It was at the beginning of this government when, for the first time, the role of the first lady was publicly questioned. In ‘The Faces of the Coin’, on Channel 13, the then partner of President Gabriel Boric, Irina Karamanos said a phrase that many still remember: “I am neither first nor lady”. She stated that she was convinced that the position had to be reformulated because “we are in different times and we have to rethink power and its relationships.” In December 2022, she formalized her resignation as sociocultural coordinator of the presidency, transferring the foundations to sectoral ministries. Thus she fulfilled her purpose of putting an end to the figure of first lady.
Despite the commotion that her departure caused, it was not the first time that a first lady felt uncomfortable with the position. “Siútico”, “terrible”, “from another culture”, were some of the adjectives with which Luisa Durán, wife of Ricardo Lagos, defined him. During her term she even removed the title ‘first lady’ from official stationery and replaced it with ‘wife of the President’. Luisa focused on strengthening culture and the arts with foundations such as Youth Orchestras and Crafts of Chile, in addition to the Sonrisa de Mujer program, which was her most remembered project.
“At some point it was impossible to think that the first lady would propose a public policy or coordinate an initiative. Before they only had a protocol or accompanying role, but that has changed since democracy returned,” says Carolina Guerrero, doctor in Political Science from the University of Hamburg.
Thus, several of them assumed their role with pride, even leaving their legacy. Marta Larraechea remembers her time at La Moneda as “a postgraduate degree”, where she promoted the Mirador Interactive Museum, her most emblematic project. Previously, Leonor Oyarzún had focused on early childhood with the Integra Foundation and the Families Foundation. Years later Cecilia Morel left her mark with Choose Living Healthy, an initiative aimed at promoting healthy habits and environments.
With the departure of Irina Karamanos, The charge was suspended. And although its elimination seemed definitive, some candidates plan to resume it. Will the figure of the first lady return? What profile will it have?
María Pía Adriasola
José Antonio Kast has been married to María Pía Adriasola Barroilhet (58) for 34 years. who has made family, faith and music the pillars of his life. A lawyer from the Catholic University, she shares with her husband, in addition to nine children, a deep spiritual life linked to the Schoenstatt movement. During Kast’s first presidential bid, in 2017, he was a constant presence in campaign activities, even noted as the most involved among the couples of the La Moneda candidates. In an interview he explained that he did not do it to appear, but because “personal contact is the only way to get on the election bandwagon.” A role similar to the one she had in her husband’s second attempt to reach La Moneda in 2021.
His participation in politics was consolidated when in 2018 he founded ‘Cuide Chile’, organization dedicated to promoting “the value of the family, the right of parents to educate their children and the defense of life.” Two years later, as general director of the foundation, she attended the Education Commission of the Chamber of Deputies to present on the sexual education bill. “Sex is truly safe when it is not practiced. There you prevent,” he said then.
This 2025 she has returned to accompany her husband on field work, but her tone has been more discreet, especially with regard to issues of individual freedoms, which in previous campaigns raised questions. And, faithful to his convictions, before this campaign Adriasola has held firm positions on matters such as equal marriage – “the family is in that force that is produced in the complementary union between a man and a woman” – and abortion on three grounds – “(it is not a woman’s right) because with abortion you cut off another being that is in your womb”–. He has also questioned comprehensive sexual education and gender identity programs, which he considers attacks on the freedom of religion of children and young people.
One of her schoolmates remembers her as a generous person. “I will never forget that in a Biology class, where the subject was a lot and quite complicated, she came to the next class with a piece of cardboard. She put it on the blackboard and had made a very clear summary of all the content.”
If Kast wins, his entourage anticipates that Adriasola would resume a formal role within the government’s institutions. The idea would be to reinstate the role of the first lady with a traditional approach, oriented to social and community work, strengthening programs linked to the family, early childhood, people with disabilities and older adults.
Ivette Avaria
“A woman who has an abortion is a victim of propaganda, of misunderstood feminism and of feminazis,” was the phrase that marked an interview she gave to Revista Sábado, at the beginning of this month, Ivette Avaria (39), wife of libertarian candidate Johannes Kaiser and one of his main political advisors. He has become a recognizable figure within the circle of the National Libertarian Party, where he is actively active.
Married three years ago to Kaiser – whom she met in 2020 when she interviewed him for a YouTube channel – she has a two-year-old daughter, their first together, and Since September she has been traveling the country with her husband on the so-called 4K Route. “The real problems are known by being with the real Chile, not from an office or reading a minute written by an advisor,” he said in the same interview, where he related that he had to leave his daughter in the care of his mother to be able to accompany the candidate on the campaign.
Raised in Antofagasta and graduated in Law from the Universidad Católica del Norte, she also lived in Arica before moving to Santiago in 2013. That year she joined the UDI and worked in the Ministry of Agriculture during the second government of Sebastián Piñera.
She has been a candidate for councilor and regional councilor, both without success. She declares herself opposed to the gender and critical approaches of what she calls the “woke left.” which he accuses of “destroying the Christian values of Western society.” In the same interview, he maintained that schools “have no role in sexual education” and that the defense of life is an essential part of the “cultural battle” that, he claims, the left started.
He has also distanced himself from the traditional right: “Unfortunately, the right only cares about numbers and economic growth,” he said. Catholic by training, today she declares herself a practicing Orthodox. “We Orthodox maintain the original traditions, without variations,” he said.
Consulted by Revista Sábado about the elimination of the position of first lady promoted by Irina Karamanos, Avaria He questioned that a “couple in power” has modified a figure that he considers part of the country’s institutional legacy. And although she referred to the subject with irony, her final phrase “It’s not the person, it’s the institution,” summarizes a clear idea: if her husband arrived at La Moneda, the figure of the first lady would return.
Mariela García Gombi
The story between Franco Parisi and the Argentine-Spanish Mariela García Gombi began in 2012in his office. She had gone to visit a friend, and when he saw her, he was – in his own words – “struck by those damn blue eyes.” Since then, Maru, as he calls her, became his companion and mother of his two children. In an interview, she described him as “very gentleman, one of those men who opens the car door for you and adjusts the chair for you to sit in.”
When they met Mariela was working at the IEDE Business School. She also has a past as a model who had it in Reñaca, carrying out promotions with those remembered teams summer residents of Sector 5.
Discreet, low profile, Mariela García prefers to accompany rather than appear. Even so, Franco Parisi has said more than once that she has been there in each of his campaigns. And about the position of first lady, which they would resume in their own way: avoiding exposing it too much, and supporting evangelical foundations that work with people affected by prostitution, drugs and alcoholism. Another of its objectives would be to revive “Sonrisa de Mujer”.
Eugenia Fernandez
“I support him in everything he does; as long as he is happy, I don’t have any problems,” he recently commented in an interview with Revista Ya. Eugenia Fernández, journalist by profession and wife of the independent presidential candidate Harold Mayne-Nicholls.
In December they will celebrate 38 years of marriage, they have five children and they have been seen especially close during this presidential campaign. They were classmates during their years of journalism at the Catholic University and, as she confesses, they remain best friends to this day. Just look at their Instagram account to notice the closeness between the two: they appear on the beach, in the stadium, on a trip, and even next to the “King” at the premiere of “Eterno, the film for the 100 years of Colo Colo.”
Eugenia is a former tennis champion in her youth and currently practices that sport five times a week. One of her close friends defines her as “her husband’s fan.” He says that they have known each other all their lives, and that it is a pleasure to see them together. Also that he is a fan of each of his children. When they have talked about the possibility of being first lady, she says that she lives in the present. But her friends believe she will make her mark. “I would try for the children of Chile to have a good life, sports would be a way to do it,” imagines one of them.
And Harold reinforces it: “The figure of the first lady has to be restored. He is a very beloved figure in Chilean society. I have a hard time finding an explanation why they took it out the way they did. So I believe that this should be done and all the tools generated so that they can develop in a good way.” Furthermore, if it were Eugenia, she says that “she is going to be a tremendous contribution to the country.”
Karen Doggenweiler
Marco Enriquez-Ominami He has been a presidential candidate in Chile five times: 2009, 2013, 2017, 2021 and 2025. In the first three, Karen Doggenweiler (56) requested the suspension of her contract at Televisión Nacional de Chile (TVN) to dedicate herself completely to her husband’s campaign. In 2021, however, he chose to remain on screen. In the program ‘Los 5 Mandamientos’, on Channel 13, he explained that the decision responded to a professional commitment to ‘Zona de Encuentro’, the cultural space he ran with Mauricio Pinilla.
He also acknowledged that his support for Marco remains intact, although from another place: “I think that campaigning is for the candidates. My vote is for him, I am convinced that he is the best, But I feel that my role today is to accompany from the family and from work.”
This year the tone has been the same. The host, who is currently the face of Mega, has not been part of her husband’s campaign. And regarding the possibility of resuming the role of first lady if Enríquez-Ominami arrived at La Moneda, those around her prefer not to refer to the subject.
Jara, Matthei and Artés
The only candidate who is not married, Eduardo Artés – separated and with two daughters – and the two female candidates, Jeannette Jara and Evelyn Matthei, choose not to resume the position of first lady. Jara considers that the issue is resolved, since the functions that previously fell to that figure have already been transferred to different ministries. He has also said that his “pinch” will not have a public role in his eventual government. Matthei, meanwhile, has indicated that he will not involve his family –including her husband, Jorge Desormeaux, with whom she has had a relationship for 46 years and has three children– in La Moneda tasks, and who prefers to keep them out of the political spotlight. Artés is the most radical: he rejects the idea of reinstating the position and maintains that the responsibilities of the State must be exercised by merit and not by family ties.
