Iván Poduje

Iván Poduje

Iván Slavko Poduje Capdeville (born 22 April 1968) is a Chilean architect, urban planner, political commentator, and politician who has served as Minister of Housing and Urbanism since 11 March 2026 under President José Antonio Kast.

Poduje is a founding partner of the urban-planning consultancy Atisba and has worked on urban development, regeneration, transportation, and public-space projects in Chile. He was a member of the National Council for Urban Development from 2018 to 2023 and has taught at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and Stanford University.

He became a prominent political commentator following the 2019–2020 Chilean protests, appearing regularly on television, particularly as a panelist on the political debate program Sin filtros, and as a columnist for La Tercera. In 2024, he ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Viña del Mar, and in 2025 he joined Kast's presidential campaign as an adviser on housing and urban policy.

Early life and education

Poduje was born in Santiago, Chile, on 22 April 1968, to Dinko Poduje and Laura Capdeville. He attended Saint Gabriel's School before studying architecture at the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso (PUCV), graduating as an architect in 1994. He subsequently completed a master's degree in urban development at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile in 2003.

Poduje taught at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile for 17 years and also taught at Stanford University's Bing Overseas Studies Program in Chile.

Urban planning career

Poduje is a founding partner of Atisba, an urban-planning consultancy established in 2005. The firm has conducted studies, plans, and projects in cities in Chile and elsewhere in Latin America, while Poduje's professional work has focused on urban development, transportation, public spaces, and the regeneration of vulnerable neighborhoods. His projects have included work related to Santiago Metro lines 3 and 6 and the Mapocho River Park in Vitacura.

Poduje also served on presidential advisory commissions dealing with urban development and transportation during the administrations of Sebastián Piñera and Michelle Bachelet. During Piñera's second administration, he advised Housing Minister Cristián Monckeberg on a program for the regeneration of six historic neighborhoods, including Paseo Bulnes, the Las Cenizas neighborhood in Valparaíso, and Isla Guacamayo in Valdivia. The program also included interventions in vulnerable neighborhoods in Quilicura, Cerro Navia, Talca, La Pintana, and Puente Alto, as well as public-space projects in Lo Barnechea, Maipú, and Conchalí.

In 2018, Piñera appointed Poduje to the National Council for Urban Development, an advisory body on urban policy. He served on the council until 2023. In the same year, he received the Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna City Award in the urban-planning category for his contribution to public debate on urban development.

Media career

Poduje became increasingly prominent as a political commentator following the 2019 social unrest. He became a regular panelist on Sin filtros, a political debate program, appearing on the show from 2022 through the middle of the decade. His appearances on the program contributed to a more prominent political profile, including a heated televised debate in 2022 with then-UDI president Javier Macaya, which continued after the program ended.

Poduje has also written a regular column for La Tercera and used social media, particularly X, to comment on political and urban issues.

Political career

In 2016, Poduje joined the campaign team of former president Ricardo Lagos during Lagos's unsuccessful attempt to become the presidential candidate of the New Majority coalition. In 2021, Poduje joined the team of Evelyn Matthei during her unsuccessful effort to secure the presidential nomination of the UDI. His work focused in part on the regeneration of neighborhoods affected by drug trafficking.

Poduje supported the rejection of the proposed constitution in the 2022 constitutional referendum and supported the En Contra option in the 2023 referendum.

2024 mayoral campaign

In 2024, Poduje ran as an independent candidate for mayor of Viña del Mar, supported by Chile Vamos and other opposition parties. His campaign emphasized reconstruction following the February 2024 wildfires, urban development, transportation, investment, and security. Poduje finished second behind incumbent Macarena Ripamonti, receiving 41.08% of the vote compared with Ripamonti's 51.63%.

Support for José Antonio Kast

In 2025, Poduje joined José Antonio Kast's presidential campaign and collaborated on proposals concerning housing and urban development. He continued to describe himself as an independent rather than a member of the Republican Party. Kast appointed Poduje Minister of Housing and Urbanism in January 2026, and he assumed office on 11 March 2026.

Minister of Housing and Urbanism

As minister, Poduje has identified the housing shortage, territorial recovery, reconstruction, urban land policy, major urban projects, and oversight as the principal areas of his ministry's work. At the beginning of his tenure, he identified three immediate priorities: improving the ministry's relationship with families seeking housing, diversifying housing solutions, and regenerating neighborhoods through improved public spaces and the use of public land for housing and community facilities.

During his first months in office, Poduje oversaw measures connected with reconstruction in areas affected by wildfires. In March 2026, he ordered the suspension of the reconstruction of 350 homes in Viña del Mar after a ministry investigation identified deficiencies and irregularities in the construction process. In May 2026, he announced plans for 320 homes in Tomé and Penco for families affected by the 2026 wildfires.

Publications

Books

  • Gran Valparaíso: Debates, ideas y propuestas de ciudad (2018), Atisba Ediciones, contributor.
  • Siete Kabezas: Crónica Urbana del Estallido Social (2020), Uqbar.
  • Chile Tomado (2023), Uqbar.

Academic publications

  • Galetovic, Alexander; Poduje, Iván; and Sanhueza, Ricardo. "Malles en Santiago: De centros comerciales a centros urbanos." Estudios Públicos, no. 114 (2009), pp. 219–252.