Antofagasta. Pablo Iriarte, the alternative to win the mayor’s office

“Our seal is the territory, the population, the neighbor, the person who only asks to be listened to, to work together to solve problems. With that basis, we will only be able to carry out the program in terms of security, public spaces and health,” indicated the candidate for communal chief in the northern city.

Javier Candia Neira. Journalist. “The century”. Antofagasta. 4/10/2024. In recent years, the commune of Antofagasta made news for its mayors, but not for positive reasons.

While the former UDI mayor, Karen Rojo, is detained in the Netherlands, to where she escaped in search of avoiding the action of justice that convicted her of fraud against the treasury, the current mayor Jonathan Velásquez faces an accusation for notable abandonment of duties, filed in the regional Electoral Court by the majority of the councilors, who accuse him of having committed a series of irregularities.

This, added to the prolonged strike of the municipal education workers, constitutes main elements of the scenario in which the conversations take place to define the single charter of the left and progressivism to conquer the municipality, after years of personalist conduct and right.

In this panorama, one of the names most likely to achieve this difficult objective is the 35-year-old architect, Pablo Iriarte Ramírez, member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party.

Iriarte was a secondary leader, he presided over the Federation of Students of the Universidad Católica del Norte in 2011, he was a regional councilor and until October of last year he held the position of Government Seremi.

In the last municipal elections he starred in a close finish with the now deputy Sebastián Videla, and Jonathan Velásquez, being described as the revelation of said elections.

ElSiglo.cl spoke with Iriarte about his proposals and expectations

Various surveys show you as the main candidate in the sector and the one with the best chance of defeating the current mayor. How do you read the current scenario?

It is a scenario where we can see the work that we have done for a long time, and that is complemented by the management deficit in the municipality. Although our work is not conditioned by the results of the surveys, we value it, and it translates into affection in each territorial activity we attend.

How do you see a possible primary?

I think that what we have to do is agree on a single candidacy, not only for one person, but for a program for the commune of Antofagasta, that provides immediate answers, but also to move towards positioning the commune as what it is. , one of the most important territories in northern Chile, the development of a mining city has to have results for the people, and we do not see that. That’s why I think that the time we have left should be spent going out into the streets, united, to talk to people.

Why do you think opinion studies also show strong rejection of the current mayor?

I think that this answer may come more from the same people, but in my opinion, it has to do with the lack of direction, the failure of our community to advance, the lack of leadership, it is like playing a game without a captain, there may be eminences in the field but if there is no order, Antofagasta will never win a game.

During these months you have held various citizen meetings to build your Government program. What is their purpose and what stands out most about these meetings?

The meetings seek to build the programmatic path for the municipality, with all its aspects, both of a management model, as well as the construction of the long-term plan that our commune requires. That is why we always talk about Antofagasta among all of us, because precisely we are building dialogues with the social world of Antofagasta, which has not been able to find in the municipality. Carry out the program regarding municipal security, public spaces and health.

What is the seal you want to give to the municipality?

Our seal is the territory, the population, the neighbor, the person who only asks to be listened to, to work together to solve problems. With that basis, we will only be able to carry out the program in terms of security, public spaces and health.