Manuel José Ossandón Irarrázabal, colloquially Cote Ossandón, (born 24 August 1962 in

Viña del Mar Viña del Mar (; meaning "Vineyard of the Sea") is a List of cities in Chile, city and Communes of Chile, commune on Zona Central, Chile, central Chile's Pacific coast. Often referred to as ("The Garden City"), Viña del Mar is located withi ...

, Región de Valparaíso) is an agricultural technician and a senator of Chile for the 7th Senatorial District, for the period 2022–2030. He became president of the Senate on 26 March 2025. He was a member of Chilean center-right party Renovación Nacional (RN), but he renounced it in July 2016.

Early life

Ossandón was born in Chile in Viña del Mar and raised in Pirque. After his studies, he worked as an agricultural engineer. In the countryside, he witnessed high rates of

rural poverty Rural poverty refers to situations where people living in rural area, non-urban regions are in a poverty, state or condition of lacking the financial resources and essentials for living. It takes account of factors of Rural sociology, rural so ...

and inequalities there and throughout Chile.

Political career

A self-described social Christian, Ossandón's platform has emphasized poverty reduction, increased quality of life, and anti-corruption. Ossandón decided to run for mayor in the rural town of Pirque, a suburb of Santiago. He won with 21.86% of the votes and became mayor in 1992. He was re-elected for the next term, garnering 64.52% of the vote. In 2000, he decided to run for mayor in the largest municipality of Chile, Puente Alto. He won with 45% of the vote, was re-elected in 2004 with 60%, then re-elected again in 2008 with 70%. Ossandón was elected a senator of Chile for the 8th Senatorial District in the parliamentarian elections of 2013, for the period 2014–2022. He ran for president in 2017, obtaining 27.6% in the presidential primaries ( Sebastian Piñera won the candidacy with 57.5% of the vote). Ossandón submitted 34 motions in 2015, the most of any senator that year. Ossandón was candidate to the primaries elections for the " Chile Vamos" coalition and the most popular candidate of the center right according to the CEP poll of 2016. In May 2020, Ossandón contracted

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

and recovered the following month. An opponent of

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

, he criticized President Sebastián Piñera for pushing the bill legalizing it in the Chilean Congress. Ossandón was elected a senator of Chile for the 7th Senatorial District for the period 2022–2030, and became president of the Senate on 26 March 2025.

References

External links

BCN Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ossandon, Manuel Jose 1962 births Living people Chilean people of Basque descent Inacap alumni National Renewal (Chile) politicians Mayors of Pirque Mayors of Puente Alto Senators of the LIV Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Senators of the LV Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Senators of the LVI Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Chilean Roman Catholics