Carolina Tohá


Carolina Monserrat Tohá Morales is a Chilean politician from the Party for Democracy. She is the daughter of the socialist politician, vice president and minister of Salvador Allende José Tohá, who was killed during the Chilean dictatorship. She was the mayor of Santiago from 2012 to 2016.
Tohá entered politics in 1984 as a leader of the University of Chile student federation. During the presidency of Ricardo Lagos she was Deputy Minister Secretary General of Government. In 1999, she was vice-president of the PPD. In 2001, she was elected to the Chamber of Deputies — Chile's lower chamber of Congress — representing the Santiago district, and was re-elected in 2005.
On 12 March 2009, she replaced Francisco Vidal in the Ministry General Secretariat of Government, becoming the first woman to hold that post in the country's history. Her congress seat became vacant, as both positions are incompatible with each other in times of peace. She was replaced by Felipe Harboe. On 14 December 2009, she left her government post to lead Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle's presidential run-off campaign. In 2010, she was elected president of the PPD. On 28 October 2012, she was elected mayor of Santiago by an absolute majority, ending the right's 12-year rule over a key municipality. In 2016, she lost the election.
Tohá has a law degree from the University of Chile and a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Milan. She is married to the physician and socialist deputy Fulvio Rossi. She has two children from an earlier partner.

Controversies

Irregular financing from SQM

In May 2016, the Chilean Public Ministry began to investigate the irregular financing from Soquimich to her party whilst she was president of the PPD through false vouchers issued by Chile Ambiente — foundation linked to the party, controlled by Patricio Rodrigo — between 2011 and 2012 which made possible the receipt of CLP$57 million.
On 15 May, in a press release she declared, "I would like to clarify that, as president of the PPD, the financing arrangements that I supported were attached to the law ". I did not ask Patricio Rodrigo, neither direct nor indirectly, any matter related to the party's financing." Nevertheless, on 22 May, her declarations were in question, because it was reported that in 2011 she had signed a certificate that was given to Servel to register the foundation Chile Ambiente as a party's political formation institute, empowering the body that directs Patricio Rodrigo to receive donations for the PPD.