy. As with many former Áñez ministers, Pinckert faced judicial consequences for her collaboration with the transitional government, leading her to seek refuge in Brazil less than a year after leaving office.
Early life and career
María Elva Pinckert was born on 15 January 1961 in Montero, Santa Cruz, to Eduardo Pinckert and Elva Vaca. She completed her primary education at the San Silvestre and Guabirá schools, later attending the María Auxiliadora School before graduating from the American Institute in Cochabamba. Coming out of high school, Pinckert studied law at the Private Technological University of Santa Cruz, graduating with a degree in legal sciences with specialization in municipal matters and autonomous processes.
Pinckert developed her career in the Integrated North, the primary agro-industrial region of Santa Cruz. She got her start in local civic associations, serving as president of the Montero Parents' Union from 1990 to 1996 and vice president of the city's women's Rotary Club, also in 1996. Between 1995 and 1996, Pinckert held office as vice president of the Santa Cruz Chamber of Industry and Commerce, later presiding over the Montero Civic Committee through the late 1990s, two posts of particular importance, demonstrating her rise to positions of regional economic and political influence.
Political career
In 1999, Pinckert moved into local politics, motivated by the murder of her brother, who was unable to receive the necessary intensive care due to the lack of medical units in the region. In that year's municipal elections, she ran on the top of the Revolutionary Nationalist Movement (MNR)'s electoral list for a seat on the Montero Municipal Council. "One of my demands [to accept the nomination] was to build an intensive care unit in Montero; they offered me heaven and earth, that it was to be done... from the municipal administration; it was not like that". Though elected as a substitute councillor, she held the primary seat as the original incumbent held the mayor's office. Nearing the end of her term, Pinckert split with the MNR, joining the New Republican Force (NFR) and contesting the 2004 municipal elections as the party's mayoral candidate. She attained fifth place, owing to the NFR's minimal presence in the department, though still with a vote share high enough to maintain her seat in the municipal council. For the majority of her second term, Pinckert also served as the president of the Association of Municipalities of Santa Cruz.