Marcela Riquelme

Marcela Patricia Riquelme Aliaga (born 4 March 1973) is a Chilean lawyer, LGBT rights activist and politician. Elected to the Chamber of Deputies for district 15 in 2021, she was the first openly lesbian person to serve in the National Congress of Chile.

Early life and career Riquelme was born on 4 March 1973, in Rancagua. She studied law at the University of Chile, graduating in 1998. During her career as a lawyer, she had always stood out for the permanent defense of labor rights, human rights, civil rights and social causes.

Political career In March 2014, Riquelme (then a DC member) was presented by the Intendant of the O'Higgins Region Morín Contreras as the new Seremi of Justice. However, she announced her resignation on the same day, alluding that she was facing a summary in the Regional Comptroller's Office initiated during the first government of Sebastián Piñera, which she described as "unjustified", pointing out on social networks: "Sooner rather than later this injustice will be demonstrated, I know, but I regret not having been able to represent those of us who dreamed this dream." About the reason for the summary, Riquelme later explained: "in my last job [Labor Ombudsman of Rancagua] I suffered harassment, homophobic ridicule; I was forbidden to have photos of my children on the desk. That's why last October I had a job stress leave; The same day I left on leave they opened that summary."

In the 2021 Chilean Constitutional Convention election, Riquelme presented herself as an independent candidate for the Constitutional Convention, for District 15. Although she obtained the second majority in the district, with more than 15,000 votes, she did not manage to be elected, since she presented herself as a candidate without belonging to any list of independents.

For the parliamentary elections of the same year, Riquelme presented herself as an independent candidate in the Social Convergence quota, forming part of Apruebo Dignidad, obtaining 11,493 votes (5.79%), being elected as deputy for the same district for the period 2022–2026. She became, in turn, one of the first openly lesbian/bisexual women to reach the National Congress, along with Camila Musante and Francisca Bello.

Election history

Year Type District Coalition Party Votes % Result 2021 Constitutional Convention 15th district Independent Ind. 15,360 8.49 Not elected Parliamentary Apruebo Dignidad Ind.–CS 11,494 5.79 Elected Deputy 2025 Parliamentary Unidad por Chile Ind.–PR 3,662 1.07 Not re-elected

Controversies

In November 2024, Marcela Riquelme was reported for sexual abuse before her party’s Supreme Tribunal, which decided to suspend her membership. Later, Riquelme resigned from the Broad Front, citing a lack of support from its regional leadership, and she filed a self-report with the Public Prosecutor’s Office, in her words, "so that the complaint is where it needs to be".

Personal life Riquelme became known in 2014 because her son, Alexis Castillo, obtained a national score in Mathematics at the PSU the previous year, the composition of her homoparental family being notable. Her partner is Marcela Miranda, a Physical Education teacher, biological mother of Alexis and her other daughter, Sofía. They finalized their civil union on 21 November of that year.