Luis Cuello
Luis Cuello Peña y Lillo is a Chilean politician who serves as deputy.
Early life and education
Cuello was born in Santiago on 24 January 1977. He is the son of Alberto Cuello Yuschkewitz and María Peña y Lillo Opazo. He is married to Sussy Arancibia Tobar and is the father of three children.He completed his secondary education in 1994 at the Internado Nacional Barros Arana in Santiago. He later studied law at the Universidad de Valparaíso, where he earned a licentiate degree in legal sciences. His undergraduate thesis, titled Social truth and the media: an approach from general legal theory, addressed the relationship between law, media, and public discourse. He was admitted to the bar on 18 May 2012.
Professional career
In his professional practice as a lawyer, Cuello has worked primarily in the fields of freedom of expression, constitutional law, telecommunications, and media regulation. He served as a legal advisor to the Colegio de Periodistas de Chile on matters related to freedom of expression and represented social organizations and movements in administrative and judicial proceedings.He has also been active in media and academic-related initiatives. He hosted the radio program Toque de Queda on Ritoque FM and, between 2012 and 2015, was an opinion columnist for Cooperativa.cl. He is a member of the board of directors of the Humberto Neumann Institute of Sciences and Humanities.
Political career
Cuello began his political trajectory as a social activist. He is a member of the territorial movement “La Gómez Organizada” and was the creator and promoter of the alternative media project La Otra Prensa.For more than seven years, he served as advisor and coordinator of legislative work for the parliamentary caucus of the Communist Party of Chile in the National Congress of Chile. In 2015, he acted as a representative of the Communist Party and Citizen Left caucus before the Constitutional Court of Chile during hearings related to the defense of tuition-free higher education.
In the elections for the Constitutional Convention held on 15 and 16 May 2021, Cuello ran as a candidate for the Communist Party within the Apruebo Dignidad list in the 7th electoral district of the Valparaíso Region. He received 12,185 votes but was not elected due to the application of gender parity rules.
Following the constitutional convention elections, in August 2021 he registered his candidacy for the Chamber of Deputies of Chile representing the Communist Party within the Apruebo Dignidad pact, for the 7th electoral district of the Valparaíso Region, for the 2022–2026 term. In the November 2021 parliamentary elections, he was elected deputy with 13,342 votes, corresponding to 3.74% of the valid votes cast.