José Miguel Huerta

Huerta Muñoz was born on the San Luis de Tricauco estate, in the commune of Victoria, on 14 June 1919. He was the son of former deputy José Manuel Huerta Maturana—who had represented the same constituency between 1933 and 1949—and of Lucrecia Muñoz Artigas.

He completed primary education in Victoria, and secondary studies at the Academia de Humanidades and the Liceo Valentín Letelier de Santiago. At age 17 he entered the School of Law of the University of Chile, graduating at 21. His thesis, titled Caja de Forestación (Reforestation Fund), was defended in 1942, and he was sworn in as a lawyer before the Supreme Court on 13 January 1943.

Huerta Muñoz began his political career in his native city. He was elected municipal councilor (regidor) of Victoria in 1944, serving until 1947, and then as mayor from 1947 to 1949. His administrative work focused on expanding municipal infrastructure and social housing projects.

That same year he was elected Deputy for the 20th Departmental Grouping—Angol, Collipulli, Traiguén, Victoria, and Curacautín—succeeding his father in representing the province of Malleco in the National Congress.

Huerta Muñoz held leadership roles in the Liberal Party: president of the Victoria Liberal Assembly, secretary of the Santiago Assembly, and national secretary, vice president, and later party president during the administration of President Jorge Alessandri Rodríguez. He served as head of the Liberal Caucus in the Chamber.

In 1967 he joined the National Party, acting as campaign manager for Jorge Alessandri's 1970 presidential campaign.

Beyond politics, Huerta Muñoz was founder and president of the **Sociedad Periodística del Sur (SOPESUR)**, from which emerged the newspaper El Austral de Temuco. He also chaired the boards of COMDAT (a computing company), AFP Magister, and Brink's Chile.

As a lawyer, he practiced privately and represented the Banco de Chile in court for three decades. He was also a registered journalist and published regular opinion columns.

Huerta Muñoz presided over the Rotary Club and the Aero Club of Victoria, and was a member of the Club de Septiembre and the Club de la Unión. He managed the Comunidad Huerta Muñoz, owner of the Victoria Market and of the farms San Luis (Victoria) and Baltimore (Collipulli), and also farmed land in La Estrella, Colchagua.

He died in Santiago on 8 January 1989, at the age of 69.

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