Communist women, solidarity, and human rights: experiences and political reinterpretation in Chilean communism during the dictatorship

This article analyzes the trajectories and experiences of wom-en's labor in the Communist Party of Chile (PCCh), with the aim of understanding their role in incorporating the human rights paradigm during the first stage of the civil-military dic-tatorship. By studying the trajectories of communist women in contexts prior to the 1973 coup, it examines how these ex-periences acted as bridges to organizational and political prac-tices that, after the onset of the dictatorial regime, articulated aspects of the party's traditional political culture with new forms of political action, denunciation, and the exercise of solidarity. It is argued that the PCCh's approach to the lan-guage of human rights was not the result of an ideological rupture but of a progressive process of adaptation and re-signification. Among the factors in this process is the work carried out by women, whose experiences in spaces of mili-tancy, care, and popular organization redefined political activ-ity in terms of solidarity and the defense of life. These prac-tices facilitated a more receptive incorporation of the human rights paradigm, allowing it to become part of the ethical and political heritage of Chilean communism. The research is based on the analysis of documentary sources, oral testimonies, and party publications, and aims to contribute to the understanding of the identity transformation processes within the PCCh from a perspective that integrates gender, memory, and human rights.