Though born to a well-off family from Cochabamba, Gutiérrez chose to begin working from a young age, taking jobs at local and nearby business entities throughout his teens and early 20s.

[1] Despite his household's relative economic comfort—his father was a doctor for the National Health Fund and a docent at the Higher University of San Simón—Gutiérrez began working early in life.

In 1993, he moved to Santa Cruz de la Sierra, where he was hired as a business manager for a company that handled the commercial operations of the Bolivian National Brewery [es].

[8] In that role, he assisted Cochabamba's then-prefect, Manfred Reyes Villa, who at the time was facing—and ultimately lost—a recall vote against him and sought to challenge the referendum's legality.

However—in an instance of uncertainty regarding its electoral prospects in the department—it could also be interpreted as an attempt by the MDS to guarantee Gutiérrez's presence in parliament where a candidacy for a more prominent position would have otherwise failed.

The complaint accused him of benefitting from multiple approved leave requests based on false pretenses and having amassed over two weeks' worth of unapproved absences, begetting expulsion from office.

[28] Shortly after the case was admitted, Gutiérrez requested and was granted approval for an extended period of leave, preventing the Ethics Commission from delivering his summons and causing the process to stall.

By September 2018, Gutiérrez had been on unpaid leave for seven months and had extended it for a few more, leading officials to theorize that he intended to draw out the process until the end of the legislative term to avoid being sanctioned.

[32][33] For his part, Gutiérrez attributed his extended absence to personal, family, and health motives: "For eight years, I was constantly traveling; I didn't realize it, but this affected my nervous system."