Lafertte Gaviño, Elias

Born Dec. 19, 1886, in Salamanca, Coquimbo Province; died Feb. 18, 1961, in Santiago. Prominent figure in the Chilean labor movement.

Lafertte Gaviño went to work at the age of 11 in a saltpeter pit and then worked in a printing plant. In 1912 he helped found the Socialist Workers’ Party, which in 1922 was renamed the Communist Party of Chile (CPC). At the same time he was involved in the fight to organize trade unions. From 1924 to 1926 he was the treasurer of the Labor Federation of Chile, in 1926 becoming its general secretary. He became a member of the Central Committee of the CPC in 1929 and a member of the Politburo of the CPC Central Committee in 1936. From 1939 to 1961 he was chairman of the Central Committee. He was persecuted by the reactionary ruling circles in Chile and was repeatedly exiled. In 1937 and subsequent years he was several times elected senator.