Historia Crítica

Hist. Crit. | eISSN 1900-6152 | ISSN 0121-1617

“Chile is Flag and Youth”. The Cult of Youth and “Gremialismo” During the First Stage of the Dictatorship of Pinochet (1973-1979)

No. 54 (2014-09-01)
  • Víctor Muñoz Tamayo
https://doi.org/10.7440/histcrit54.2014.10

Abstract

This article deals with the relation between two aspects of the political history of Chile during the early years of the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. On the one hand, the symbolic contents projected by the regime, which highlighted youth as a metaphor of the new order –a cult of youth: “efebolatría”–, and, on the other hand, the articulation in said context of a political network of youths who managed to position themselves in the highest level of government, the so-called “gremialistas”. Thus, a study based on documents and oral testimony led to the conclusion that said relationship was fundamental in producing the political and doctrinal support for the dictatorship itself.

Keywords: Chile, political participation, dictatorship, youth, ideology, political doctrine