José Santos Salas Morales (8 July 1888 – 16 October 1955) was a Chilean physician and politician. He was a candidate for the presidential election of 1925, where he was defeated by

Emiliano Figueroa Emiliano Figueroa Larraín (; 12 July 1866 – 16 May 1931) was President of Chile from December 23, 1925, until his resignation on May 10, 1927. He also served as acting president for a few months in 1910. Biography Figueroa was born on July 12 ...

. Santos Salas was one of the leaders of the Social-Republican Union of the Wage Earners of Chile (USRACh), a party that brought together workers and their unions during the 1920s. The leftist movement emerged in parallel to the Communist Party. He was appointed by the Government Junta of 1925 as Minister of Hygiene, Social Assistance and Welfare. He was

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

and Hygiene during the administration of

Carlos Ibáñez del Campo General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo (; 3 November 1877 – 28 April 1960) was a Chilean Army officer and political figure. He served as president twice, first between 1927 and 1931, and then from 1952 to 1958, serving for 10 years in office. E ...

in 1927. Salas was also Minister of Health of

Gabriel González Videla Gabriel Enrique González Videla (; 22 November 1898 – 22 August 1980) was a Chilean politician and lawyer who served as the 24th president of Chile from 1946 to 1952. He had previously been a member of the Chamber of Deputies from 1930 ...

in 1947. Gonzalez Videla appointed him as mayor of

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

in 1946, in a position he held until 1950.Pérgola de las Flores San Francisco obtiene permiso de ocupación por parte de Bienes Nacionales
Ministry of National Property of Chile (in Spanish)

Personal life

During his life, numerous rumors circulated that Salas was

homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" exc ...

due to his effeminate nature, however he did not confirm or deny this in public. Carmen Lazo points out that during a visit to his house, located at Pedro de Valdivia Avenue, Salas confessed that he was

asexual Asexual or Asexuals may refer to: *Asexual reproduction **Asexual reproduction in starfish *Asexuality, the lack of sexual attraction to anyone or lack of interest in or desire for sexual activity. **Gray asexuality, the spectrum between asexualit ...

since his parents were expecting a daughter and therefore raised him as a female person, and that he had no interest in neither men nor women.

Sources

* Ramón Folch, Armando de. ''Biografías de Chilenos''. Santiago: Ediciones UC. {{DEFAULTSORT:Santos Salas, Jose 1888 births 1955 deaths People from Talca 20th-century Chilean physicians Mayors of Santiago, Chile Ministers of health of Chile Ministers of justice of Chile University of Chile alumni Candidates for President of Chile Asexual men Chilean LGBTQ politicians

Personal life

See also

Sources