From Dictatorship to Democracy: The Women’s Movement in Chile

Abstract

This chapter has three objectives: to examine the emergence of an autonomous women's movement in authoritarian Chile, to explore the relationship between this movement and the opposition, and to assess the prospects and potential of a feminist politics in a democratic Chilean context. The political and economic crises of authoritarian rule in Chile propelled many women to take on new roles in the public sphere. By using women's experience of oppression as a point of departure for an analysis of women's reality, Chilean feminists recognized and articulated women's needs as a legitimate point of departure for political action. One of the most important contributions of Chilean feminism to opposition politics was the analysis of the link between state authoritarianism and authoritarianism in Chilean society generally. The challenges that faced the Chilean women's movement include building a mass movement, developing cross-class alliances, and coordinating the mobilization of the women's opposition.