Carlos Montes Cisternas

Carlos Eduardo Montes Cisternas (born 11 May 1946) is a Chilean politician and economist, member of the Socialist Party of Chile. Since March 11, 2022, he has served as the Minister of Housing and Urban Development in the administration of President Gabriel Boric.

He was elected as a deputy for District 26, La Florida, for six consecutive terms (1990-2014) and as a senator of the Republic representing the VIII Electoral District, Santiago Oriente, for one term (2014-2022).

He served as President of the Chamber of Deputies of Chile (1999-2000) and as President of the Senate of Chile (March 11, 2018 - March 12, 2019). He was part of the founding group of the Popular Unitary Action Movement (MAPU) and the Party for Democracy (PPD).

Early life and family He was born on 11 May 1946 in Santiago, Chile. He is the son of Carlos José Montes and María Elena Cisternas.

Professional career He completed his secondary education at Saint George’s College in 1964. He later studied Economics at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.

After returning to Chile, between 1987 and 1990, he served as Director of the Cordillera Center for Municipal Studies.

Political career He began his political activity as a neighborhood leader at the age of 15. During his university years, he was a leader of the Federation of Students of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (FEUC) and a student representative on the Superior Council of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.

In 1969, he was part of the founding group of the Popular Unitary Action Movement (MAPU), which emerged as a split from the Christian Democratic Party. He served as a leader of the movement until 1989, following its merger and incorporation into the Socialist Party of Chile.

After the 1973 coup d'état, he led MAPU clandestinely until his arrest in December 1980. He was held for one month by the National Intelligence Center (CNI), where he was interrogated and tortured, and was later imprisoned in the Public Prison. In October 1981, he went into exile with his family in Mexico.

He returned from exile in 1985 and, together with a team, began work on the democratization of neighborhood councils. In 1988, he served as coordinator of the No campaign in the Metropolitan Region of Santiago.

He was part of the founding group of the Party for Democracy (PPD) and served on its First Political Commission until June 1992, when he ended his dual party membership. Within the Socialist Party of Chile, he became a member of the Central Committee. In 1988, he also served as a leader of the No campaign command for the Metropolitan Region during the national plebiscite.

In October 2000, he was appointed by President Ricardo Lagos as a member of the Presidential Advisory Commission for the Bicentennial of the Republic of Chile.

On 21 January 2022, he was appointed Minister of Housing and Urban Development by President-elect Gabriel Boric. He assumed office on 11 March 2022.