Pinochet-Escudero is a Chilean who came to Canada as a refugee from the right-wing dictatorship that ruled Chile until 1990. Raised by a single parent, some of her earliest memories are of protest marches and running with her mother to evade police repression in the streets of Santiago. Once in Vancouver, her family was able to be part of forming and running cooperative housing developments – an option which she believes needs to be available for current residents as well as future waves of refugees. As a socialist activist for over 25 years, Pinochet-Escudero has been an integral part of Latin American solidarity and social justice efforts in Vancouver. A mother of two young children, Pinochet-Escudero is seeking to become the first Chilean-Canadian elected to municipal political office in Vancouver history.