The rector election process at the University of Santiago de Chile (Usach) has been thrown into uncertainty following a legal challenge filed with the Santiago Court of Appeals. Bruno Jerardino, an adjunct professor, has requested an injunction to suspend the elections, arguing that his candidacy was wrongfully excluded from the voter rolls.
According to reports from latercera.com, the motion seeks to freeze the election process ordered by the Electoral Qualifying Tribunal (Tricel). The electoral body mandated new elections after nullifying the previous election of Rodrigo Vidal, which had been invalidated due to the exclusion of a group of professors from the voter registry.
As of now, the first round of voting is scheduled for this Wednesday, and there has been no judicial response to Jerardino's request. If no resolution is reached, the ballot will feature three candidates: Pedro Palominos, Andrea Mahn, and Cristián Muñoz.
The Candidates
Pedro Palominos, an industrial civil engineer and former pro-rector, is seeking to return to the university's top leadership position. On his official website, the candidate stated: “We did not get this far to transform what is possible, but to build what is yet to come.” His platform focuses on four key pillars: education, research, community engagement, and university responsibility.
Andrea Mahn, Vice Dean of Research and Graduate Studies at the Faculty of Engineering, is the sole female candidate in the race. Her proposal is centered on governance through clear rules and integrity. Mahn maintains that her commitment is to lead through “decisions based on evidence and effective, balanced participation across all university sectors."
Meanwhile, Cristián Muñoz, a business engineer, is viewed as the successor to Vidal’s administration, having served as pro-rector under him. His governance plan aims to strengthen Usach as a leading state institution through democratic leadership and the consolidation of a public university project.
