Chile’s president-elect José Antonio Kast confirmed Judith Marín Morales, an evangelical Christian, as the new Minister for Women and Gender Equality, a position she will assume on 11 March.

José Antonio Kast comes to the Executive after receiving the support of several political parties, and his ministerial team is composed mainly of independents and technical experts. Of the 24 people ministers, 16 are not party members.

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“Chile needs decisiveness, character, and a government that acts promptly. That is why today I am presenting a team that will end the inertia. There is no time to lose”, said Kast as he presented the cabinet that will accompany him from 11 March, when he takes office to replace the current president, Gabriel Boric.

“I am grateful for the confidence of the president-elect. I take on this wonderful challenge with great responsibility. We will work for all the women of Chile”, said the now minister on social media.

Evangelical, pro-life and pro-family

The politician will become the youngest minister in the next cabinet at just 30 years of age. She has expressed positions with defined pro-life and pro-family values and has in the past raised the need to evaluate the current approach of the Ministry of Women, which has been more radical in its gender ideology.

Her arrival in the ministry will therefore mark a change from the current administration, which placed the Ministry of Women on the political committee and made it a central part of its agenda.

During 2017, she actively participated in the opposition to the bill on abortion in three cases (in cases of rape, foetal unviability and danger to the mother’s life). This is shown by records from the time, videos of the moment when she was removed from Congress by the Carabineros police.

That same year, Marín — as part of evangelical youth organisations — was one of the signatories of a letter addressed to the National Television Council, after complaints were filed against a television programme for promoting discriminatory discourse. This occurred after a television personality said he had given up homosexuality after a process of religious conversion. The letter signed by Marín called for the complaints against the program to be dismissed and asserted that “it is necessary to show other positions, beliefs, and experiences as a valid and real alternative for others”.

She also reaffirmed her defence of Christian values in society as an evangelical Christian. “Our country is going through a spiritual crisis, a social, moral and political crisis, and more than ever, we, the children of God, must rise up”, she said in a video posted on the PSC’s social media accounts.

Marín is a Spanish teacher with a degree from the University of Santiago (Usach).

In the press material announcing the ministers of the future government, Judith Marín's section highlights that her favourite TV series is The Chosen - about the life of Jesus.

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Judith Marín Morales (@judithmarinm)

The opposition, outraged by the appointment

Member of the Chilean parliament Emilia Schneider pointed out on social media that “the Ministry of Women and Gender Equality is in the hands of the Social Christian Party, the most conservative right wing. We will be vigilant, we will not allow setbacks in women's rights and sexual diversity. This is a very bad sign, it seems that Kast will not fulfil his commitment not to touch on ‘values’ issues”.

For her part, MP Javiera Morales said that “Chile has been a secular state for a century. That is why the appointment of Judith Marín as Minister of Women is a mockery of women. We will have an anti-rights minister who wants to take us backwards on abortion and who does not believe her own ministry is necessary. As a small consolation, she should at least defend our right to protest”.

In defence of evangelicals in politics

Christian member of the parliament Francesca Muñoz came to her defence, saying that the left “is showing its totalitarian nature because she has not even taken office and they are already criticising her”.

MP Eduardo Durán said he regretted “this policy of permanent cancellation by the left regarding the appointments made by President Kast. That she is evangelical? No one asks if a minister is Catholic or Jewish”.

Elected MP Benjamín Lorca underlined in an article published on Latin American news website Evangélico Digital the discrimination faced by evangelicals in Chile. He points out that the criticism received — with labels such as “fundamentalist”, “fanatic” or “canuta” — reveals a form of religious prejudice that ignores personal, academic and professional backgrounds.

Lorca emphasises that many evangelicals are first-generation university students and have contributed to the country in various fields, but that their faith continues to be used to delegitimise them in the public and political sphere.

The deputy expresses his disappointment and proposes overcoming the polarisation and “abstract ideologies” that divide society, recalling that “Chilean evangelicals are also Chileans” and are part of a common history marked by the struggle for religious freedom and social integration.

Lorca defends the historical and current contribution of the evangelical world and defends their right to participate in politics: “We want to work for Chileans. Every day, more and more of us are training to serve our country in different spheres of life. We do so through politics, and all we ask for is a space to exercise” this right.