MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Former indigenous Bolivian VP to run next year, Bolsonaro style

Víctor Hugo Cárdenas (left) and Humberto Peinado with their rosary look confident as they launched their campaign.

Former Bolivian Vicepresident Víctor Hugo Cárdenas aims at becoming his country's Jair Bolsonaro after picking a pro-life evangelical pastor as his running mate for the 2019 presidential campaign.

 Cárdenas, a university professor of aymara ancestry who served as VP under Gonzalo Sánchez de Losada between 1993 and 1997, has chosen Humberto Peinado Méndez, an evangelical pastor from Santa Cruz, as his running mate for next January's primaries for the Civic Solidarity Unit (UCS) party.

Like Brazil's president-elect Bolsonaro, Cárdenas is known for his conservative stance and support of the pro-life movement and his opposition to sexual diversities under the “don't mess with my kids” motto.

The 37-year-old Peinado has campaigned against the decriminalization of abortion and homosexual marriage and taken part in pro-life rallies. He shares with Bolsonaro his Christian faith.