Jeniffer Mella Escobar (born 10 January 1981) is a Chilean lawyer,feminist activist,and independent politician. She served as a member of the Constitutional Convention between 2021 and 2022,representing the 5th District of the Coquimbo Region.[1]
During her tenure,she coordinated the commission on State Structure,Territorial Organization,Autonomy,Decentralization,Territorial Equity,Local Governments,and Fiscal Organization,and also served as coordinator of Subcommission No. 1 on State Structure.[2][3]
Biography
Mella was born on 10 January 1981 in Santiago,Chile.[4] She is the daughter of Osvaldo Mella Lorca and María Escobar Galaz.[4]
She completed her secondary education at Colegio Inmaculada Concepción in San Fernando in 1998.[4] In 1999,she entered the University of Chile,where she studied law and obtained a licentiate degree in Legal Sciences in 2011.[4] She was admitted to the Chilean Bar by the Supreme Court on 25 April 2012.[4]
She holds postgraduate diplomas in Human Rights and Women (2012) and in Family and Child Law (2019),both awarded by the University of Chile.[4]
Mella has practiced law independently,providing legal advice to territorial advocacy collectives.[4] She has worked as an official within the Chilean Judicial Branch and served at the Women's Center of San Bernardo.[4]
Political and activist activity
Her political activity began in 1997 as president of the student council at Colegio Inmaculada Concepción in San Fernando.[4] During her university years,she participated in the Autonomous Students’Movement at the University of Chile Law School.[4]
Between 2003 and 2005,she participated in lesbian feminist self-managed projects,including Salón de las Preciosas and Trabajo y Estudios Lésbicos.[4] She collaborated in the organization of La Otra Marcha in 2003,aimed at increasing the visibility of lesbians and transgender people.[4] From 2005 to 2008,she was active in the Bloque Lésbico,and between 2008 and 2012 she participated in various lesbian coordination networks focused on territorial meetings and political advocacy.[4] She has also been involved in the Fundación Género y Cultura of Ovalle.[4]
In the elections held on 15–16 May 2021,Mella ran as an independent candidate for the Constitutional Convention representing the 5th District of the Coquimbo Region,as a representative of the Movimiento de Autoconvocados de Ovalle y del Limarí,within the Apruebo Dignidad pact,occupying a Convergencia Social party slot.[4] She was elected with 13,368 votes,corresponding to 5.93% of the valid votes cast.[4]
At the beginning of December 2022,she was appointed chief of staff to the Minister of Cultures,Arts and Heritage,Julieta Brodsky.[4]
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