Luis Corvalán
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Luis Alberto Corvalán Castillo (born September 14, 1916 in Puerto Montt, Chile) is a former Secretary-General of the Communist Party of Chile (PCC) and Chilean politician.
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[edit] Early political militancy
Corvalán joined the Communist Party of Chile (PCC) at the age of fifteen in the city of Chillán shortly after the fall of the repressive dictatorship of Carlos Ibáñez del Campo in 1932.[1] Trained as a teacher, after 1952 he became a member of the PCC's Politburo, and after 1958 served as the Secretary-General. The party was outlawed from 1948 until 1958.
[edit] The September 11, 1973 Coup
On September 11, 1973, General Augusto Pinochet lead a violent military Coup and Corvalán was among the many arrested. After the murder of Victor Jara he was the most prominent political prisoner in Chile. While in prison, Luis Corvalán was awarded Lenin Peace Prize (for 1973-74).
The Soviet Union launched an international campaign for his release and in 1976 Corvalán was exchanged for a notable Soviet political prisoner dissident Vladimir Bukovsky, and received asylum in the USSR.
Corvalán headed the Communist Party of Chile - both within Chile and whilst in exile - for over three decades, which covered the whole period of the Pinochet military dictatorship. [2] After the end of the Pinochet's dictatorship Corvalán returned to Chile.
[edit] Notes
- ^ According to Nuestra Propuesta Interview - Raúl Martínez & Corvalán. (Carlos Ibáñez del Campo would return to the Presidency between 1952 to 1958 a period which meant severe repression against the PCC)[1]
- ^ Ibid.[2]
