Estranged from the Revolutionary Left Movement over his agitation for internal renewal, Cajías sought to be reelected with a different front in 1995 but failed to retain his seat.
He served as vice minister of cultures from 2004 to 2005 and headed the research team at the Strategic Directorate of the Maritime Claim during the country's lawsuit against Chile.
[5] Returning to Bolivia, Cajías dedicated himself to archival and educational activities at the UMSA, where he worked as a professor and researcher and served as the university's secretary general from 1978 to 1980.
He joined the Revolutionary Left Movement (MIR) in 1977, composing part of history academia's "Mirista-wing," a sizeable clique of partisan professors led by Crespo.
[11] Exiled to Panama by the García Meza regime, Cajías returned to the country in 1982 and was elected to represent La Paz in the Chamber of Deputies on the MIR's 1985 party list.
[3] He belonged to the second generation of MIR partisans, a group whose political careers began in conjunction with the fall of the military dictatorships and the reintroduction of democratic administration.
However, such positions proved contentious among the party's partisans,[14][15] ultimately leading Cajías to defect from the MIR over its inability to modernize internally.
He resumed instruction at the UMSA, where he worked as a doctoral advisor and professor, teaching undergraduate and postgraduate courses in art and cultural history in his capacity as dean of humanities.
[8] His selection represented a key characteristic of Mesa's government: the designation of intellectuals and academics—especially historians—to high executive positions, a product of the president's own academic origins.