Adriana Muñoz

Adriana Blanca Cristina Muñoz d'Albora (born 25 September 1948) is a Chilean sociologist and politician who serves as a member of the Senate of Chile, representing the 4th constituency of the Coquimbo Region. She previously served as president of the Senate of Chile.

Early life and education Adriana Blanca Cristina Muñoz d'Albora was born in Santiago on 25 September 1948. She is the oldest of five children in a Christian family. Her father owned a store and her mother was a housewife.

After the 1973 coup, Muñoz went into exile with her husband and infant son in Vienna, where she lived until 1982. She later reflected that she had also failed to connect and communicate well with her district. Later that year she said, "The country is afraid of debate. Or we as the beaten-down left are afraid to be considered adding once again to divisiveness, destruction. There is a very strong trauma within us."

On 17 March 2020, Muñoz was elected president of the Senate with 22 votes to 14 over Chile Vamos's Carmen Gloria Aravena. She is the second woman to hold the position after Isabel Allende. An agreement had been made between parties that the president would be a member of the PPD, and her colleague Felipe Harboe declined nomination for the role due to the need for greater gender equality and female participation, saying "It will be an honor for me to continue working for parity, committing myself to working for the defense of women's rights." Muñoz advocates for gender parity. After the October 2019 protests, Muñoz announced the creation of a Truth Justice and Reparation Commission, criticising the government for confusing social demonstration with vandalism. Former president of the Constitutional Court Marisol Peña criticised Muñoz for "legislative populism", saying she was willing to ignore the constitution for what people want. In October 2020, Muñoz said that over 800 people have been detained without due process for over a year after the protests, although this number has been disputed. Muñoz said she condemned violence but not social protest. But she affirmed that she did not agree with bringing the election forward, saying, "President Piñera has run a bad government, but he was elected by the people. I belong to a generation that is very afraid of institutional breakdowns."

Publications

Personal life Muñoz is divorced and has a son. She separated from her husband while in exile in Austria.