Jerjes Justiniano Atalá

Jerjes Justiniano Atalá was born in 1970 in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. He is the son of Jerjes Justiniano Talavera, the Bolivian ambassador to Brazil.[1] He studied theology at the Adventist University of the Plata in Argentina. In 1991, he moved to Chillán, Chile to continue his studies at the Adventist University of Chile.

In 1994, Jerjes Justiniano decided to return to Bolivia and that same year he entered to study law at the Gabriel René Moreno Autonomous University graduating as a lawyer in 1998 in the speciality of Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure, also obtaining a master's degree in Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure. ^{[ citation required ]}

On 13 November 2019, Justiniano was appointed Minister of the Presidency by interim President Jeanine Añez.[3] Justiniano promoted meetings with different political sectors in order to reach agreements that would allow for the pacification of the country, and called for dialogue in the face of the escalation of violence that led to the massacres of Senkata and Sacaba.[4] He participated in discussions surrounding the "Law for the Pacification of the Country and to Reaffirm the Exercise of the Rights and Guarantees of the Bolivian People," by which an attempt was made to recover social peace.[5]

Justiniano was dismissed by President Añez on 3 December. The reasons for his dismissal were not official clarified. Unofficial versions indicated that this was due to the accusation of coercion made by then Deputy Minister of Communications Danilo Jorge Romano and to the complain by a prosecutor accusing him of alleged political interference in a rape case, as well as his closeness to the right-wing leader Luis Fernando Camacho.[6]