Pablo Vidal
Pablo Vidal | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait (2018) | |
| Member of the Chamber of Deputies | |
| In office 11 March 2018 – 11 March 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Creation of the district |
| Constituency | District 8 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 24 June 1983 |
| Party | Democratic Revolution (2011−2020) |
| Other political affiliations | Nueva Acción Universitaria (NAU) (2008−2011) New Deal[1][2][3] (2020−2024) |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Profession | Geographer |
Pablo Esteban Vidal Rojas (born 24 June 1983) is a Chilean politician and geographer who served as a member of the Chamber of Deputies of Chile during the 2018−2022 period.
Early life and education
Vidal was born on June 24, 1983, in Concepción, Chile. He is the son of Luis Humberto Vidal Bermedo and Norma Miriam Rojas Rojas, pastors of the Pentecostal Church of Chile in the commune of Estación Central. He is the youngest of four siblings: Milton Luis, Rodrigo Alejandro, and Felipe Eduardo. He is married to Paula Salazar Araiz and has three children: Florencia, Catalina, and Tomás.[4]
He completed his primary and secondary education at Colegio Príncipe de Gales in Estación Central between 1989 and 1996, and at Liceo Alberto Hurtado in Quinta Normal between 1997 and 2000. Upon finishing secondary school, he obtained the highest score of his graduating class in the Academic Aptitude Test (PAA).
In 2001, he enrolled in the Geography program at the Institute of Geography of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. During his university studies, he held various student representation roles in the Geography program, the Student Federation of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, and the Confederation of Chilean Students, which led him to suspend his studies between 2005 and 2006. He later resumed and completed them.
He completed his professional internship in early 2009 in the Risk Management Program for Territorial Planning in Regional Governments of the Undersecretariat for Regional Development and Administrative Affairs. In 2009, he obtained his professional degree as a geographer. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Geography with a thesis titled Rural land use evolution in the commune of Buin, Metropolitan Region of Santiago, period 1980–2007.
In 2011, he obtained a diploma in Public Policies in Environment, Energy, and Sustainable Development from the Miguel de Cervantes University.[4]
Professional career
As a result of his professional internship, Vidal was hired in 2009 by the Undersecretariat for Regional Development and Administrative Affairs as an advisor to the Interministerial Committee for the Development of Extreme and Special Zones, supporting the coordination of public services in the implementation of the Public Policy for Isolated Localities in the Regional Government of Arica and Parinacota.
In mid-2010, he assumed responsibility for coordinating the consultation process with Indigenous Communities conducted by the Undersecretariat for Regional Development and Administrative Affairs regarding the proposed modification of the intercommunal boundary between the communes of Freire and Padre Las Casas in the Araucanía Region, within the framework of Convention 169 of the International Labour Organization.
Between May 2013 and August 2017, he served as Community Relations Manager for the Rucalhue Hydroelectric Power Plant Project of the Brazilian company Atiaia Energia Chile, part of the Cornelio Brennand Group. In this role, he facilitated early voluntary dialogue with indigenous and non-indigenous communities in the project area, reaching agreements with all affected communities. The formal Indigenous Consultation under Convention 169 of the International Labour Organization was conducted between 2015 and 2016, and the environmental approval resolution was obtained in April 2016.[4]
Political career
Vidal’s political involvement began in 1999 when he was elected Vice President of the Federation of Secondary Students of Western Santiago.
In 2004, while at university, he became Vice President of the Student Center of the Geography Program at the Institute of Geography of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. In 2006, he assumed the position of Secretary General of the Student Federation of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. In 2008, he served on the Electoral Tribunal of the same federation.
At the end of 2011, he participated in the founding of the political movement Revolución Democrática, together with Sebastián Depolo, Giorgio Jackson, Giovanna Roa, Miguel Crispi, and other former student leaders. The movement later became a political party.
During 2012, he served as Territorial Coordinator and later as National Coordinator of Political Action for Revolución Democrática, contributing to the development of the party’s local organizational structure in various parts of the country, particularly in the communes of Estación Central and Maipú. Toward the end of 2012, he resigned from his position at the Undersecretariat for Regional Development and Administrative Affairs to focus on his role as National Coordinator of Political Action. From 2014 to early 2017, he served as Territorial Coordinator in the commune of Huechuraba.
In August 2017, after winning his party’s internal primaries, Vidal became a candidate for the Chamber of Deputies in the 8th District of the Metropolitan Region of Santiago, representing Revolución Democrática in the parliamentary elections of November of that year. He obtained 12,135 votes, equivalent to 2.86 percent of the valid votes.
On December 3, 2020, he announced his resignation from Revolución Democrática, together with Deputy Natalia Castillo Muñoz.
In August 2021, he registered his candidacy for re-election to the Chamber of Deputies in the 8th District of the Metropolitan Region, running as an independent candidate with the support of the Liberal Party within the Nuevo Pacto Social coalition. In the elections of November 21, 2021, he obtained 10,710 votes, equivalent to 2.28 percent of the valid votes, and was not re-elected.
On April 1, 2022, Vidal was elected president of the National Television Association of Chile. He assumed his duties on May 2, 2022, for a two-year term.[4]
References
- ^ "Liberales y exdiputados de RD se reagrupan en nuevo 'referente'". La Tercera. 16 December 2022. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
- ^ "Pablo Vidal, expresidenciable de Nuevo Trato: 'Boric es un extraordinario liderazgo al que su partido no le hace caso nunca'". La Tercera. 20 May 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
- ^ Lara, Emilio; Carrizo, Sofía (19 May 2021). "Oposición anuncia otro candidato a La Moneda: Pablo Vidal (ex RD), por Nuevo Trato y Partido Liberal". Radio Bío-Bío. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
- ^ a b c d "Pablo Esteban Vidal Rojas". Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional de Chile (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 February 2026.