List of female Chilean presidential candidates
- Left and center: Sara Larraín and Gladys Marín are the first female candidates to contest the first round of a presidential election in Chile.
- Right: Michelle Bachelet became the country's first female president in 2005 and was re-elected in 2013.
The following is a list of female presidential candidates in Chile who have either participated in primary or general elections. Candidates may be nominated or selected by political parties or coalitions, or run as independents after collecting the minimum number of required signatures as established by the electoral authority, SERVEL.
Between the 1952 presidential election —the first to include women's suffrage— and the 2025 presidential election, ten women have participated in at least the first round of voting. That number rises to eleven if primary elections are included.
Listed below are women who have reached at least a primary election.
History
20th century
- Sara Larraín and Gladys Marín became the first female candidates to contest the first round of a presidential election in 1999–2000.[1] Marín also became the first Communist party presidential candidate in Chile since 1932.[1]
21st century
- Michelle Bachelet became the first female Socialist party presidential candidate in Chile, the first woman to win the first round of a presidential election, and the country's first female president, elected in the 2005–06 Chilean general election.[2] In the 2013 Chilean general election, she became the first person to be re-elected president since Carlos Ibáñez del Campo in 1952.[3]
- Evelyn Matthei became the first conservative female presidential candidate in Chile[4] and advanced to the runuoff against Bachelet in the 2013 election. This marked the first-ever runoff contested by two women in Latin America history.[5][6] In the 2025 general election, she finished in fifth out of eight candidates, representing the centre-right coalition Chile Vamos.[7][8]
- Roxana Miranda ran as the candidate for the left-wing Equality Party.[9] She received 81,873 votes (1.24%), finishing in seventh out of nine candidates in the first round.[10]
- Beatriz Sánchez became the first presidential candidate from the Broad Front party. She received 1,338,037 votes (20.27%), finishing third out of eight candidates in the first round.[11]
- Carolina Goic became the first female presidential candidate from the Christian Democratic Party. She received 387,784 votes (5.88%), finishing fifth out of eight candidates in the first round.[11]
- Yasna Provoste ran as the presidential candidate for the centre-left New Social Pact coalition in the 2021 general election, after winning the non-SERVEL-observed primary. She received 815,563 votes (11.60%), finishing fifth out of seven candidates in the first round.[12]
- Paula Narváez ran as the Socialist Party's presidential candidate in the primary election held by New Social Pact coalition for the 2021 general election. She was defeated by Christian Democrat Senator Yasna Provoste.[13]
- Carolina Tohá ran as the Democratic Socialism presidential candidate in the primary election held by the centre-left Unity for Chile coalition for the 2025 general election. She received 385,948 votes (28.07%), finishing second out of four candidates.[14]
- Jeannette Jara became the presidential candidate for the centre-left Unity for Chile coalition after winning the primary in June 2025.[14] She narrowly won the first round, becoming the first Communist and the second woman to do so, and advanced to the runoff held the following month eventually losing against José Antonio Kast.[15]
Presidential candidates
General election candidates by popular vote
| Year | Picture | Name | Party | Coalition | Round | Votes | % | Elected president |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Michelle Bachelet | Socialist Party (PS) | Coalition of Parties for Democracy | Runoff | 3,723,019 | 53.50 | Michelle Bachelet | |
| 2013 | New Majority | 3,470,379 | 62.17 | |||||
| 2005 | Coalition of Parties for Democracy | First round | 3,190,691 | 45.96 | ||||
| 2013 | New Majority | 3,075,839 | 46.70 | |||||
| 2013 | Evelyn Matthei | Independent Democratic Union (UDI) | Alliance | Runoff | 2,111,891 | 37.83 | ||
| 2013 | First round | 1,648,481 | 25.03 | |||||
| 2025 | Chile Vamos | 1,613,797 | 12.48 | José Antonio Kast | ||||
| 2017 | Beatriz Sánchez | Independent | Broad Front | First round | 1,338,037 | 20.27 | Sebastián Piñera | |
| 2021 | Yasna Provoste | Christian Democratic Party (PDC) | New Social Pact | 815,563 | 11.60 | Gabriel Boric | ||
| 2017 | Carolina Goic | Christian Democratic Party (PDC) | None | 387,784 | 5.88 | Sebastián Piñera | ||
| 1999 | Gladys Marín | Comunist Party (PCCh) | The Left | 225,224 | 3.19 | Ricardo Lagos | ||
| 2013 | Roxana Miranda | Equality Party | None | 81,873 | 1.24 | Michelle Bachelet | ||
| 1999 | Sara Larraín | Independent | None | 31,319 | 0.44 | Ricardo Lagos | ||
| 2025 | Jeannette Jara | Comunist Party (PC) | Unity for Chile | First round | 3,476,615 | 26.85 | José Antonio Kast | |
| Runoff | 5,218,444 | 41.84 |
See also
- Women in Chile
- President of Chile
- Presidents of Chile timeline
- List of female cabinet ministers of Chile
References
- ^ a b Mullan, Michael (2005-03-09). "Gladys Marín". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-07-27.
- ^ Rohter, Larry (2005-12-11). "Chile Votes for President With a Woman Ahead and the Right Divided (Published 2005)". Retrieved 2025-07-27.
- ^ "National Intelligence Estimate on Probable Developments in Chile". Office of the Historian. 1953-08-24. Archived from the original on 2025-05-07. Retrieved 2025-07-27.
- ^ "Chile's conservative bloc picks new candidate". Al Jazeera. 2013-07-21. Retrieved 2025-07-27.
- ^ "Chile election: Bachelet and Matthei go to second round". BBC News. 2013-11-17. Retrieved 2025-07-27.
- ^ "Bachelet storms to election victory in Chile". Al Jazeera. 2013-12-16. Retrieved 2025-08-22.
- ^ Malinowski, Matthew (2025-05-19). "Chile Poll Shows Evelyn Matthei and Jose Antonio Kast Tied in Race for Presidency". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2025-08-22.
- ^ Lee, David D. (2025-11-17). "Leftist, far-right candidates head to run-off in Chile presidential race". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2025-11-17.
- ^ "Roxana Miranda inscribe candidatura presidencial con 41 mil firmas" [Roxana Miranda Registers Presidential Bid with 41,000 Signatures]. La Tercera (in Spanish). 2013-08-19. Archived from the original on 2013-08-20. Retrieved 2025-07-27.
- ^ "Elections: Chilean Presidency 2013 General". IFES Election Guide. Retrieved 2025-07-27.
- ^ a b "Elections: Chilean Presidency 2017 General". IFES Election Guide. Retrieved 2025-07-27.
- ^ "Elections: Chilean Presidency 2021 General". IFES Election Guide. Retrieved 2025-07-27.
- ^ "Latam Daily: Chile Centre-Left Coalition Elects Presidential Candidate Yasna Provoste". Scotiabank. Archived from the original on 2023-05-29. Retrieved 2025-07-27.
- ^ a b Villegas, Alexander (2025-06-30). "Chile picks Jeannette Jara to face off against right-wing presidential field". Reuters. Retrieved 2025-08-22.
- ^ Wells, Ione (2025-11-17). "Communist and far-right candidates head to Chile presidential run-off". BBC. Retrieved 2025-11-17.