Carolina Cucumides

Carolina Elsa Icela Cucumides Calderón (born 15 November 1976)^[1] is a Chilean commercial engineer and politician.

A member of the Party for Democracy (PPD), she served as Governor of the province of Colchagua between 2014 and 2016. In 2025, she was elected Member of the Chamber of Deputies for the 16th District in the O’Higgins Region.^[2]

Cucumides was born in Santa Cruz and spent much of her early life in the commune of Palmilla, where her family settled after arriving in Chile.

She holds a degree in Commercial Engineering and is a candidate for a master's degree in Government and Society from the Universidad Alberto Hurtado.

A long-time member of the PPD, she was a student leader and served as President of the Youth Organization of the party between 2000 and 2002.

Throughout her public career she has worked in the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Public Works, SUBDERE, university administration, and research institutions. Her experience includes work in productive development, public planning, and project creation.

She began her public service career in the ChileBarrio program, later joining JUNJI, SUBDERE, the “Comuna Segura” program, the Ministry of Public Works, and CONICYT. She also worked at the Innovation Center of Universidad Central, and later at the Subdirectorate of Local Economic Development of the Municipality of Santiago.^[3]

On 11 March 2014 she assumed office as Governor of the province of Colchagua, appointed by President Michelle Bachelet. She resigned in 2016 to run for Congress in the following year's parliamentary election, in which she was not elected.

In 2025, she won a seat in the Chamber of Deputies representing the 16th District of the O’Higgins Region.^[4]

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