Pedro Aguirre Cerda

Pedro Aguirre Cerda was born on February 6, 1879, in Pocuro into a humble rural family. Graduating in law and pedagogy from the University of Chile, Aguirre Cerda studied political economy at the Sorbonne, becoming a passionate champion of state secular schooling and industrialization.

In 1938, as candidate of the Popular Front uniting radicals, socialists, and communists, he was elected President of Chile. His government launched transformative social reforms under the slogan Gobernar es educar, building hundreds of technical schools and nurseries. Following the devastating 1939 Chillán earthquake, he created the Production Development Corporation (CORFO), laying the foundation for national steel, electricity, and oil industries. He died in office of tuberculosis in 1941, mourned by hundreds of thousands.