Ernesto Guajardo

Ernesto Guajardo Gómez (30 September 1918 – 25 September 1978) was a Chilean worker, trade union leader, and politician, member of the Socialist Party of Chile.

He served as Deputy for the 26th Departmental District (Magallanes, Última Esperanza and Tierra del Fuego) in the legislative period 1965–1969. He was also Mayor of Punta Arenas in 1961 and alderman (regidor) of the same city between 1963 and 1969.

Biography He was born in Punta Arenas on 30 September 1918, the son of Juan Bautista Guajardo and Carmen Gómez.

He completed his primary studies in Punta Arenas but had to abandon school at the age of 13 to begin working as a construction worker.

From 1936, he worked as a rancher, and from 1956, he dedicated himself to port labor, occasionally working as a merchant seaman. In 1965, when he was elected Deputy, he was working as a stevedore.

Political career He began his political activities in 1942 when he joined the Socialist Party of Chile, where he became a leader of both the Youth and the Stevedores' Union. In 1944, he joined the Central Única de Trabajadores (CUT).

He served as Mayor of Punta Arenas in 1961 and later as alderman of the same city from 1963 to 1969.

In the 1965 parliamentary elections, he was elected Deputy for the 26th Departmental District (Magallanes, Última Esperanza and Tierra del Fuego), serving during the XLV Legislative Period (1965–1969).

He died in Santiago on 25 September 1978.