Joaquín José Lavín León (born 25 May 1979) is a Chilean politician.[1][2]
Family and early life
He was born in Santiago on 25 May 1979, the son of Joaquín Lavín Infante —former presidential candidate (1999 and 2005), former minister of state, and former mayor of Santiago and Las Condes— and María Estela León, former municipal councillor of Santiago.[3]
He is married to Cathy Barriga, former mayor of Maipú and former regional councillor. He is the father of two children.[3]
Professional life
He completed his secondary education in 1997 at Cordillera and Alcázar schools in Las Condes.[3]
He studied business administration at the Adolfo Ibáñez University and later at the University of the Andes. He continued his education at the International University of Catalonia in Spain, where he earned a degree in business administration and management.[3]
He worked at a marketing consultancy in Barcelona, Spain. As an independent entrepreneur, he later engaged in the production of events.[3]
Political career
He participated in all three electoral campaigns of his father, Joaquín Lavín Infante: the presidential campaigns of 1999 and 2005—serving as regional coordinator—and the 2009 senatorial campaign. He also served as campaign manager for congressional candidate Alberto Cardemil.[3]
In 2004, he was campaign manager for his mother, Estela León Ruiz, during her candidacy for the Municipal Council of Santiago.[3]
In 2009, he joined the Culture Department of the Municipality of Santiago. Two years later, he became campaign manager for Marcelo Torres (RN), a candidate for mayor of Maipú in the 2012 municipal elections. After Torres withdrew his candidacy, he was confirmed in May of that year as the replacement candidate—first as an independent supported by National Renewal and later by the Independent Democratic Union (UDI). He obtained 38,946 votes, representing 34.15% of the valid votes cast, and was not elected.[3]
In April 2013, he formally joined the UDI and was proclaimed that same month as a candidate for the Chamber of Deputies of Chile for the 20th electoral district of the Santiago Metropolitan Region, comprising the communes of Cerrillos, Estación Central and Maipú. In the parliamentary election held on 17 November 2013, he was elected with 58,180 votes, equivalent to 22.04% of the valid votes cast.[3]
In August 2017, he registered his candidacy for re-election to the Chamber of Deputies for the new 8th electoral district of the Santiago Metropolitan Region—comprising the communes of Cerrillos, Colina, Estación Central, Lampa, Maipú, Pudahuel, Quilicura and Tiltil—representing the Independent Democratic Union within the Chile Vamos coalition. In November of that year, he obtained the highest vote share in the district, with 75,973 votes, equivalent to 17.92% of the valid votes cast.[3]
In August 2021, he again sought re-election for the same district and was elected representing the Independent Democratic Union within the Chile Podemos Más coalition, obtaining 33,067 votes, corresponding to 7.03% of the valid votes cast.[3]
On 30 October 2024, he resigned from the UDI.[3]
References
- 1."Diputado Lavín responde a Vodanovic por querella: "Es una estrategia que le trae muchos réditos políticos"". Emol. 5 March 2025. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
- 2."Leonarda Villalobos y Rodrigo Topelberg detallan a Fiscalía operaciones de Tonka Tomicic y contrato a Joaquín Lavín León". La Tercera. 9 December 2024. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
- 3.[3.2][3.3][3.4][3.5][3.6][3.7][3.8][3.9][3.10][3.11][3.12]"Joaquín José Lavín León". Library of the National Congress of Chile (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 February 2026.