Biography:Gabriela Rodríguez de Bukele

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Short description: First Lady of El Salvador
Gabriela Rodríguez de Bukele
Gabriela de Bukele.jpg
Official portrait
First Lady of El Salvador
Current
Assumed office
1 June 2019
PresidentNayib Bukele
Preceded byMargarita Villalta de Sánchez
Personal details
Born
Gabriela Roberta Rodríguez Perezalonso

(1985-03-31) 31 March 1985 (age 39)
San Salvador, El Salvador
CitizenshipSalvadoran
Political partyNuevas Ideas
Spouse(s)
Nayib Bukele (m. 2014)
Children2

Gabriela Roberta Rodríguez de Bukele[1] (née Rodríguez Perezalonso;[2] 31 March 1985) is a Salvadoran educator, prenatal psychologist and the current First Lady of El Salvador, as the wife of the 43rd President of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele. She is also a professional ballet dancer and is part of the dance company Fundación Ballet de El Salvador.

Rodríguez was born in San Salvador. She holds a doctorate in prenatal psychology and founded PrePare, the first center for prenatal teaching in El Salvador, in October 2010. She married Bukele in 2014 and served as Secretary for Women during his tenure as Mayor of San Salvador (2015–2018), when she helped to create projects supporting women's rights and culture. Rodríguez founded the San Salvador Ballet group during her time as a Secretary for Women in San Salvador.

After Bukele's victory at the 2019 Salvadoran presidential election, Rodríguez was involved in the selection process for the government's Cabinet.

Early life

Gabriela Roberta Rodríguez Perezalonso[2] was born on 31 March 1985 in San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador.[3] She is the youngest of four daughters and her husband has claimed she has Sephardic Jewish ancestry.[4][5][6] Her father is José Roberto Rodríguez Trabanino,[3][4] a Salvadoran investor,[7] while her mother, Arena Perezalonso de Rodríguez,[3][4][8] is a Nicaraguan who served as a member of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in El Salvador.[9][10][11] She showed an interest in ballet at an early age and joined the dance company Fundación Ballet de El Salvador.[8]

Career

Rodríguez holds a doctorate in prenatal psychology, and is the first person in El Salvador with that title.[12] She founded PrePare in October 2010, the country's first center of prenatal teaching, of which she is the director.[8][13] Rodríguez is also the regional representative to the Association For Prenatal And Perinatal Psychology And Health (APPPAH).[14]

Involvement in politics

Rodríguez has worked closely with her husband during his political career. Bukele described her in 2016 as his partner and said, "Whoever votes for me for a public office knows that she comes with the package. That is how we are, a team, since twelve years ago, when we first met".[15] During Bukele's mayoralty of San Salvador with the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) party (2015–2018), Rodríguez served ad honorem[16] as the Municipal Secretary for Women.[14][17][18] While in this role, she helped create the first Culture Secretariat of the Mayoralty of San Salvador, the San Salvador Ballet group[19] and the Secretariat for Women.[15]

After being expelled from the FMLN on 10 October 2017,[20] Bukele founded a new political party called Nuevas Ideas,[21] and ran for the presidency of El Salvador as a candidate of the Grand Alliance for National Unity (GANA).[22] With Nuevas Ideas, Rodríguez founded and became the director of the program Bienestar Social in 2018.[14][23] After Bukele's victory at the 2019 Salvadoran presidential election, Rodríguez became involved in the selection of the Cabinet, mostly for the social, health and education portfolios. She was also responsible for the education bills proposed by the government. During and after the electoral campaign, Rodríguez refused to give interviews to the national media.[24] Her government positions and those of Bukele's relatives, have been criticized by Salvadoran publications such as La Prensa Gráfica and El Faro,[15][24] which have accused the president of nepotism.[25]

Personal life

Rodríguez is a professional ballet dancer and part of the dance company Fundación Ballet of El Salvador.[18][26] She began dating Bukele in 2004[17] and they married on 6 December 2014 in a private ceremony in El Boquerón, San Salvador.[27][28] She announced her pregnancy days before Bukele won the presidential elections.[17][18][29] Their child, Layla, was born on 15 August 2019.[30] The couple's second child, Aminah, on 8 November 2023.[31]

References

  1. "Número 176" (in Spanish). Diario Oficial. https://www.diariooficial.gob.sv/diarios/do-2019/09-septiembre/20-09-2019.pdf. "Read page 9" 
  2. 2.0 2.1 "Corte no envía a juicio civil a Nayib Bukele" (in Spanish). 5 June 2018. https://www.elsalvador.com/noticias/nacional/corte-no-envia-a-juicio-civil-a-nayib-bukele/488044/2018/. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Nace Layla hija del Presidente Nayib Bukele" (in Spanish). República. https://republica.gt/2019/08/15/nace-layla-hija-del-presidente-nayib-bukele/. 
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Primera Dama" (in Spanish). Presidencia of El Salvador. https://www.presidencia.gob.sv/primera-dama/. 
  5. "His dad was an imam, his wife has Jewish roots: Meet El Salvador's new leader". https://www.timesofisrael.com/his-dad-was-an-imam-his-wife-has-jewish-roots-meet-el-salvadors-new-leader/. 
  6. "El Salvador's new President is a Palestinian and pro-Israel". Christians United for Israel. https://www.cufi.org.uk/news/el-salvadors-new-president-is-a-palestinian-and-pro-israel/. 
  7. "Carteles de matrículas" (in Spanish). Centro Nacional de Registros. https://www.cnr.gob.sv/documentos/rc/enero_febrero_2010/Carteles%20de%20Matr%c3%adculas%20de%201a%20Vez.pdf. 
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 "Gabriela Rodríguez de Bukele: todo sobre la primera dama de El Salvador" (in Spanish). MSN. https://www.msn.com/es-xl/noticias/mundo/gabriela-rodr%C3%ADguez-de-bukele-todo-sobre-la-primera-dama-de-el-salvador/ss-AAGQVar?li=AAggFp6. 
  9. "Cámara Comercio contra 'paquete'" (in Spanish). 11 January 1986. http://biblioteca.utec.edu.sv/hemeroteca/svdca/1986/EDH19860111-001.pdf. 
  10. "Memoria de labores 2014" (in Spanish). Cámara de Comercio e Industria de El Salvador. http://www.camarasal.com/sobre-camarasal/centro-de-documentacion?view_doc=folder&cat=41&name_cat=Memorias%20de%20labores. "Download 'Memoria de Labores 2014'" 
  11. "Inaugúrase 'Consuma 92' con nueva imagen en tiempos de paz" (in Spanish). 1 August 1992. http://cinc.ansp.gob.sv/textocompleto/LPG1992/Agosto/01-08-92a_JPG.PDF. 
  12. "Gabriela de Bukele: UNICEF será un aliado estratégico para cumplir nuestras políticas sociales" (in Spanish). Última Hora. 12 September 2018. https://ultimahora.sv/gabriela-de-bukele-unicef-sera-un-aliado-estrategico-para-cumplir-nuestras-politicas-socials/. 
  13. "PrePare: Conócenos" (in Spanish). PrePare. http://www.prepare.com.sv/conocenos.html. 
  14. 14.0 14.1 14.2 "¿Quién es Nayib Bukele?" (in Spanish). La Prensa de Los Ángeles. 27 June 2019. https://issuu.com/marioeoporto/docs/laprensadelosangelesmayo2019. "Read page 8" 
  15. 15.0 15.1 15.2 "Carta de Nayib Bukele a José Roberto Dutriz y LPG" (in Spanish). Porttada. http://porttada.com/carta-de-nayib-bukele-a-jose-roberto-dutriz-y-lpg. 
  16. "Familiares de Bukele sin dar su patrimonio" (in Spanish). https://elmundo.sv/familiares-de-bukele-sin-dar-su-patrimonio/. 
  17. 17.0 17.1 17.2 "¿Quién es Gabriela Rodríguez de Bukele, la nueva primera dama de El Salvador?" (in Spanish). Notimérica. 4 February 2019. https://www.notimerica.com/politica/noticia-quien-gabriela-rodriguez-bukele-nueva-primera-dama-salvador-20190204213247.html. 
  18. 18.0 18.1 18.2 "¿Quién es Gabriela Rodríguez de Bukele y por qué vas a querer conocerla?" (in Spanish). La Verdad. https://laverdadnoticias.com/estiloyvida/Quien-es-Gabriela-Rodriguez-de-Bukele-y-por-que-vas-a-querer-conocerla-20190725-0103.html. 
  19. "Ballet de San Salvador se presenta gratis hoy en el MUNA". Última Hora. 21 May 2019. https://ultimahora.sv/ballet-de-san-salvador-se-presenta-gratis-hoy-en-el-muna/. 
  20. "FMLN expulsa a Bukele del partido" (in Spanish). http://www.elsalvador.com/noticias/nacional/406553/fmln-expulsa-a-nayib-bukele/. 
  21. "Nuevas Ideas será inscrito como partido político por el TSE" (in Spanish). 21 August 2018. https://www.elsalvador.com/noticias/nacional/nuevas-ideas-sera-inscrito-como-partido-politico-por-el-tse/511445/2018/. 
  22. "Nayib Bukele gana las elecciones en El Salvador" (in Spanish). CNN en Español. 4 February 2019. https://cnnespanol.cnn.com/2019/02/03/elecciones-el-salvador-salvadorenos-eligen-presidente-nuevo/. 
  23. "Programas de Bienestar Social de Nuevas Ideas son aplaudidos por la población" (in Spanish). Última Hora. 10 December 2018. https://ultimahora.sv/programas-de-bienestar-social-de-nuevas-ideas-son-aplaudidos-por-la-poblacion/. 
  24. 24.0 24.1 "Amigos, socios y parientes en el nuevo Gobierno" (in Spanish). https://elfaro.net/es/201906/el_salvador/23362/Amigos-socios-y-parientes-en-el-nuevo-Gobierno.htm. 
  25. "Señalamientos de nepotismo en gabinete de presidente Bukele" (in Spanish). https://www.laprensagrafica.com/elsalvador/Senalamientos-de-nepotismo-en-gabinete-de-presidente-Bukele-20190607-0452.html. 
  26. "Periódico estadounidense Washington Hispanic destaca participación de Ballet San Salvador" (in Spanish). Última Hora. 16 September 2017. https://ultimahora.sv/periodico-estadounidense-whashington-hispanic-destaca-participacion-de-ballet-san-salvador/. 
  27. "Fotos: Boda de Nayib y Gabriela" (in Spanish). El Blog. http://elblog.com/noticias/registro-19222.html. 
  28. "Medios destacan boda Bukele-Rodríguez" (in Spanish). News Millenium. https://www.newsmillenium.com/2014/12/medios-destacan-boda-bukele-rodriguez/. 
  29. "Gabriela de Bukele, una primera dama 'millenial' para El Salvador" (in Spanish). Mujer Hoy. 20 February 2019. https://www.mujerhoy.com/celebrities/corazon/201902/20/gabriela-bukele-primera-dama-el-salvador-20190215122819.html. 
  30. "Presidente Bukele anuncia el nacimiento de su hija Layla" (in Spanish). https://elmundo.sv/presidente-bukele-anuncia-el-nacimiento-de-su-hija-layla/. 
  31. Reyes, Magdalena (8 November 2023). "Presidente Bukele Anuncia Nacimiento de su Segunda Hija" (in es). El Mundo. https://diario.elmundo.sv/politica/presidente-bukele-anuncia-nacimiento-de-su-segunda-hija. 

External links

Honorary titles
Preceded by
Margarita Villalta de Sánchez
First Lady of El Salvador
2019–present
Current holder