Oscar Alex Enrique Schnake Vergara (11 June 1899 – 24 April 1976) was a
Chilean politician and physician. He was a founder member of the
Chilean Socialist Party
The Socialist Party of Chile ( es, Partido Socialista de Chile, or PS) is a centre-left political party founded in 1933. Its historic leader was President of Chile Salvador Allende, who was deposed in a CIA-backed coup d'état by General Augusto ...
and close to President
Pedro Aguirre Cerda
Pedro Abelino Aguirre Cerda (; February 6, 1879 – November 25, 1941) was a Chilean political figure, educator, and lawyer who served as the 22nd president of Chile from 1938 until his death in 1941. A member of the Radical Party since 1906, ...
(1938–1941).
He has been described as one of the notorious leaders of the Chilean socialdemocracy.
His wife, Gabriela Contreras de Schnake, was mayor of
Santiago Centro
The Commune of Santiago is the central commune of the Santiago Province, located at the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Region in Chile's Central Zone. Locally, Santiago is usually abbreviated ''Stgo.'' It is also called as "Santiago Centro" ...
in early 1940s.
Biography
In 1933, alongside
Eugenio González Rojas, with whom showed his anarchist affiliation, founded the collective Acción Revolucionaria Socialista (ARS). Then, this association and another three merged into the current
Socialist Party of Chile
The Socialist Party of Chile ( es, Partido Socialista de Chile, or PS) is a centre-left political party founded in 1933. Its historic leader was President of Chile Salvador Allende, who was deposed in a CIA-backed coup d'état by General Augusto ...
in April 1933, so that he was a founder member next to
Marmaduke Grove
Marmaduke Grove Vallejo (; July 6, 1878 – May 15, 1954), his name erroneously spelled Marmaduque Grobeh, was a Chilean Air Force officer, political figure and member of the Government Junta of the Socialist Republic of Chile in 1932.
Early lif ...
,
Eugenio Matte
Eugenio is an Italian and Spanish masculine given name deriving from the Greek ' Eugene'. The name is Eugénio in Portuguese and Eugênio in Brazilian Portuguese.
The name's translated literal meaning is well born, or of noble status. Similar de ...
,
Salvador Allende
Salvador Guillermo Allende Gossens (, , ; 26 June 1908 – 11 September 1973) was a Chilean physician and socialist politician who served as the 28th president of Chile from 3 November 1970 until his death on 11 September 1973. He was the fir ...
and González Rojas.
He was the organizer of the Left Block, a political coalition which reunited left-wing political forces other with the exception of the
Communist Party
A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...
(PC) or the centrist
Radical Party (PR). Nevertheless, the rising of both President
Arturo Alessandri Palma
Arturo Fortunato Alessandri Palma (; December 20, 1868 – August 24, 1950) was a Chilean political figure and reformer who served thrice as president of Chile, first from 1920 to 1924, then from March to October 1925, and finally from 1932 to 1 ...
's
liberal-conservative right and
Chilean nazis (MNSCh, «nacis») forced him to seal an alliance with the PC and the PR. That way, it was established
Popular Front of Chile, whose leader was
Pedro Aguirre Cerda
Pedro Abelino Aguirre Cerda (; February 6, 1879 – November 25, 1941) was a Chilean political figure, educator, and lawyer who served as the 22nd president of Chile from 1938 until his death in 1941. A member of the Radical Party since 1906, ...
, who triumphed the
1938 Chilean presidential election over
liberal-manchesterian economist Gustavo Ross Santa María.
In 1948, he was part of the Chilean Anticommunist Action board.
After
1973 coup d'état led by
Augusto Pinochet
Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (, , , ; 25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean general who ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990, first as the leader of the Military Junta of Chile from 1973 to 1981, being declared President of ...
, his nephew Eric suffered persecution under
Chilean dictatorship
Chilean may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Chile, a country in South America
* Chilean people
* Chilean Spanish
* Chilean culture
* Chilean cuisine
* Chilean Americans
See also
*List of Chileans
This is a list of Chileans who ar ...
.
He died in 1976 away from the political life as did his friend González Rojas. A year later, Raúl Ampuero made a tribute entitled «Óscar Schnake and Eugenio González: Not only history».
Pictures
References
Further reading
*
* Ponce Duran, Pedro. Oscar Schnake Vergara. Comienzos Del Socialismo Chileno, 1933–1942. Ediciones Documentas. Santiago. 1994
* Moraga Valle, Fabio. "Muchachos casi silvestres". La Federación de Estudiantes y el movimiento estudiantil chileno, 1906–1936, Santiago, Universidad de Chile, 2007.
External links
Profileat Biblioteca Nacional del Congreso
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schnake, Óscar
1899 births
1976 deaths
Chilean people
University of Chile alumni
Socialist Party of Chile politicians
Chilean anti-communists