Santiago, Chile, (EFE).- Journalist Tomás García has uncovered the untold stories of Chilean women who, during Augusto Pinochet’s military dictatorship (1973–1990), risked their lives to underground resistance movements.
His new book, “Todo lo que tenías que hacer. Mujeres ayudistas en la dictadura de Pinochet”, gives voice to the hidden heroines who kept hope alive in one of Latin America’s darkest chapters.
After the 1973 coup that overthrew democratically elected President Salvador Allende, political parties were outlawed and thousands of Chileans were detained, tortured, or disappeared.
Amid this atmosphere of terror, women like María Inés Urrutia and her sister Mónica became anonymous lifelines
“They weren’t always militants, but they stood side by side with those who were, ensuring their survival,” García told EFE. “They helped preserve humanity in a time when death became the norm.”
The women’s invisibility often protected them. Gender stereotypes and machismo, García argues, ironically enabled them to act under the radar.
“Machismo in political parties relegated women to secondary roles. That made it easier for them to go unnoticed, and gave them room to act,” he said.
As Chile faces increasing denialism and revisionist narratives about its past, García’s work seeks to ensure these women’s actions are ed.
“Let this experience help us live better, more in solidarity, more sensitive to human suffering,” said María Inés.
Women recall their acts of defiance
Among the seven testimonies in García’s book is that of María Inés Urrutia, a religious sister who, in 1975, helped smuggle a mother and her newborn out of a Santiago hospital to escape persecution.
“As a religious woman, it was my obligation in the face of pain,” she told EFE. “You just know what you have to do. Either you save them or they die. That conviction makes you fearless.”
Her sister Mónica, who also ed the resistance, recalled acting without hesitation.
Monica hid Óscar Guillermo Garretón, a politician from the leftist Popular Unity Movement (MAPU) party and one of the regime’s most wanted opponents, in her home.
“I wasn’t a political militant, but I was part of the movement. When the time came, I wasn’t afraid. The fear came after,” she said. “When you know they’re imprisoning pregnant women, you forget yourself. The cause becomes bigger than you.”
For Claudia, a young member of the Frente Patriótico Manuel Rodríguez (FPMR), helping the resistance consumed her entire life.
In her house the guerilla group met and stored weapons: “We had no life. We didn’t think about studying or anything. We operated 24/7. If a comrade asked for help, you gave it. You didn’t question it.”
Despite the danger, none of the women expressed regret.
“We didn’t organize ourselves formally,” said María Inés. “But we knew each other. Sometimes we worked together, sometimes apart. It was what we had to do.”
The spark behind the book, a guerrilla’s forgotten memory
The book began with a conversation between García and former guerrilla fighter Ricardo “Negro” Palma Salamanca.
“He told me, ‘A woman hid us at the beach before we escaped to Argentina,’ but he couldn’t who she was. They were anonymous, yet their roles were vital,” García said.
Based on academic research at the University of Chile and published by Alquimia Ediciones, García’s book offers a window into a network of women who delivered messages, hid fugitives, and opened their homes as safehouses, often without formal ties to political organizations.
“These women gave their lives so others could survive,” García said. “They enabled political parties and resistance groups to keep functioning underground.”
Describing the women as “intelligent, resilient, and driven by love and solidarity,” García said they were often “camouflaged by daily life,” which allowed them to build believable cover stories and avoid detection.
Their stories, once whispered in private, now form a collective memory of defiance, and serve as a call to recognize their legacy. EFE
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