Chihuán played the 1996 Olympic Games and the 2000 Olympic Games ranking in both in 11th place; the 1998 World Championship, finishing in the ninth place, 2006 World Championship, ranking in 20th place. She ranked 11th in the 2007 FIVB World Cup and fifth in the 2009 Pan-American Cup. She was the captain of the Peruvian volleyball national team from 2005 to 2010. Playing in Chiapas, Mexico with her National Senior Team, she won the Best Blocker award and the silver medal at the 2010 Final Four Cup. Chihuán ranked in 15th place in the 2010 World Championship, and stated it would be her last tournament with her team and that she would step down as player and captain. After Peru's final match against China she told reporters in interviews that she did not leave because of some physical or age related issue but due to circumstances that she could not control. She has played in several teams in Spain and Italy.
In 2011, Leyla Chihuán was elected to the Congress of Peru on the list of the fujimoristFuerza 2011 party, representing the city of Lima. She was one of four female ex-volleyball players serving in Congress for the 2011-2016 term. Chihuán was re-elected in the 2016 general election. Her current term expires in 2021.
Accomplishments
In Congress, Leyla Chihuán has served on numerous committees, including the Health and Population Committee, the Education, Youth, and Sports Committee, the Foreign Relations Committee, and the Justice and Human Rights Committee. Chihuán is the vicepresident of the Congressional Leadership Board, the Leadership Council, the Spokespersons' Board, and the Permanent Committee for the current parliamentary session. She has been the author or co-author of over 100 pieces of legislation or parliamentary resolutions on subjects ranging from health and sports, commerce and industry, Congressional ethics, and the protection of women and minors.
Controversy
In 2018, Leyla Chihuán was associated with a political scandal referred to as "Chats La Botica". "La Botica" was the title of a cell phone chat group among congressmen from her political party, Fuerza Popular, the contents of which were leaked to Peruvian authorities. The leaked messages included chats, in which Chihuán took part, which featured discussion of shielding judge César Hinostroza Pariachi, who was facing charges for corruption. Nowadays in Peru when people wants to refer that they do not have money they say: "Estoy Bien Chihuan" the expression has become viral since her infamous comments when she said that the money earned working at the Congress was insufficient for her high living standard.
