“Pure Fascism”: Deputy Lorena Pizarro Accuses Chile’s Right of Exploiting the Bernarda Vera Case Mid-Campaign

Deputy Lorena Pizarro (PC), a former president of the Association of Relatives of the Detained and Disappeared (AFDD), accused Chile’s right wing of weaponizing for political gain—right in the middle of the election campaign—the case of Bernarda Vera, who was recorded as a detained-disappeared in 1973 during the civil-military dictatorship and who, according to a Chilevisión report, may currently be living in Argentina.

The lawmaker argued that using a single, individual case—regardless of its outcome—to cast doubt on the systematic policy of state terrorism perpetrated in Chile under Pinochet amounts to an act of “pure fascism” and “deep denialism intensified during the electoral season.”

“I’m not surprised by the right—and none of us should be surprised by their opportunism,” said the former AFDD president, warning that the stance taken by that political sector could be aimed at undermining the commitment to a ‘Never Again.’

“I’m certain that if Chile does not break the pact of silence among civilians and the military, this will surely not be the last case, because enforced disappearance is precisely about making everything vanish—not only the person but every trace of them—and those who hold the information, civilians and uniformed personnel, have never handed it over,” she said in remarks reported by Radio Nuevo Mundo.

To underscore the gravity of denialist narratives, Pizarro recalled the historical context surrounding the disappearance of Bernarda Vera, linked to the Panguipulli timber complex in the Los Lagos Region, where more than ten militants and peasants remain missing.

“In October 1973, people were detained from the hamlet of Liquiñe at the timber complex and were executed on the Toltén River bridge. Days later, some bodies surfaced upstream until Carabineros intervened, pushing them downstream,” the deputy recounted, describing a scenario of violence and deliberate concealment of bodies.

Regarding Bernarda Vera, she recalled that “she worked as a teacher at the Puerto Fuy school within the same timber complex area, was detained further south in Trafún,” and that several witnesses have stated “she hid at the timber complex due to a violent persecution by repressive, coup-supporting forces.”

“Her trail disappears and, considering her political militancy, the unidentified bodies, and her family’s lack of knowledge about her whereabouts, Bernarda Vera was listed as a detained-disappeared in the Rettig Report,” she emphasized.

The deputy criticized what she called the deliberate omission of facts by right-wing spokespeople and leaders, noting that “they seem to forget this situation became known because of the Plan de Búsqueda, and there are public reports from August that discussed this case, as well as that of an unregistered 14-year-old boy.”

“That is invisible to the right,” she stressed, while expressing solidarity with Bernarda Vera’s daughter, “who searched for her mother for so long, believing she was disappeared—and if it is her, how painful it must be for this daughter who thought she had a disappeared mother.”

“I don’t want to imagine the pain she’s going through, because it must be terrible. And since the right lacks even a shred of humanity, they are exploiting this in a gross way,” she asserted.

“Indecency” and “Pure Fascism”

In her remarks, Lorena Pizarro did not hesitate to label the right’s behavior as historical denialism and a failure of basic decency.

“This is the world turned upside down, and we will not allow it. This is denialism that seeks to erase history. It is the indecency typical of the right, which keeps calling it a ‘military government’ when it was one of Latin America’s bloodiest dictatorships,” she said.

The lawmaker warned that this political exploitation of the Bernarda Vera case is unfolding precisely in the midst of the campaign for the presidential and legislative elections.

“In this electoral period, that is exactly what we are facing: pure fascism with no respect for life or human rights,” she stated.

Reflections on the Anniversary of the “No”

Tying her comments to the anniversary of the 1988 plebiscite victory for the “No,” Pizarro highlighted the decisive role played by the Chilean people in ending the Pinochet dictatorship.

“The Chilean people were able to say ‘no more,’ despite living under a dictatorship, because there was a steadily growing process of struggle in all its forms. It wasn’t just a pencil and paper—many lives were given to end that dictatorship,” she emphasized, noting that resistance was far broader than the plebiscite itself.

In that vein, she described the transition to democracy as an “overly long” subsequent process that, while some pacts have finally been undone, “we remain crushed by the economic model,” reported Radio Nuevo Mundo.

Jeannette Jara: The Opportunity to “Truly Finish the Transition”

In her statements, the deputy referenced the presidential bid of Unidad por Chile’s candidate, Jeannette Jara, arguing that Jara represents a path to move beyond this prolonged interim period, as she brings together a broad political spectrum and enjoys significant sociopolitical support.

Regarding the candidate’s platform, Lorena Pizarro said the proposal includes measures with strong social impact.

“After listening to her, I said: here we can truly finish the transition, because we can advance measures that help build a development model based on greater social justice,” she affirmed.