Dokument #1140819
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Autor)
Please find attached some documents which
provide information on the Democracia Cristiana party of Chile
(Christian Democracy party, known by its acronyms PDC or DC). As
indicated in the attachments and other sources, the DC formed in
August 1983 the Alianza Democrática (Democratic Alliance),
reportedly conceiving and being the leading party of the coalition.
Later, the Democracia Cristiana was one of the largest parties
forming the political alliance known as the "Comando para el No"
(Command for the No) for the 1988 plebiscite.
The Comando para el No was a coalition
comprising most (16) opposition political parties, formed to
promote a negative vote in the October 5, 1988 plebiscite on the
continuation of general Pinochet's rule. Access to the media was
gradually eased as the plebiscite date approached, although attacks
on opposition supporters, including beatings and arrests during
some street demonstrations, were reported to have continued. [
Chile: Human Rights & The Plebiscite, (Washington:
Americas Watch, July 1988), pp. 125-143.] Regarding the DC,
Americas Watch reported in its July 1988 book Chile: Human
Rights and the Plebiscite the following under "examples of
official harassment of political parties" (page 100):
"February 2 or 3, 1988: The president of
the Christian Democratic (DC) Youth, Felipe Sandoval, charged that
party members "are being persecuted and threatened." Sandoval
pointed to raids on the headquarters of the DC Youth; the
detention, in Salamanca, of young DC members for putting up a
poster; the recent arrest of Alfonso Maturana in Choapa; in Puente
Alto, the painting of offensive slogans attributed to the DC Youth;
and an attack on the youth organization by a pro-government
newspaper "which encourages ultra groups to prepare attacks against
us." Another DC youth leader, Eliana Caraball, complained that
police and municipal authorities had been visiting various DC
headquarters in towns and provinces and demanding that posters
alluding to the party be removed. (La Epoca, February 3 or
4)"
In August 1988, most restrictions on
publications were lifted, and non-government television channels
covered the campaign of the opposition coalition, though reportedly
to a lesser extent than for the pro-Pinochet campaign. [ Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1988, (Washington: U.S.
Department of State, 1989), p. 492.] The official political
campaign for the plebiscite, as stipulated by law, lasted 28 days.
[ Human Rights in Chile, (Toronto: Inter-Church Committee
for Human Rights in Latin America, January 1989), p. 3.] According
to the Chilean government, the Comando para el No raised US$100
million from foreign sources for its campaign. [ Latin American
Weekly Report, (London: Latin American Newsletters), 2 March
1989, backcover.] One of the major components of the "No" campaign
was the access to free 15-minute daily television spots for the
opposition. [ Country Reports, p. 492.] A video recording of
a judge who denounced cases of torture, by Chilean authorities,
however, was banned by the government. [ Human Rights in
Chile, p. 14.] Apart from this ban and a reported degree of
self-censorship, no other cases of overt censorship during the
campaign are reported among the sources currently available to the
IRBDC.
In the days following the plebiscite, which
resulted in the defeat of President Pinochet's attempt to extend
his term in office, some of the rallies of the supporters of the
"No" campaign were reportedly attacked and arrests took place
during victory celebrations. [ Human Rights in Chile, p. 6.]
Later, the Comando para el No was dissolved as parties canvassed
individually for the upcoming general elections. Some parties which
were brought together in the coalition have continued their
alliance. Patricio Aylwin, who was the official speaker of the
Comando para el No and the head of the Christian Democrat party,
headed the major opposition party coalition as presidential
candidate for the December 1989 general elections. [ Facts on
File, (New York, Facts on File, Inc.), 24 February 1989, pp.
133-134. ]Patricio Aylwin was eventually elected and is now the
President of Chile.
Pages 40-41 of the attached Mission to
Chile indicate that in the August 1988 reorganization of the
Central Unitaria de Trabajadores (CUT, translated by the
publication as United Workers Central, although it can be
translated to Unitarian Central of Workers or Workers' Unitarian
Central, the largest trade union confederation of Chile), the new
national directorate included 16 members affiliated to the DC
representing 37 percent of the delegates. Manuel Bustos was
reportedly affiliated with the DC and elected president of the
CUT.
Of the attached documents, Latin
American Political Movements provides information on the DC
until 1985, while Political Parties of the World provides
information up to 1988. The attached documents include:
-Mission to Chile, (Washington, D.C.: Freedom House Inc.,
1988), pp. 22-23, 26, 40-41 and chart of the political parties of
Chile;
-Political Parties of the World, (London/Chicago: St. James
Press, 1988), p. 97;
-Latin American Political Movements, (London: Longman
Publishing Group, 1986), pp. 51-52;
-World Encyclopedia of Political Systems & Parties, (New
York: Facts on File Publications, 1987), pp. 193-194.