Chile: Update to CHL27739.E of 22 September 1997 on the status of the Socialist Party of Chile (PS) and the treatment of its members by the authorities (1997-1999)
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 22 October 1999 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | CHL33047.E |
| Reference | 5 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Chile: Update to CHL27739.E of 22 September 1997 on the status of the Socialist Party of Chile (PS) and the treatment of its members by the authorities (1997-1999), 22 October 1999, CHL33047.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ad4e4c.html [accessed 17 September 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
The Socialist Party of Chile (PS) is a member of the governing Concertación de Partidos por la Democracia (CPD), a centre-left coalition of four parties that won the most recent congressional elections of 11 December 1997 (La Tercera 12 Dec. 1997; El Mercurio 18 Oct. 1999). Along with the PS, the CPD consists of the Partido Demócrata Cristiano (PDC), the Partido por la Democracia (PPD) and the Partido Radical Social-Democráta (PRSD) (Political Resources on the Net 6 Aug. 1999; El Mercurio 19 Oct. 1999). Led by Ricardo Nuñez Muñoz, the PS won 9.09 per cent of the popular vote in the 1997 elections, as compared to 10.88 per cent in the previous elections of 1993 (ibid. 18 Oct. 1999).
In 1999, Ricardo Lagos, presidential candidate for the PS, PPD and PRSD, secured more than 70 per cent of the vote in primary elections held on 30 May, thereby winning the right to represent the governing CPD alliance in the upcoming presidential elections on 12 December 1999 (WNUA 6 June 1999; La Tercera 31 May 1999). According to an opinion poll conducted between 24 September and 4 October 1999, Lagos had the support of 42 per cent of decided voters, as compared to 35.4 per cent for Joaquín Lavín of the centre-right coalition Allianza por Chile (ibid. 19 Oct. 1999).
No reports of PS leaders, members or sympathizers being mistreated by the authorities between 1997 and 1999 could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate. However, in the months following the arrest of former President Augusto Pinochet in October 1998, there were reports of anonymous death threats against Socialist Party members, human rights activists, relatives of those who disappeared during the period of military rule, and members of the Communist Party and PPD (CHIP News 23 Oct. 1998; FASIC April 1999; El Ercilla 6 Sept. 1999; AI 1999).
According to a report by the Fundación de Ayuda Social de las Iglesias Cristianas (FASIC), a Chilean human rights group, the extreme-right Fuerzas Anti-Revolucionarias Patria y Libertad (FAR-PL) may have been involved in issuing these death threats, which were allegedly part of a destabilization campaign designed to secure Pinochet's return to Chile (April 1999).
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
Amnesty International. 1999. AI Report 1999: Chile.
CHIP News [Santiago de Chile]. 23 October 1999. "Frei Rebukes Opposition Actions." (NEXIS)
Ercilla [Santiago de Chile]. 6 September 1999. Patricia Fernández. "Hay armada una trama en contra del PS."
Fundación de Ayuda Social de las Iglesias Cristianas (FASIC). April 1999. Derechos Humanos en Chile: Resumen Mensual.
Political Resources on the Net. 6 August 1999. "Elections in Chile,"
El Mercurio [Santiago de Chile]. 19 October 1999. "Eleccion de diputados 1997."
_____. 18 October 1999. "Partido Socialista de Chile."
La Tercera [Santiago de Chile]. 19 October 1999. Andrés Silva. "Lagos gana, pero Lavín sigue subiendo."
_____. 31 May 1999. "Lagos duplicó votación de Zaldívar."
_____. 12 December 1997. "Concertación: 50.6% - Unión por Chile: 36.2%."
Weekly News Update on the Americas (WNUA) [New York]. 6 June 1999. No. 488. "Socialist Wins Coalition Primary." (NEXIS)
Additional Sources Consulted
Ercilla [Santiago de Chile]. 1998-1999.
El Expreso [Santiago de Chile]. 1999.
Mensaje [Santiago de Chile]. 1999.
El Mercurio [Santiago de Chile]. 1997-1999.
El Mercurio [Valparaíso]. 1999.
Punto Final [Santiago de Chile]. 1997-1999.
El Siglo [Santiago de Chile]. 1999.
La Tercera [Santiago de Chile]. 1998-1999.
Electronic sources: IRB Databases, LEXIS/NEXIS, WNC.
Internet sites including:
Amnesty International Website.
Derechos Website
Fundación de Documentación y Archivos de la Vicaría de la Solidaridad Website.
Fundación de Ayuda Social de las Iglesias Cristianas (FASIC) Website.
Partido Socialista de Chile (PS) Website.