ORGANIZATION OF COMMUNIST PARTY OF CHILE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00457R002500330004-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 8
• Document Creation Date: November 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 12, 1999
• Sequence Number: 4
• Publication Date: March 22, 1949
• Content Type: REPORT

CLASSIFICATION
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Approved For R L1 WMeF1jFQf 82-00413
COUNTRY
INFORMATION REPORT
$a" IAI
CD NO.
DATE DISTR. 28 Mar 1949
SUBJECT
Organization of Communist Party of Cb1Ie
NO. OF PAGES
8
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PLACE
ACQUIRED
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NO. OF ENCLS.
LISTED BELOW)
DATE OF INF
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
A. N O t 120 29 the C P C q
la During norral times, the highest authority of the Party is the National
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Congress, which meets every two years and determines the Party line. Dele-
gates to this congress are chosen by delegates of the 1egional Congresses
and in turn, their delegates are selected by the delegates of the local con-
gresses designated by the cells voting under the direction of the local
secretary.,
2, The National Conference is a consulting body, which meets when called by
the Secretary General of the Party to make some rapid decision. This Con-
ference has no authority to modify decisions of the National Congress.
3. The members of the Central Committee are chosen` in the National Congress,
which also fixes the number of members.
4. The Chilean Communist Party Central Committee comprises the following members:
Salvador Ocampo Fastens, Secretary of the CTAL and senator
Juan Vargas Puebla, Deputy and member-of the Syndical Committee
Reinaldo Nunez
Junto Zamora Rivera
Maria Ramirez
Fernando Ortiz
Jose Agustin Valenzuela
Luisa Vicentini Gamba
Jose Gonzalez
Hugo Vivanco, Electoral secretary of the Communist Party
Guillermo raez Gonzalez
Jose Roberto :endoza
Fernando Vasquez
Zenobio Salamanca Salazar
Domingo Viveros
isidoro Zambrano
Raul Barra Pilva
Luis Barra Wolff
Americo Zorilla., of the Financial Commission
ocument is hereby regraded to
{7NN AL in accordance with the
letter of 1 Ober 1978 from the
Director of Centr iiigence to the
Archivist of the Unite S..
Next Review4 ':O N For
he 1999/09/09: CIA-RDP82A'O14
Date:
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CENTRAL INTELLIGENC1, AGENCY
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`?ervando Vivanco
Victor Contreras Tapia
Jose Santos Medel
Miguel Vargas Fp
J Chacon Corona
Arnulfo Rubillar Sequel
Juan Ani-nir Chelequen
Pablo Neruda (Ricardo Neftali Reyes (Basualto))
Oscar Baeza Herrera
Jose Diaz Iturrieta
Andres T'scobar Zamora
Cipriano Fontigo Urrutia
Damian Uribe Cardenas
!1ngel Veas Alcayaga (deceased)
Jose Cruz Delgado
Victor Guerrero Rodriguez
Guillermo Martinez ('uijon
Juan Valencia Vidal.
Manuel Gonzalez Vilches
Carlos Lobos
Juan Ahumada
Jose Alberto Valenzuela Cabello
Bjorn Ilagbard Ho]nbren Nilson
Genaro Paredes
Enrique Kirberg
Boris Orjik
Robinson Saavedra Gomez
Luis Sandoval Saez
Nibaldo Martinez Campos
Juan Poblete Reyes
Osvaldo Valencia Z.
Iliginio Godoy
Rene Frias Ojeda
Moises Rios Valenzuela
Pedro Hernandez Hernandez
IIoracio epeda
Mariano Palma
Elias Lafertte Gavino
Ricardo Fonseca Aguayo
Ilumberto Abarca Cabrera
Galo Gonzalez Diaz
Luis Reinoso Alvarez
Cesar Godoy Urrutia
Carlos Contreras Labarca
Bernardo Araya Zuleta
Pascual Barraza
Volodia Teitelboim
Luis Valenzuela Valenzuela
Julieta Campusano
Daniel Palma Robledo
Carlos Rosales Gutierrez
Pablo Cuello Olivares
Esteban Delgadillo Hidalgo
:Alfredo Escobar Zamora
Rodo].fo Guzman Barrera9 ex Director of the School of "Cuadros"
Salvador'Ladron de Guevara
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Orlando I4illas Correa
Dr. Jose Miranda,, Counsel of the Control Commission
Maria Narchant Rlquelme de Gonzalez
Francisco J. Neira
Daniel Orm+eno Saez
Luis Padilla Padilla
Jose Pino
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5. Those individuals are the titular members of the Central Committee. There
also exist substitute members of the Central Committee who replace the titular
members for the purpose of making a quorum in voting. Each tim the Central
Committee meets, it is called by Victor Guerrero Rodriguez, who is a Secretary
of the Central Committee and one of the confidants of Galo Gonzalez. U hen the
Party is illegal, the Central Committee does not have regular reunions, but
during normal times the Central Committee meets every six months to examine the
work accomplished by the Secretariat and the Commissions. Also, the Central
Committee can make "interpretative" resolutions concerning the party line agreed
upon in the Congresses.
bG The Central Committee in full session-elects the President, a Secretary General
and a Political Commission. The President holds a purely honorary post, and
has no authority. The office was created to complete the form of the Party in
the inscription of the Electoral Register, which requires the name of a President.
The President of the Party, Elias Laf'ertte Gavin?, is considered of li.tle im-
portance, and is a decorative figure conserved as a relic of old times. The
Secretary General is charged with executing the orders of the Political Commission
and handling the public relations of the Party.
7. The General Secretariat is an executive group of the Communist Party and is com-
posed of the following peoples
Elias Lafete Gavino, President of the Party
Ricardo Fonseca Aguayo, titular Secretary General*
Galo Gonzalez Dias, in charge of Control and Cuadros
Luis Reinoso, in charge of Organization
Luis Valenzuela Valenzuela, in charge of administrative matters
The ^ecretariat of the Central Committee recently underwent a fundamental change.
Luis Valenzuela Valenzuela came in to become a part of the Secretariat as a
replacement for Ilumberto Abarca Cabrera, who was removed in accordance with in-
structions from the Political Commission. Humberto Abarca continues to be in
charge of "parliamentary matters" and a member of the Political Commission in
charge of liaison with other parties.
8. The Political Commission is composed of the President of the Party, the members
of the secretariat, and other members selected in the respective National Con-
grosses. The Political Commission has the task of executing the decisions of
the Central Committee, and is the maximum authority between two sessions of the
Central Commi'utee. The Central Committee, also, after each National Congress,
designates a Rational. Commission of Control and Ouadros. At present, the Political
Commission is composed of:
Elias Lafertte G., President of the Party
Ricardo Fonseca Aguayo, Secretary General
Gal. Gonzalez Diaz, in charge of Control and Cuadroa
Luis Reinoso, in charge of Organization
Luis Valenzuela Valenzuela, in charge of Administrative and Finance
POLIE1 r IWL
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CF1NTRAL ThTELLIGENCE AGENC!``--_~
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Iiumberto Abarca Cabrera, in charge of Parliaxentary Affairs
Cesar Godoy Urrutia, in charge of Press and Propaganda
Carlos Contreras Labarca, in charge of Technical and Legal Studies
Bernardo Arayn Zuleta, in charge of Labor Unions
Volodia Teitelboim, in charge of Education
Julieta Campusano, in charge of Feminine Affairs
Daniel Palma, in charge of the Youth Organizations
Pascual Barraza was recently eliminated from the Political Commission and has
been turned over to the Disciplinary Tribunal to determine what compromise arrange-
ments he made with.the government to affect his liberation from Pisaguaa
9. The Commission of Control and Cuadros is charged with insuring the application
and compliance of the Party line; formation, development, and promotion of the
cuadroo; maintenance and reinforcement of the unity and discipline of the Party
and supervision of the accounting of the Central Committee, the other groups of
the Party and their undertakings. The Commission, aside from the above functions,
isa also the supreme disciplinary tribunal in the Communist Party and is composed.
o1 :
Gasp Gonzalez Diaz, President
Jose Santos Medal
Alfredo Escobar Zamora
In special cases, this Commission may include a member or members of the re-
spective Regional Commission of Control to act as informants. This Commission
not only has authority over the political life of Party members, but in addition
has full authority over their private life, and endeavors to discourage promis-
cuity, prohibit abortions, and even concerns' itself with the legitimization of
children. The Commission carefully studies the abortion problem and gives the
permission for an abortion when the reasons given fully justify it. In this
case, the official doctor, Herman Sanhueza, w}-io is a Communist and a practicing
Catholic,. Is consulted.
10. In the case of expulsions the revolutions of the Control Commission need the rati-
fication of the Central Committee. This Commission is likewise in charge of the
organization of Special Schools of Marxism. One of these schools formerly functioned
in the office of the Central Communist Party Committee, and another was located at
Calla Mexico Number 114$, directed by Luis Reinoso Alvarez. The latter school in-
cluded dormitories for eight persons and was generally reserved for Communist
Party visitors from other South American countries. This section also prepares
special courses of Marxism which are later given in local Communist Party com-
mittees by specialized teachers sent out by the Central Committee.
11. The Regional Committees which represent the Communist Party throughout the entire
country are set up with their Secretariats in an identical organization as on the
national level with the exception of the President. In Chile, the regions are
geographically divided according to the Chilean Provinces which are listed below
with their estimated Communist voting strength:
Pryin cg
Ng,, of Vitas
Tarapaca
3932
Antofagasta
3399
htacama
1814
Coquimbo
3716
;Aconcagua
1498
Valparaiso
Santiago a
O'Higgins 3196
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CENTRAL INTELLIGE~iTC~?
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No. of Votejj
Colahagua
Curico
Talca
MIaule
Linares
Nuble
Concepcion
Arauco
Bio-Bio
Malleco
Cautin
Valdivia
Osorno
Llanquihue
Chiloe
Aisen
P4agallanea
1126
817
2012
790
1068
1138
8317
2377
1653
830
2542
2460
802
738
375
304
Total 78,336
The exact number of Communists in the entire republic is almost impossible
to know. Prior to their elimination from the electoral registers under the
Ley do Defensa de Democracia, the Communists had 78,336 votes which rep-
resented 17.7% of the electoral force of 442,435 voters registered in 1948.
It is estimated by the Director of the Electoral Register that 28,000 were
eliminated by the government+e action under the provisions of the Defense of
Democracy Law. Of this number 26,300 are men and 1,700 are women. The
Director General of the Electoral Register continued to hear appeals from
disfranchised persons through February 1949, and made favorable decisions in
1738 cases. It is estimated that the final number of persons disfranchised
will be reduced to 26,000, 24,500 men and 1500 women. The Cornist members
of Congress were removed as "Consejeros" (Committee jobs), and although under
the Defense of Democracy Bill they could have been removed from their s?ats-in
Congress, the government preferred not to make an issue of the matter in the
courts.
12. Local Committees or Communal Directorates exist in each community with the
same structure as the Regional Committees. The political secretary of the
local committees is in charga of contact and liaison with the Regional Com-
mittee. The same political secretary is also in charge of planning the Party
work in the respective communities and of issuing the necessary instructions
and orders to the cells. These secretaries are elected within the community
by the Party militants. When the results of the election are known, the name
of the individual elected is submitted to the Regional Committee for approval
or rejection.
13. The cell is the smallest and most active organization within the Communist Party.
The Party attaches great importance to the cells, since these small units per -
trate all business enterprises, industries, shops, plants, offices, governmental
institution, and private enterprises. In the vocabulary of the Party, the
cells are the "life forces of the Party". Before taking any definite action,
the Party solicits the approval and opinion of the cells, as well as their sug-
gestions or observations. The officers of the cell are the Secretary General of
the cell, who is the person charged with political ratters, a financial secretary
and a secretary for organization and control, who is a type of watchman in charge
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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
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of discipline and carrying out the various resolutions. This Secretary of
Control and Discipline deals directly with the Secretary of Control and
Discipline of the Local Committee, and thus through the Regional Committee
until reaching Galo Gonzalez on the national level. The cells in normal
times have ttty or thirty members, and In the factories are organized as
"fracciones" for labor union work. The cells are divided into street cells
and industrial cells. The latter have labor union work as their only objective,
but everyone must belong to a street cell, which is the basis of the Party
organization.
14. National Syndioal Commission:
Presidents Bernardo Araya Zuleta
Vocals Juan Vargas Puebla
This Commission is augmented by delegates from the syndical "fraceiones" or
national federations, according to the problems with which they must deal.
In general, syndical problems are handled by the directors of the CTCh, con-
trolled by the Communist Party, prior to a meeting of the Corinmist "fraccion".
Salvador Ocanpo, who also is a part of this Commission, is assigned as Secretary
General of the Confederacion de Trabajadores de America Latina (CTAL), whose
central office is in Mexico. According to souroe, there will be some changes
in the E'yndical Commission, owing to the fact that Bernardo Araya Zuleta gill
be submitted to a "judgment" by the Control Commission, accused of having com-
promised the security of the Party in a meeting which was raided by the police
in Concepcion and which lost for him his Congressional immunity.
Be " .s al" Oren nation
15. During the period of illegality, the large deliberative groups of the Party
are discontinued, and only the executive groups remain in action. The Bureau
of Control becomes the supreme authority. In the Political Commission, a
slight modification is made. The substitute members become a part of the
Commission, and together they perform the functions of the Central Committee,
and are responsible to the Central Committee or the National Conference when
they meet. The Bureau of Control is charged with approving the resolutions
of the Political Commission, so that they may be adjusted to the Party line and
to instructions received. Thereafter, the decisions are sent to the General
Secretary so that he may have them enforced. In the lower groups, Regional
Conferences or Congresses have boon discontinued, and only the Regional Secretary
is active, with such assistants as are deemed necessary in light of the importance
of the province. There is a Regional Secretary in each province, and a Local
Secretary in each Commune. The procedure for the Regional Secretaries is also
followed by the Local Secretaries. The number of cells of each Local Secretary
is unlimited, but the number of members of the cells is restricted to a maximum
of ten. In the event one of the members of the above directive bodies is taken
into police custody, there are substitutes who immediately take over the duties
left by the mission member. Each organization or directive body has its sub-
stitutes already elected by the Congress'or the l Conference of the Party
and as such they are authorized to assume such positions.
Cc,g#. Ricardo Fonseca Aguayo is presently ill, and was operated on
for cancer of the intestines, with kidney complications. He is not expected
to resume 'Party activity should he recover. As a replacement for Fonseca,
Gale Gonzalez Diaz is serving as Secretary General, while retaining his post
as President of the Control Commission.
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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE - AGENC Y
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IN, ormal 2r anim,3oy of~e
C
National Congress
(Convenes once every two years
National Conference
(Convenes when ordered
by the Secretariat)
Central Com?nittee
(Convenes twice a Year)
Bureau of
Control
Political
Commission
General
Secretariat
Regional
Congress
C-~llllC111C0\ITI A
_9scm
Local
Congress
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CENTRAL ITIMLLIGENCE AGENCY
" g 2 aR ,cn a e
Ca mi at Partof? Chile_
Bureau of
Control
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Regional Secretariat
Local Secretariat
Cell Cell
G6PIFfBEPfT~AL
Local.Secretariat
Cell
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