Chile Elects Its First Openly Gay Deputy

Claudio Arriagada's on Sunday won a seat in Chile's Chamber of Deputies, making him the nation's first openly gay deputy.

Arriagada of the Christian Democratic Party (Partido Democrata Cristiano) came out gay in August. The Christian Democratic Party governs Chile as part of the New Majority coalition.

“I felt like I needed absolute freedom [to run for Congress],” Arriagada said at the time. “This condition always makes you vulnerable and can be used to threaten you.”

Arriagada is the former mayor of La Granja (the farm), a 4-square-mile commune located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region. As part of the 25^th District, Arriagada will represent La Granja in Congress.

Voters on Sunday overwhelmingly chose Michelle Bachelet to be their next president. However, the former president fell 3 points short of the 50 percent vote needed to avoid a runoff election. She'll now face conservative Evelyn Matthei, who received 25 percent of the vote, on December 15.

Chile's first female president who ended a 4-year term in 2010 has been a vocal proponent of marriage equality. However, her center-left New Majority coalition fell short of the gains in Congress needed to advance much of her progressive agenda.