Mariana Prado
Mariana Prado Noya is a Bolivian business administrator and former politician. She served as the Minister of Development Planning from 2017 to 2019, during the third government of Evo Morales.
She was a candidate for Vice President of Bolivia in the 2025 Bolivian general election for the Popular Alliance.
Early life
Mariana Prado was born in La Paz on 20 April 1982. She began her education in 1987, completing her baccalaureate at the American Cooperative School of La Paz in 1998.In 1999, she continued into higher education, entering the Universidad Católica Boliviana and graduating in 2003 with a licentiate in business administration.
Studies in Europe (2003–2006)
In 2003, she obtained a master's degree in governance and public management from the Ortega y Gasset University Research Institute of the Complutense University of Madrid in Spain. In 2005, she obtained a diploma in French Language and Civilization from Paris-Sorbonne University.Professional career
In 2006, Prado returned to Bolivia. From April 2007 to December 2008, she worked as a consultant in constructive conflict management at the Bolivian Ministry of Labor in cooperation with West Germany. At the same time, she was the coordinator of Terre des Hommes Suisse in Bolivia from January 2008 to April 2009.Beginning in May 2009, Prado was an advisor to the office of the, a position she held until April 2012.
She was also president of the board of the state-owned airline Boliviana de Aviación from November 2010 to April 2012, and advised statesman in the area of hydrocarbons and energy at the Office of the Vice President of Bolivia from March to October 2012.
In November 2012, she became Chief of Staff of the Vice Presidency of Bolivia, a position she held until October 2014. Beginning in November 2014, she served as director of institutional relations for the Plata Basin Financial Development Fund. She left this position in January 2017.
Political career
Minister of Development Planning of Bolivia (2017–2019)
On 23 January 2017, President Evo Morales brought Prado into his ministerial cabinet as the country's, replacing. Along with Wilma Alanoca and Ariana Campero, she was one of youngest ministers under Morales, who made an effort to renew his cabinet with the inclusion of new generations.USAID controversy
On 24 January 2017, one day after being inaugurated as minister, it came to public attention through the Bolivian press that Mariana Prado had been an employee of the United States Agency for International Development, working on support projects for indigenous organizations and conflict management. USAID had been expelled from Bolivia by President Morales in 2013 after accusing it of interference in internal political affairs.On 26 January 2017, the Ministry of Planning issued a statement through its website in which it clarified the controversies, confirming that Prado worked at USAID upon her return to Bolivia from Spain in 2006, but only for four months.