Maternity and Political Action: tensions and strategies of women opponents of the Civic- Military Dictatorship in Iquique (1973-1989)

Abstract

During the Chilean military dictatorship, different social sectors mobilized against the regime, with women being an important group in the anti-dictatorial struggle present in multiple organizational spaces. This article aims to analyze from a critical perspective and gender approach, different trajectories of activism of women mothers opposed to the regime in the city of Iquique, seeking to highlight the tensions between the traditional conception of motherhood present both in the public discourse of the dictatorship and at the social level, with the ways of assuming political participation from being mothers. As a hypothesis, the discourses around the ideal of motherhood disputed the senses and self-perception of women activists, and although the role of mothers did not operate as a limitation to their socio-political participation, It did pass through their experiences and was a factor that shaped the forms of participation, dedication times and roles they took on in organizations. The methodology included qualitative analysis of oral sources, written press, speeches and documents issued by the Military Council, as well as bibliographic review. At the theoretical level, we worked from the social history, the history of the present time and the gender history.