Martha Larraechea
Marta Patricia Larraechea Bolívar (Constitution, August 30, 1944) is a Chilean social and political advisor. She is the spouse of the politician Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle, and as such she was the first lady of Chile during the presidency of her husband between 1994 and 2000. In addition, she served as a councilor for the Santiago commune between 2000 and 2004.
Family and studies
She is the daughter of Vasco Larraechea Herrera and Victoria Bolívar Le Fort. She completed her basic and secondary studies at the Inmaculada Concepción school and completed secretarial studies and Social and Youth Guidance at the Carlos Casanueva Institute. On November 30, 1967, she married Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle, with whom she has four daughters: Verónica, Cecilia, Magdalena and Catalina.
Although Larraechea declares herself a Catholic, she says she does not practice the sacrament of penance as a critic of cases of sexual abuse within the clergy and how the Vatican has handled the matter.
Work as first lady
Despite the fact that neither the Constitution nor the Chilean laws contemplate the institution of First Lady of the Republic, in fact the spouses of the presidents exercise a social role, directing charitable foundations and developing programs social, exercising his tasks in his own cabinet in the Palacio de La Moneda. Together with the electoral triumph and the presidential assumption of Frei Ruiz-Tagle, Larraechea became the president of various foundations of a social nature. And she, too, was characterized by accompanying her husband abroad on different protocol visits. [citation needed ]
In 1994, he received from the previous first lady, Leonor Oyarzún, the presidency of the social organizations that are part of the first lady's Cabinet: the National Foundation for the Development of Children (Integra); of the Family Foundation; the Foundation for the Promotion and Development of Women (Prodemu); and the Artesanías de Chile Foundation.[citation required]
In April 1995, he developed the institutional socio-educational program "Escuela de la Mujer-PRODEMU". In Integra he develops the cultural program "Painting with children", with traveling exhibitions that toured Chile, Argentina and Peru.[citation required]
"Martita" —as she preferred to be called by journalists— stood out during her work for her active relationship and her rudeness with the media. Unlike her predecessors, she was a hostess on various official visits, including the second Summit of the Americas in 1998 and the Eighth Conference of First Ladies of the Americas, in September of the same year, were attended by some thirty representatives.[citation required]
National Committee for the Elderly
In November 1995, President Frei Ruiz-Tagle creates the National Committee for the Elderly , designating Marta Larraechea as president of the institution, predecessor of the current National Service of the Elderly (Senama), under the Ministry General Secretariat of the Presidency. Larraechea dedicated a good part of his efforts in this task, participating until today in various international events related to social problems and welfare referring to older adults, being the one who proposed the discussion of the subject at the seventh conference of wives of heads of state and Government of the Americas.
[ required quote
On April 7, 1999, World Day of Health enshrined at that time to the elderly, the Pan American Health Organization rewarded it with the recognition Sir George Alleyne , received from Hillary Clinton, by virtue of his leadership "in favor of the health and well -being of the elderly and their attachment to the cause of intergenerational equity," for her exercise as president of the National Committee for the Elderly .
[ required quote ]
MIRADOR INTERACTIVE MUSEUM
In 1995, he created and assumed the presidency of the New Times Foundation, oriented towards the development, investigation and dissemination of artistic and cultural manifestations. After various initiatives, she summoned different scientists and specialists to study the feasibility of creating an interactive museum whose majority audience were children. Despite the initial skepticism and the high cost of the investment, which even led one to think that it would not be viable in the medium term due to the high maintenance costs, the Mirador Interactive Museum (MIM) was inaugurated on March 4, 2000, seven days before the end of the mandate of President Frei Ruiz-Tagle, becoming a benchmark in the field of children's museums in Chile.[citation required]
At the end of Frei Ruiz-Tagle's term, Larraechea left the presidency of all the foundations to Luisa Durán de la Fuente, wife of the new president, Ricardo Lagos Escobar.[citation required]
Councilor for Santiago
During 2000, he communicated his intentions to participate in politics through a popularly elected position. Naturally, she would do so with the support of the Christian Democrats (DC), where his affections and affiliations were. The opportunity presented itself in the municipal elections that would take place in October of that same year. Faced with the decision of the mayor of Santiago Jaime Ravinet not to run for a third term and the nomination of Joaquín Lavín, presidential candidate in 1999 and leader of the center-right alliance, Marta Larraechea decided to present herself as the main concertacionista candidate for that commune, which was attractive as an electoral challenge.[citation required]
The election, held on October 30, 2000, favored Lavín with 61% of the vote, and he was elected mayor. Due to the municipal electoral system that was in force at that time, with a single vote for the election of mayors and councilors, Larraechea was elected councilor with 29% of the vote. She held office until the expiration of her term, in December 2004. [citation needed ]
Controversies
Municipal campaign of 2000
In the campaign for mayor of Santiago in the year 2000, he joked about the sayings of his rival Joaquín Lavín, who affirmed that the crime phenomenon should be swept away with a broom; to which she maintained that she "better she would be a vacuum cleaner." During that campaign Martita had to meet with gay people, which led some who reject that sexual orientation to speak of chameleon-like moral conduct.[citation needed]
Statements during the 2009 presidential campaign
In the second presidential campaign of her spouse Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle, for Martita she took on a different role from her years as first lady. An incident between her and Karen Doggenweiler was discussed on September 26, 2009, in the ComunidadMujer talk held by the candidates for the Presidency. While Marco Enríquez-Ominami spoke, Larraechea commented on her words, which annoyed Doggenweiler, who, on the verge of tears, asked him for silence. [citation needed ]
A video was uploaded on the YouTube website, where it appears attributing responsibility to the then Minister of Justice, Soledad Alvear, for the pardon granted in September 1994 to drug trafficker Ángel Vargas Parga, for the entry of 500 kilos of cocaine to Chile.
...the then Minister of Justice told him that he was a person who had already served the penalty he should have served. There was a Garrafal error and he trusted the minister and it was so honest that he never said this and kept pa' all his life that farm.Marta Larraechea
Given this, Senator Jorge Pizarro stressed that the former first lady's statements were "unforgivable" and that she should correct this impasse promptly, since it affected Frei's candidacy.
WikiLeaks Wire
In 2010, a cable was revealed in which she was described as an "incontinent" woman. The document, dated November 16, 2009, states that "known as nosy, Frei is not as outspoken as she is, and is known for her sharp and sometimes offensive comments about her husband's political rivals and partners. of these".
Electoral history
Municipal elections of 2000
- Municipal elections of 2000, for the mayor of Santiago
| Candidate | Covenant | Party | Votes | % | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joaquín Lavín Infante | Alliance for Chile | UDI | 73 088 | 60.99 | Mayor |
| Marta Larraechea Bolívar | Concertación de Partidos por la Democracia | PDC | 34 993 | 29,20 | Council |
| Marisol Prado Villegas | The Left | ILB | 2207 | 1.84 | |
| Tomás Hirsch Goldschmidt | Humanists and Ecologists | PH | 2067 | 1.72 |