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Original article: A 50 años de Calle Conferencia: Partido Comunista homenajeó a dirigentes detenidos desaparecidos

Communist Party Honors Disappeared Leaders: 50 Years After Calle Conferencia

In a march and tribute ceremony held in Santiago, the Communist Party commemorated the leaders who were forcibly disappeared in the Calle Conferencia case, marking the 50th anniversary of one of the most brutal repressive operations carried out by the military dictatorship against the clandestine leadership of the Communist Party and the Communist Youth.

The event brought together family members of victims of forced disappearance, political activists, and human rights organizations, who paid tribute to the communists killed and disappeared during 1976, a year characterized by a systematic extermination policy directed by the National Intelligence Directorate (DINA).

During the ceremony, Communist Party deputy and victim relative, Lorena Pizarro, emphasized the resilience and persistence of those who stood against the dictatorship. «It has been three years since the coup, and our comrades continued resisting and committing to the cause of workers,» she stated, adding that «in 50 years, their example has not only accompanied us, but it has also meant that the Party has been persecuted, marginalized, and criminalized because we can never relativize that coherence.»

Pizarro also asserted that «parliament is not the first, last, nor the only way of struggle,» stressing the importance of strengthening social mobilization and political unity to confront the rise of the extreme right.

Meanwhile, Communist Party President Lautaro Carmona stated that the tribute also serves as “a response to the anti-communist campaign” and reaffirmed the legacy of those who reorganized the Party clandestinely following the coup.

“Fifty years ago, comrades Mario Zamorano, Jorge Muñoz, Uldarico Donaire, and Jaime Donato were detained and remain missing, all members of the clandestine leadership of the Party,” recalled Carmona, also highlighting the role of Víctor Díaz, the PC’s secretary and key leader during those years in Chile.

The communist leader asserted that the dictatorship attempted to “exterminate the Communist Party” through detentions, torture, executions, and forced disappearances. However, he affirmed that the dictatorship failed to destroy the organization, as after each militant or leader fell, others took their place to continue the organization and resistance.

He also warned about the rise of sectors seeking to “exclude, marginalize, or even outlaw” the Communist Party, stating that “those questioning and trying to exclude the PC today are justifying historically undemocratic and anti-popular positions.”

During his speech, Carmona also addressed the current political and economic scenario, criticizing the neoliberal model and calling for the construction of a broad social and popular movement. “It is urgent to raise a broad, active, united social movement with national and sectoral proposals that transcends neoliberalism and predatory capitalism,” he asserted.

Extermination Operation Against the PC and the JJCC

In 1976, the dictatorship led by Augusto Pinochet launched a systematic operation of persecution against the clandestine structures of the Communist Party and Communist Youth, who were engaged in tasks of reorganization and resistance.

Between March and December of that year, dozens of militants and leaders were detained, tortured, executed, and disappeared. The repressive actions began with the arrest of José Weibel, a member of the internal leadership of the PC and a prominent leader of the JJCC.

In May 1976, leaders such as Jorge Muñoz, Víctor Díaz, Mario Zamorano, Jaime Donato, and Uldarico Donaire were detained, several of whom were captured on Calle Conferencia, in the Santiago commune. Subsequently, repression continued to strike the clandestine structures of the Party and the communist youth throughout the year.

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