Leoncio Toro

He was born in Curicó to Víctor Toro Concha and Mercedes Muñoz Donoso. He completed his primary and secondary education at Colegio San Ignacio, Santiago and later studied law at the University of Chile, qualifying as a lawyer on 6 December 1912.

His graduation thesis was entitled Private international law: the status of foreigners and conflicts of civil legislation. He married María Hevia Salinas, with whom he had eleven children. His son José Luis Toro Hevia, also a Conservative Party member, later served as councillor of Curicó, Undersecretary of Agriculture (1977–1979) and Minister of Agriculture (1980–1982) during the military government of General Augusto Pinochet.^[1]

After qualifying as a lawyer, Toro Muñoz practiced his profession until 1916. He was also active as an agricultural entrepreneur in the Curicó area, where he operated the estate Los Manzanos, dedicated primarily to vineyard production. He later became general manager of the wine company Vinos de Chile (Vinex), a position he held until 1954. In 1955, he founded the firm Leoncio Toro y Compañía, dedicated to commercial commissions and related activities. He also served as adviser to several public and private institutions, including the Colonization Fund, the Coordinating Council of the Alcohol Law, the Central Committee of Cooperatives, and the National Agriculture Society.^[1]

Within the Conservative Party, he served as president of the party organization in Curicó and was a member of its executive board. At the local level, he acted as councillor and mayor of the Municipality of Tutuquén.^[1]

In the 1930 parliamentary elections, Toro Muñoz was elected to the Chamber of Deputies of Chile representing the 11th Departmental Electoral District, comprising Curicó, Santa Cruz and Vichuquén, for the 1930–1934 legislative period. During this term, he served on the Standing Committee on Internal Government and acted as substitute deputy on the Standing Committees on Agriculture and Colonization and on Labour and Social Welfare. His parliamentary term ended prematurely following the military coup of 4 June 1932, which led to the dissolution of the National Congress of Chile.^[1]

He was re-elected in the 1932 parliamentary elections for the restructured 11th Departmental Electoral District, now composed of Curicó and Mataquito, for the 1933–1937 legislative period. During this term, he served on the Standing Committees on Agriculture and Colonization and on Industries. In the 1937 parliamentary elections, he was again re-elected for the same district for the 1937–1941 legislative period and served as First Vice President of the Chamber of Deputies of Chile from 24 May 1937 to 27 May 1941. He also participated in the Standing Committee on Medical-Social Assistance and Hygiene and acted as substitute deputy on the Standing Committees on Agriculture and Colonization and on Labour and Social Legislation. In addition, he took part in parliamentary work related to rural trade unionization, the agricultural minimum wage and family allowances for rural workers, and served as a member of the Conservative Parliamentary Committee.^[1]

After leaving Congress, Toro Muñoz chaired the Electoral Court during the municipal elections of April 1956. He was also a member of the Club de la Unión and the Club de Curicó. He died in Santiago on 30 November 1959.^[1]