Chile: Santiago will rename streets to commemorate victims of the Pinochet dictatorship

The city of Santiago of Chili approved on Wednesday a project to rename a dozen streets in the center of the capital in homage to the victims of the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990).

The municipal council of Santiago approved by nine votes in favor and two against the proposal of various civil organizations, within the framework of the 50th anniversary of the coup against the socialist government Salvador Allende (1970-1973).

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After the military overthrow, a dictatorship was installed that left more than 3,200 victims, including dead and missing.

A young man places a sticker with the name of a missing woman on a street sign in Santiago, on July 22, 2023. (Photo by MARTIN BERNETTI / AFP) (MARTIN BERNETTI /)

In total, eight streets, three squares and a bridge in Santiago will have the names of several executed and disappeared during the dictatorship.

“Santiago, with this small gesture, begins to heal the wounds inflicted by the dictatorship”, celebrated Irací Hasslermayoress of the municipality of Santiago, after the approval of the proposal.

Some of the honorees will be Littre Quirogaa lawyer from Chilean Communist Party who was assassinated four days after the coup, and Jecar Nehgmeassassinated in the penultimate year of the Pinochet dictatorship.

The name of a street will also be changed to that of Alice Aguilara six-year-old girl murdered by military agents in 1973.

A group of neighbors complained about the attempt to rename the Namur streetwhich was going to pay homage to an architect who had been arrested and disappeared, alleging that they were not consulted about the change.

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Consequently, the original request was modified to change the name of another place, a decision that will be considered next week.

It is not the first time that the name of a space has been changed in honor of the victims of the dictatorship. In 2003, the Chile Stadium was appointed Victor Jara Stadium to commemorate a famous Chilean singer-songwriter who was detained in said facility and later murdered.

Source: Elcomercio