From April 2007 to December 2008, she worked as a consultant in constructive conflict management at the Bolivian Ministry of Labor in cooperation with West Germany.
[3] Beginning in May 2009, Prado was an advisor to the office of the Ministry of Public Works, Services, and Housing [es], a position she held until April 2012.
On 24 January 2017, one day after being inaugurated as minister, it came to public attention through the Bolivian press that Mariana Prado had been an employee of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), working on support projects for indigenous organizations and conflict management.
[4] On 26 January 2017, the Ministry of Planning issued a statement through its website in which it clarified the controversies, confirming that Minister Prado worked at USAID upon her return to Bolivia from Spain in 2006, but only for four months.
[9] This statement elicited strong criticism from prominent Bolivian personalities, such as feminist María Galindo and filmmaker Violeta Ayala.