Julio Pinto Riquelme

Julio Pinto Riquelme (14 October 1885 – 4 September 1980) was a Chilean civil engineer, farmer and Radical Party politician. He served as a member of the Chamber of Deputies between 1939 and 1945, representing the Coquimbo–Elqui region.

Biography Pinto Riquelme was born in Paihuano, Chile, on 14 October 1885. He was the son of Ismael Pinto Rodríguez-Reynolds and Amelia Riquelme.

He completed his secondary education at the Liceo of La Serena and later studied civil engineering at the University of Chile. He worked as a public official in land surveying and colonization services in the provinces of Cautín and Valdivia between 1909 and 1920, serving as a surveyor for the Colonization Inspection Office.

After leaving public service, he devoted himself to agricultural activities in Paihuano, managing family estates and later operating the “Chanchoqui” estate, which comprised vineyards and fruit plantations.

He married Mercedes Marín, with whom he had six children.

Pinto Riquelme died in Santiago on 4 September 1980, at the age of 94.

Political career A member of the Radical Party since 1915, Pinto Riquelme served as president of the provincial party assembly and delegate to party conventions in La Serena. He was mayor of Paihuano between 1926 and 1937.

In November 1939, he entered the Chamber of Deputies as a substitute Deputy for the 4th Departmental Group (La Serena, Coquimbo, Elqui, Ovalle and Illapel), filling the vacancy left by Gabriel González Videla after the latter accepted a diplomatic appointment. He served during the 1939–1941 period and was a substitute member of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Colonization.

He was subsequently elected as a full Deputy for the same constituency for the 1941–1945 legislative term. During this period, he served on the Standing Committees on Public Works, Economy and Commerce, and as a substitute member of the Committee on Labour and Social Legislation.

After leaving Parliament, he held technical and administrative roles in agricultural and financial institutions, including the Banco del Estado de Chile, and participated in regional agricultural cooperatives and charitable organizations.