Salvatierra played a pivotal role in the 2019 Bolivian political crisis being the final ruling party authority in the presidential line of succession to resign from their post, paving the way for a two-day vacuum of power and the assumption of office of opposition senator Jeanine Áñez.

She was subsequently nominated as her party's candidate for mayor of Santa Cruz de la Sierra but came in a distant third place, bringing a halt to her previously meteoric political career.

While in Chile, Salvatierra married Luisa Herminia Arriaza, a rural worker aligned with the Communist Youth, with whom he had one daughter, Adriana's elder sister.

[6] Nonetheless, due to the historically antagonistic relationship between Bolivia and Chile, Salvatierra's Chilean heritage became a source of controversy after she assumed the presidency of the Senate.

[9] As a child, Salvatierra accompanied her father to electoral campaigns, political rallies, and trade union meetings, leading her to become an active member of the Movement for Socialism (MAS-IPSP) at the age of sixteen in 2006.

Shortly into his tenure, on 26 May, Romero was appointed to serve as minister of government in the Morales administration, leading Salvatierra to occupy his vacant seat for the duration of her term.

[23] A month later, on 17 July, García Linera traveled to Mexico to attend an international forum while Morales was on a return flight from Argentina, making Salvatierra the acting president of Bolivia for a few hours.

With Salvatierra's resignation, the presidential line of succession outlined by the Constitution was exhausted,[β] commencing a two-day period in which the country lacked executive power.

This proposal was raised in a phone call with Carlos Mesa—runner-up in the presidential elections and the primary driver of the electoral fraud allegations—who stated that the public would not accept such an outcome and protests would continue.

The former minister faced a trial of responsibilities in the legislature for the tractors case; he stood accused of breach of duties and uneconomic conduct for selling agricultural machinery to Mennonite producers rather than allocating it to peasant farmers.

[31] Shortly after her resignation, Salvatierra took refuge in the Mexican Embassy, which granted political asylum to over a dozen ruling party officials following Morales' removal.

[32][33] Between 11 and 12 November, the Bolivian Episcopal Conference (CEB) organized a series of extra-parliamentary meetings between the various government and civic actors to discuss a solution to the succession crisis.

According to the Church's account, "the dialogue was almost impossible due to the constant departures of Senator Adriana Salvatierra from the meeting room to attend or make phone calls.

[34] In an interview on the program Influyentes, Salvatierra stated that she considered it illogical that in the peace talks at the CEB, opposition groups would allow a Masista to assume the presidency.

[37] In a 2021 statement to the Prosecutor's Office, Áñez stated that MAS Senator Omar Aguilera, as well as other ruling party deputies, had informed her that Salvatierra had personally called them to request that they not attend the session.

[38] According to the Church's account of events, Salvatierra was offered "total security" on multiple occasions, and a diplomatic vehicle was sent to transport her, but she nonetheless refused to attend the session.

Internal disagreements between the "radical" and "conciliatory" wings of the MAS prevented the commission from approving the draft bill by consensus, forcing the Church and European Union to step in as mediators.

Consequently, in an extended meeting between itself and various allied social movements, the MAS determined not to re-nominate her as a candidate for any post in either legislative chamber in the snap general elections scheduled for 2020.

In November 2020, a congress of peasant federations convened in Santa Cruz de la Sierra to analyze the possible expulsion of both Salvatierra and Carlos Romero, considering them to be "authors of internal division and traitors of the MAS", as reported by Deputy Rolando Cuéllar.

[51] Shortly thereafter, on 13 December, the Urban Directorate of the MAS in Santa Cruz de la Sierra proclaimed Salvatierra as the party's candidate for mayor of the city.