Javiera Petersen

Javiera Petersen Muga (born 7 April 1990) is a Chilean economist. She serves as the Undersecretary of Economy and Small Businesses, a role she has held since March 2022. She is a prominent member of the Communist Party of Chile (PCCh).

Early life & career Petersen was born in Valparaíso, Chile. In 2022, prior to her government appointment, she was a PhD student at University College London.

Petersen is a co-founder and executive director of the Observatorio de Políticas Económicas (OPES), an economic think tank and applied research centre. During the 2017 presidential election, she was a member of the economic team for independent candidate Alejandro Guillier.

In 2021, Petersen worked on the presidential primary campaign of Daniel Jadue, mayor of Recoleta, contributing to the development of his economic policy platform. Following Jadue's defeat in the Communist Party primary, she joined the campaign of Gabriel Boric.

In February 2022, Petersen was appointed Undersecretary of Economy and Small Businesses by president-elect Boric. She took office on 11 March 2022; at age 31, she was the youngest undersecretary in Boric's cabinet.