Diana Patricia Paputsakis Burgos (born 23 April 1986) is a Bolivian lawyer, politician, and former student leader who served as secretary of women and family of Tarija from 2015 to 2019. Prior to her service in the municipal government, Paputsakis served as a substitute member Chamber of Deputies from Tarija, representing circumscription 45 under Víctor Hugo Zamora from 2010 to 2014 on behalf of the National Convergence alliance. In the 2019 general election, Paputsakis was elected to represent Tarija's circumscription 40 on behalf of Civic Community, but never took office, owing to the annulment of the electoral results and the coalition's decision not to re-nominate her in 2020. Paputsakis later contested the 2021 Tarija mayoral election, finishing sixth in the polls.
Early life and career
Patricia Paputsakis was born on 23 April 1986 in Tarija to Pedro Paputsakis Flores and Agueda Burgos Añasgo. Through her father, she is of Greek descent; Constantino Paputsakis—her grandfather—immigrated to Buenos Aires from the Kingdom of Greece in 1910, later settling in Tarija. Paputsakis was raised in a politically active family; her father, Pedro, represented the Revolutionary Left Front (FRI) in the Chamber of Deputies from 1979 to 1980 and 1982 to 1985 and in the Senate as a substitute senator from 1989 to 1993. Agueda Burgos also counted a political career, representing the FRI on the Tarija Municipal Council for three terms between 1987 and 1993.
Paputsakis studied law and political science at Juan Misael Saracho University, graduating with a diploma in pedagogical theory and practice and another in gender violence and women's human rights. Additionally, she holds a master's in administration of justice with a specialty in child human rights and restorative criminal justice. During her time at university, she became active in student leadership, serving as a member and later executive of the Law School Student Center from 2006 to 2007.
Chamber of Deputies
Election
As with many former student unionists, upon leaving university, Paputsakis sought to enter the political field, joining United to Renew (UNIR), the party of Tarija Mayor Oscar Montes. In 2009, as part of UNIR's alliance with National Convergence (CN), she was elected to represent Tarija's circumscription 45 in the Chamber of Deputies, serving as a substitute under Víctor Hugo Zamora. Aged 23, Paputsakis was one of the youngest legislators in the Plurinational Legislative Assembly.
Tenure
Throughout her term, Paputsakis's work focused on projects in favor of Tarija's university system and legislation expanding administrative decentralization and departmental autonomy. Together with Zamora, she participated in drafting a total of forty-three bills, of which four passed into law. During this time, she also served as vice president of the Union of Women Parliamentarians. In the leadup to the 2014 general election, Zamora resigned to run for higher office, allowing Paputsakis to assume office as the titular deputy for circumscription 45 for the remainder of her term.
Commission assignments
Planning, Economic Policy, and Finance Commission
Budget, Tax Policy, and Comptroller's Office Committee (2012–2013) Rural Native Indigenous Peoples and Nations, Cultures, and Interculturality Commission Coca Leaf Committee (2013–2014) Amazon Region, Land, Territory, Water, Natural Resources, and Environment Commission Environment, Climate Change, Protected Areas, and Forest Resources Committee (2014–2015)
Later political career
2015 municipal election
In late 2014, nearing the conclusion of her term, Paputsakis was nominated by UNIR to run for a seat on the Tarija Municipal Council. Throughout the campaign, Paputsakis's political prospects remained continually in doubt, given the legal ambiguity of her candidacy. In December, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) had issued a controversial ruling barring all legislators who held office in the outgoing legislature from running in the 2015 elections. The court argued that their permanent residence in the last two years had been La Paz and not other regions, contravening the Constitution's residency requirements for candidates. The TSE's determination was opposed by ruling party and opposition parliamentarians alike, including Paputsakis, who stood to be disqualified despite only having spent a week a month in La Paz during her tenure.