Manuel Gamboa

He began his political activities in 1950 when he joined the Youth of the Conservative Party, where he remained until 1966, the year he began his membership in the newly formed National Party.

In 1967, he was elected alderman for Pencahue, a municipality historically with a very limited budget. Thanks to his personal efforts, and through private financing, a fully equipped ambulance was imported from the United States—something unthinkable at the time. He held the position until 1971.

In 1971, during the Popular Unity government, he was elected alderman for Talca. He obtained the second-highest individual vote in the municipality and, because of that, he achieved being elected as a deputy in the 1973 Chilean parliamentary election.

Under Pinochet regime, he continued in public service and was appointed mayor of Talca in 1978, serving until December 1988. His administration was marked by key works such as the city's bus terminal (1981), the Regional Supply Center (CREA) and later the Wholesale Agricultural Market. He also promoted the construction of the Regional Gymnasium, implemented lighting at the Fiscal Stadium for televised events, developed over 20 hectares of green areas, and eradicated informal housing by providing permanent solutions.

Between 1988 and 1990, he was appointed Regional Intendant. In parallel, in 1980, he participated as Chilean delegate in the Latin American Congress of Municipalities held in Montevideo, Uruguay.

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