Beatriz Becerra facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Beatriz Becerra
Beatriz Becerra
Member of the European Parliament
In office 25 May 2014 – 2019
Personal details
Born	Beatriz Becerra Basterrechea (1966-11-14) 14 November 1966 (age 59) Madrid, Spain
Political party	Union, Progress and Democracy (2008–2016) Independent (2016–present)
Alma mater	Complutense University of Madrid
Occupation	Politician Businesswoman Teacher Writer

Beatriz Becerra Basterrechea was born on November 14, 1966. She is a Spanish writer and politician. She served as a member of the European Parliament from 2014 to 2019.

While in the European Parliament, Ms. Becerra was the vice-chair of the Subcommittee on Human Rights. She was also a member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe group (ALDE). From 2009 to 2014, she worked as the communications manager for the political party Union, Progress and Democracy (UPyD). She was elected as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) in 2014.

About Beatriz Becerra

Beatriz Becerra studied Industrial Psychology at the Complutense University of Madrid. She finished her degree in 1989. She also earned a Master's degree in Business Administration and Management.

Her Career Before Politics

From 1989 to 2005, Ms. Becerra worked in the film and TV industry. She worked for big companies like CBS and Buena Vista International Spain. Buena Vista International is part of The Walt Disney Company. From 1998 to 2005, she worked at Sony Pictures Entertainment. There, she became the Director of Marketing and Sales for Spain and Portugal.

She also worked for Action Against Hunger, an organization that helps people. Later, she was a consultant for Discovery Networks.

Teaching and Writing

Ms. Becerra also taught postgraduate courses. She taught between 1998 and 2014 at Villanueva University Center and Comillas Pontifical University. As a writer, she has published three novels. Their titles are Las criadas de Caifás, La reina del Plata, and La estirpe de los niños infelices.

Joining Politics

Beatriz Becerra did not have a political background before 2008. In that year, she joined Union, Progress and Democracy (UPyD). This Spanish political party was started in 2007. Its leader at the time was Rosa Díez.

In 2009, Ms. Becerra was chosen for the party's main leadership team. She was in charge of the party's communications for the next four and a half years.

Becoming an MEP

Ms. Becerra ran in the 2014 European Parliament election. She was on the UPyD list of candidates. She was elected as an MEP on May 25, 2014. Her party received 6.5% of the votes and won four seats. UPyD then joined the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe group. This group was led by Guy Verhofstadt from Belgium.

After the elections, UPyD faced some challenges. On April 1, 2016, Ms. Becerra announced she was leaving the party. She said it was "no longer useful to society." She continued to serve as an independent MEP within the ALDE group.

Her Work in the European Parliament

After becoming a Member of the European Parliament, Beatriz Becerra joined several committees. These included the Committees on Employment and Social Affairs, Women's Rights and Gender Equality, and Petitions. In November 2014, she joined the Development Committee. She also joined the Human Rights subcommittee, where she became vice-chair.

She was also part of groups that work with other countries. These included the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly and the EU-Mexico Joint Parliamentary Committee. She was also a substitute member for the group that works with Japan.

Key Focus Areas

Her work in Parliament focused on several important topics. These included defending human rights and promoting gender equality. She also worked on economic and social development. Other areas were access to medicines and supporting new businesses.

Supporting Human Rights Activists

In 2016, she suggested Nadia Murad Basee for the Sakharov Prize. Nadia Murad is a Yazidi activist. The ALDE group supported this idea. On October 27, 2016, it was announced that the European Parliament awarded the Sakharov Prize to Nadia Murad and Lamiya Aji Bashar. Lamiya Aji Bashar is also a Yazidi activist.

In September 2016, Ms. Becerra launched a platform called AWARE. This stands for Alliance of Women Against Radicalization and Extremism. It is a network that studies how to prevent radicalization. It looks at this issue from a gender perspective. It also supports creating a common European policy on respect. Women like Nadia Murad and Miriam González Durántez support this platform.

Mental Health and Gender Equality

Ms. Becerra was a speaker for a European Parliament report. This report was about mental health and gender equality. It highlighted the need to include a gender perspective in how diseases are researched and treated.

International Relations

In international politics, she was known for supporting the Venezuelan opposition. This group was against the government of Nicolás Maduro. She led the ALDE group's discussions on a European Parliament resolution. This resolution asked for the release of political prisoners in Venezuela.

In 2017, after many protests in Venezuela, Ms. Becerra promoted the Venezuelan political opposition for the Sakharov Prize. Members of the Venezuelan government have criticized Ms. Becerra. This was because of her strong support for the freedom of Venezuelans. In June 2018, she visited Cúcuta, a city on the border between Colombia and Venezuela. She was part of a group observing the situation of Venezuelan refugees there.

Brexit and Catalonia

She joined a group of MEPs working on Brexit. Brexit was when the United Kingdom left the European Union. Her main focus was to make sure that the rights of Europeans living in the UK were protected. She also worked to protect the rights of British people living in the EU.

On July 7, 2017, Ms. Becerra wrote a letter to the European Commission President, Jean-Claude Juncker. He confirmed that if Catalonia became a separate state, it would automatically leave the European Union. In September, the president of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani, also replied to Ms. Becerra. He stated that "any action against the Constitution of a Member State is an action against the legal framework of the European Union."

Her Book

In July 2018, Ms. Becerra announced her book, Eres liberal y no lo sabes. This book was published in September 2018. She described it as "a manifesto for an inclusive liberalism, free of dogmatism and modernity."

See also

In Spanish: Beatriz Becerra para niños