Renovación Nacional (RN) candidate Francisco Orrego is vying for a seat in district 10 of Congress, positioning himself as the 'deputy of security' who will push tough measures. After securing 2 million votes in his unsuccessful 2024 bid for metropolitan governor, Orrego defends his place in RN for its internal diversity and backs Evelyn Matthei. In interviews, he stresses the need for laws strengthening Carabineros and municipal security.
Francisco Orrego, former metropolitan governor aspirant, ran for that position in 2024 and secured 2 million votes, though he was not elected. That same afternoon, RN leaders urged him to run for Parliament, and he now seeks a seat in district 10, which includes communes like Providencia, La Granja, and San Joaquín.
Orrego explains his shift to Congress by a sense of public service: 'When you have a true vocation for public service, you want to be where the potatoes burn, you have to move from criticism, from the direct speech I have, to action.' He defines himself as 'very right-wing,' closer to the republicans than the political center, but remains in RN for its diversity, which includes liberals, conservatives, and nationalists.
'Because I love the diversity and I love working with people who don't necessarily think like me,' he states about his choice not to join Republicans, though he differs on value issues, where he is more liberal: 'For me, if you're going to have sex, use a condom. If you had sex without a condom, take the morning-after pill.'
In his campaign, he backs Evelyn Matthei as Chile Vamos's presidential candidate, though he critiques her campaign's approach to the center: 'It's a decision made by the political leadership of Chile Vamos, but I don't have to share it.' If elected, his priority will be security: 'I want to be the deputy of security, the one who comes to put a heavy hand.' He proposes as his first project the Municipal Security Law, allowing guards to use Taser guns, granting greater powers to Carabineros and Citizen Security.
Regarding district 10, where the right could secure up to five of eight seats, Orrego projects a majority: 'Today there are five from the left and three right-wing deputies. I'm working for the right to regain the 5-3.' He emphasizes collaboration: 'There is no dispute between Chile Vamos and republicans here; there is joint work so that both political sectors representing the right today can achieve that majority.' He mentions names like Jorge Alessandri, Evelyn Cordero, José Antonio Kast Adriasola, and Hans Marowski as potential colleagues.
With two weeks of campaigning left, Orrego prioritizes a right-wing majority in Congress to support the next president: 'That will allow us to make a government that really does the renewal demanded by the population and we can push a security agenda.'