María Julia Muñoz (born February 3, 1950) is a Uruguayan doctor in
medicine
Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...
and
politician
A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...
. She served as
Minister of Public Health from 2005 to 2010
and as Minister of Education and Culture between 2015 and 2020.
Biography
María Julia Muñoz graduated in 1975 with a
medical degree
A medical degree is a professional degree admitted to those who have passed coursework in the fields of medicine and/or surgery from an accredited medical school. Obtaining a degree in medicine allows for the recipient to continue on into special ...
and specialized in
infectious diseases
infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable dise ...
in 1980. In 1983 she received the title of specialist in
Public Health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the de ...
, and six years later, in 1989, the title of specialist in
Epidemiology
Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and Risk factor (epidemiology), determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population, and application of this knowledge to prevent dise ...
. For nearly 20 years, she was an
educator
A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching.
''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...
in the Department of Preventative and Social Medicine within the College of Medicine at the
Universidad de la República
The University of the Republic (, sometimes ''UdelaR'') is a public research university in Montevideo, Uruguay. It is the country's oldest and largest university, as well as one of the largest public universities in South America in terms of en ...
, in
Montevideo
Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...
,
Uruguay
Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...
. During her teaching career, she became an Assistant Professor before leaving to dedicate herself to
politics
Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...
.
Entrance in politics
Muñoz has served in politics since the age of 16 and joined the ''Frente Amplio'', or
Broad Front, a center-left political party of Uruguay. Within the Broad Front, she originally participated in the ''
Vertiente Artiguista'', a social democratic political sector, which was led by the politician and architect
Mariano Arana, who was also the former Secretary of Housing, Mayor of Montevideo, and Senator of the Republic. In the internal elections of 2009, Muñoz formed her own approval list, including the presidential candidate Marcos Carámbula, alongside
Víctor Rossi
Víctor Rossi (La Paz, Canelones Department
The Departamento de Canelones (; ) is one of the 19 Uruguayan departments. With an area of and 608,956 inhabitants at the 2023 Census, it is located in the south of Uruguay. Its capital is Canelo ...
.
Political Career
Mayorship of Montevideo
In 1990, she began working in the Municipal City Council of Montevideo, in charge of Mayor
Tabaré Vázquez
Tabaré Ramón Vázquez Rosas (; 17 January 19406 December 2020) was a Uruguayan politician and oncologist who served as the 39th and 41st President of Uruguay from 2005 to 2010 and from 2015 to 2020. During his political career, Vázquez was a ...
, in succession as ''Directora de División de Alimentación'', ''Prosecretaria General'' and ''Directora General de Recursos Humanos y Materiales''.
When Mariano Arana worked as Mayor during 1995–2004, Muñoz worked as Secretary General of the Mayorship (''Secretaria General de la Intendencia'').
In August 2011, the district attorney Diego Pérez asked for the imprisonment of Muñez, arguing that under her direction as Secretary General of the Mayorship of Montevideo, she facilitated the actions carried out by the ''Director de Casinos'', Juan Carlos Bengoa, who in turn was accused in 2007. The request was, however, dismissed just three months later (in November 2011) by the judge Fanny Canessa under the consideration that there was not sufficient evidence that supported the accusation.
Ministration in Public Health
In May 2004, the secretary assumed the position of ''Gerente General'' of the most important benefit society of Uruguay (approximately 260,000 members), the ''CASMU'', also known as the ''Centro de Asistencia del Sindicato Médico del Uruguay''. Muñoz was in charge of ''CASMU'' until 2005 when the elected president Tabaré Vázquez turned his position as Minister for Public Health over to Muñoz, who accepted the position even though it held a lower salary than that of ''Gerente General'' of ''CASMU.'' Muñoz therefore became the first woman in control of this position and worked the five years of the gubernatorial period, just as did all of her consultant and director counterparts. During these five years under her leadership, she both began and completed the reform of Uruguay's
Health System
A health system, health care system or healthcare system is an organization of people, institutions, and resources that delivers health care services to meet the health needs of target populations.
There is a wide variety of health systems aroun ...
.
On November 13, 2008 she supported the decision of President Vázquez to veto a law, approved by the Parliament, that decriminalized
abortion
Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...
.
Honorary Commission of Fighting against Cancer
On the first of April in 2011, Muñoz assumed the title of the ''Comisión Honoraria de Lucha contra el Cáncer'', or the Honorary Commission of Fighting against Cancer, taking the place of Óscar Magurno.
Second Presidency of Vázquez
In December 2014, after securing the election of Tabaré Vázquez for another presidency, it was announced that Muñoz would be at the forefront of the Ministry of Education and Culture (
''Ministerio de Educación y Cultura''), the position which she still holds today.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Munoz, Maria Julia
Uruguayan public health doctors
Broad Front (Uruguay) politicians
Women government ministers of Uruguay
Ministers for public health of Uruguay
Education and culture ministers of Uruguay
1950 births
Living people
Women public health doctors