Bárbara Figueroa
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Barbara Figueroa | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 13 April 1979 |
| Party | Communist Party of Chile |
| Spouse | Hernán González |
| Children | 1 |
| Parent(s) | Jose Figueroa Jorquera Salome Sandoval |
| Education | Academy of Christian Humanism University (Psychology) Metropolitan University of Educational Sciences (Philosophy) |
| Occupation | Trade unionist, teacher and politician. |
| Website | http://barbarafigueroa.cl/ |
Bárbara Catherine Figueroa Sandoval (born in Santiago, 13 April 1979) is a Chilean psychologist, philosophy professor, trade unionist and politician. Since 2023, she has been appointed as a general secretary of the Communist Party of Chile (PCCh).[1]
She served as president of the Workers' United Center of Chile (CUT) from 2012 to 2021 and previously was national leader of the College of Teachers of Chile. From 31 March 2022 to 24 September 2023, she served as her country's ambassador to Argentina, under the government of President Gabriel Boric.[2]
She was born in Santiago as the daughter of Salomé Sandoval and José Figueroa Jorquera. They were known to be union leaders and communist activists. During her childhood she lived in Quinta Normal and San Fernando, where her father served as councilor and mayor.[3]
In Santiago, she studied at the municipal school of Liceo Cervantes, until her family moved to live in San Fernando, where she completed her schooling at the Liceo José Gregorio Argomedo, a private subsidized Catholic school in the city.[4] She joined the Communist Youth of Chile at the age of 15. Her membership would continue after her entry into higher education, at the Metropolitan University of Educational Sciences (UMCE), which she entered to study pedagogy in philosophy. At this school she was a student leader in the student center of her career for 3 years.[5]
After graduating as a teacher, she taught students at various high schools and colleges in Maipú, Colina, Macul, La Pintana, Puente Alto and Santiago, while studying psychology at the Academy of Christian Humanism University (ACHU).[5] She married Hernán González, leader of the College of Teachers, in 2004, a relationship that ended in 2013, from which she had a son named Joaquín.[6]