Rivadeneira started her political career as councilwoman for the municipality of
Otavalo; she served in this capacity between 2004 and 2008. During that time she won the elections in 2004 and 2008. From 2004 till 2006 she was a member of the
Pachakutik party. But in 2006 she left and became a member of a group that would later join forces with the
PAIS Alliance. On 28 July 2011 Rivadeneira took up the function of governor of Imbabura Province after Governor Pedro Dávila laid down his function. In 2011 in the power struggle that saw Rafael Correa take over the leadership of the Alianza Pais party, a National board was created. Soliz was one of the 22 members of that board which included
Irina Cabezas,
Nancy Morocho, María Luisa Moreno,
Dora Aguirre, Jorge Loor,
Doris Soliz and
Patricia Sarzoza. To take up this position Rivadeneira was forced to lay down her function of Vice Prefect in the same province. As Rivadeneira became governor at age 28 she became not only the first female governor of Imbabura Province, but also the youngest. Rivadeneira was chosen for this position by President
Rafael Correa. On 9 November 2012 Rivadeneira resigned as governor, so she could run in the
2013 general election. In March 2013 she went to the funeral of
Hugo Chávez as part of the Ecuadorian delegation. Rivadeneira's role as president of Ecuador's National Assembly has sparked criticism. On 3 October 2013 Rivadeneira spoke in the Ecuadorian National Assembly and quoted the music group
Quilapayún by saying "... we have to flip the tortilla so that the poor eat bread, and the rich eat shit". Her action was criticized by opposition MPs. Other examples include the warrant against legislator
Cléver Jiménez, and the acquisition of a house for 250,000 U.S. dollars. In May 2015 Rivadeneira was re-elected as President of the National Assembly. In February 2016 she became President of the
Latin American Parliament. In July 2016, with other Latin American regimes in trouble, she defended the
Socialism of the 21st century of Latin America, stating that it had not been broken. Rivadeneira's public approval rate dropped from 45% in December 2013, to 26,5% in the end of 2016. On 15 February 2017 her office received a bomb threat when a CD package with explosives was delivered. In the
19 February 2017 elections Rivadeneira was re-elected as member of the National Assembly for the National Constituency. She was the most voted woman. On 1 May 2017 she was elected the executive secretary of the
PAIS Alliance. On 14 May 2017 she was succeeded as President of the National Assembly by
José Serrano. In January 2018 the Electoral Dispute Court (Spanish:
Tribunal Contencioso Electoral) stated that Rivadeneira was longer executive secretary of the PAIS Alliance. During the
Correa-
Moreno split within PAIS, she sided with the former, leaving the party and becoming one of the leaders of the
Citizen Revolution Movement. During the
October 2019 Ecuadorian protests Rivadeneira sought refuge in the embassy of
Mexico in
Quito. In May 2022 she was still in exile in Mexico with outstanding charges against her in Ecuador. ==Personal life==