José Jaime Parada Hoyl (born November 2, 1977 in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

, Chile) is a

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

gay rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, , 3 ...

activist and politician who became the first openly gay person elected to public office in Chile. He serves as the spokesperson for Movimiento de Integración y Liberación Homosexual, the leading Chilean gay rights organization. He was elected councilman for his home commune of Providencia for the 2012–2016 term.

Biography

Parada was born in the commune of

Las Condes Las Condes is a commune of Chile located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region. The area is inhabited primarily by upper-mid- to high income families, and known in the Chilean collective consciousness as home to the country's economi ...

. His father is a

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

nian-Chilean

veterinarian A veterinarian (vet), also known as a veterinary surgeon or veterinary physician, is a medical professional who practices veterinary medicine. They manage a wide range of health conditions and injuries in non-human animals. Along with this, vet ...

and his mother is a homemaker. He completed his secondary schooling at the Instituto Presidente Errázuriz, a state-subsidized Catholic boys school. He studied history at

Finis Terrae University Universidad Finis Terrae ( en, Finis Terrae University) (UFT) is a Chilean university. It is a private autonomous institution in Santiago de Chile owned by the Anahuac University Network The Anahuac University Network is a private universities ...

, graduating first in his class. He is currently a doctoral candidate of history at the

Pontifical Catholic University of Chile The Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (''PUC or UC Chile'') ( es, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile) is one of the six Catholic Universities existing in the Chilean university system and one of the two pontifical universities i ...

in the area of the social

history of science The history of science covers the development of science from ancient times to the present. It encompasses all three major branches of science: natural, social, and formal. Science's earliest roots can be traced to Ancient Egypt and Meso ...

. At Finis Terrae, Parada served as the director of the School of History and the research and archives coordinator of the ''Centro de Investigación y Documentación en Historia de Chile Contemporáneo'' (''"Center for Research and Documentation of Contemporary Chilean History"'') from 2010–2011. In June 2010, Parada came to prominence after his article "El matrimonio gay en cartas" (''"Gay marriage in letters"'') was published in the newspaper '' The Clinic''. It consisted of a series of e-mails exchanged Parada and a family member on in support of

gay marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

, which is not currently recognized by the state. In 2011, Parada began his career as a political activist, joining MOVILH and becoming its spokesperson. In March 2012, after the brutal beating of

Daniel Zamudio Daniel Mauricio Zamudio Vera (3 August 1987 – 27 March 2012) was a Chilean man whose murder in 2012 became a symbol against homophobic violence in Chile. Zamudio, who identified as gay, was beaten and tortured for several hours in San Borja P ...

neo-Nazi Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...

s because of his

sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. These attractions are generall ...

, Parada and MOVILH played an important role in securing legislation introducing severe penalties for

hate crime A hate crime (also known as a bias-motivated crime or bias crime) is a prejudice-motivated crime which occurs when a perpetrator targets a victim because of their membership (or perceived membership) of a certain social group or racial demograph ...

s on the basis of sexual orientation. That year, with the support of Marco Enríquez-Ominami's Progressive Party, Parada launched his candidacy for municipal councilman for the commune of Providencia, winning a four-year term to last until 2016. Parada was backed by

Josefa Errázuriz María Josefa Errázuriz Guilisasti, also known as "Pepa" Errázuriz, is a Chilean politician. She was mayor of Providencia between 2012 and 2016. She currently serves as councilor of the same commune since 2021. Early life and education She stu ...

, who successfully ran for mayor of Providencia, against the conservative incumbent, Cristián Labbé, whom Parada has referred to as a “recalcitrant fascist” for his support of the Pinochet regime. His victory makes him the first openly gay politician elected in Chilean history. Parada's election was part of a historic election season in which rightwing, mayors Labbé and of Independencia were defeated and the first two transsexual women,

Zuliana Araya Zuliana Alejandra Araya Gutiérrez (born August 13, 1964) is a Chilean politician and transgender rights activist. She has served as a Valparaíso city council, and president of the Afrodita union. She is Chile's first trans city council member. ...

Valparaíso Valparaíso (; ) is a major city, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the commune of Valparaíso, Chile. "Greater Valparaíso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. Valparaíso is located about northwest of Santiago ...

and Alejandra González in Lampa, were also elected.

Electoral history

2012 municipal election

* 2012 municipal election, for the municipal council of Providencia
Consulta de Resultados, councilors 2012. (Candidates with more than 2% of the votes are listed.)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Parada, Jaime 1977 births Living people Chilean LGBT politicians Chilean gay men Chilean LGBT rights activists Politicians from Santiago Gay politicians Chilean historians Chilean people of Panamanian descent 21st-century Chilean politicians Progressive Party (Chile) politicians