Jeannette Jara

Jeannette Alejandra Jara Román (born 23 April 1974) is a Chilean lawyer, public administrator, and politician. A member of the Communist Party of Chile (PCCh), she served as Minister of Labor and Social Provision under President Gabriel Boric from 2022 to 2025. She previously served as Undersecretary of Social Provision during Michelle Bachelet's second administration (2016–2018).

During her tenure as Labor Minister, Jara oversaw changes, including a reduction of the working week from 45 to 40 hours and increases to the minimum wage. In June 2025, she won the governing coalition's presidential primary, becoming its nominee for the 2025 general election. In the first round of voting on 16 November 2025, she secured a plurality and advanced to a runoff against José Antonio Kast; she was defeated in the December runoff, gaining 41.8% of the vote and failing to a win a majority in all of Chile's regions.

Early life and education

Jeannette Jara was born on 23 April 1974 in Conchalí, a working-class commune in northern Santiago (now part of Independencia). She grew up in the El Cortijo neighborhood, raised primarily by her grandmother in a mediagua (a prefabricated shelter) that initially lacked running water. Her father, Sergio Elías Jara Ulloa, was an industrial mechanic, and her mother, Jeanette del Carmen Román Guzmán, was a homemaker. She is the eldest of five siblings, including the investigative journalist Sergio Jara Román.

Jara attended the Liceo Isaura Dinator de Guzmán, a public high school in Santiago. To support her studies and family, she worked various jobs in her youth, including as a promotora (promoter),^a seasonal agricultural worker, and street food vendor.