Araya's political career began in 2001 when she assumed the regional presidency and a founder of the Afrodita union, the first transgender union group in Chile.[1][4]
She ran for Valparaíso city council for the first time in 2004. She is a member of the Party for Democracy (PPD). Araya was elected in 2012, for the term period of 2012 to 2016;[5] and then she was elected for a second time in 2016,[6] for the term period 2016 to 2020.
In July 2012, she legally changed her name to "Zuliana Araya".[1][7] In December 2019, she was able to have sex reassignment surgery, due to a new Gender identity law (Chile) [es].[8]