Social Development and Family Ministry
Contact information
Javiera Toro Cáceres
Javiera Toro Cáceres is the eldest of four siblings and the granddaughter of Alicia Vega País, a celebrated human rights defender during the dictatorship. She studied law at the Universidad de Chile, where she was a leader in the student mobilizations of 2006 and 2011.
In 2015, she earned her law degree and then undertook a master’s degree in law, specializing in public law, at the Universidad de Chile. She worked at Fundación Nodo XXI, investigating social and educational rights, and worked as an attorney in private practice.
She was the first president of the Partido Comunes between January 2019 and July 2020. In this role she experienced one of the defining moments of her political career when, in November 2019, she became one of the signatories of the Agreement for Peace, which gave rise to an unprecedented democratic process and the drafting of a new constitution for Chile.
Undersecretaries
Francisca Gallegos Jara
Francisca Gallegos Jara holds a Degree in Sociology and a Master’s in Sociology from the Universidad Alberto Hurtado. She has 15 years of experience directing research and implementing social policies in the public sector, multilateral organizations and private institutions in various Latin American countries, including Chile, Paraguay and Mexico.
She has experience in directing and managing projects to measure and overcome poverty, as well as models for innovation and public provision quality, at institutions such as the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), the United Nations Development Programme – Environment Ministry (UNDP-MMA), the Solidarity and Social Investment Fund (FOSIS), the Social Development and Family Ministry (MDSyF) and the National Disability Service (SENADIS).
She is an academic, university professor, doctoral candidate in sociology and doctoral researcher at the Socioeconomic Transformations Observatory (Max Planck – National Research and Development Agency [ANID]) and the Universidad Alberto Hurtado.
She currently works as head of the Promotion and Social Protection Division at the Social Development and Family Ministry.
Paula Poblete Maureira
Paula Poblete Maureira holds a Degree in Economics with a Minor in Sociology from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and a Master’s in Public Policy from the Universidad de Chile.
She has professional experience in research and development, systematization and statistical analysis. She has worked as a researcher at the National Cultures and Arts Council, in the National Accounts Department of the Banco Central de Chile, and in the Studies, Projects and Consulting area at the Focus consultancy firm. She also led the Studies area at ComunidadMujer, investigating issues related to work, social protection and gender.
She has worked as an undergraduate and postgraduate academic in economics and gender gaps at the Universidad de Valparaíso, the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, the Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez and the Universidad Diego Portales.
She is a member of Revolución Democrática and was the party’s general secretary. She has also participated on the boards of Fundación Rumbo Colectivo and Fundación 99.
She was part of the Economic Academic Council of the then presidential candidate and current President, Gabriel Boric. In her professional and academic career, she has contributed to the advancement of gender equality in the fields of education and labor.
Verónica Silva
Verónica Silva holds a Degree in Social Work from the Universidad Católica de Chile and a Master’s in Social Work from the Catholic University of America, United States. She has more than 25 years of experience in the Chilean public sector at the municipal and national level in the areas of social protection and public policies.
She held management positions at the Planning Ministry and the Solidarity and Social Investment Fund between 1998 and 2009. She also participated in the design and implementation of Chile Solidario (Chile Solidarity) and Chile Crece Contigo (Chile Grows with You).
Since 2010, she has been senior specialist in social protection at the World Bank, providing technical assistance to various countries in Latin America and the rest of the world (Eastern Europe, South-East Asia, Middle East) on early childhood development, social service provision, case management and the general implementation of social protection polices and programs.