Guillermo Muñoz Zúñiga

Guillermo Muñoz Zúñiga (17 June 1937 – 4 August 1999) was a Chilean accountant and Socialist Party politician.

He served as Deputy for the 12th Departmental District (Talca, Lontué and Curepto) in 1973 and as Governor (Intendente) of Talca Province from 1971 to 1972.

Biography He was the son of Julio Muñoz Muñoz and Guillermina Zúñiga Rivera. He married Eliana Gutiérrez Pérez, with whom he had four children.

He studied at the Instituto Superior de Comercio of Talca, where he obtained the degree of accountant. In 1957, he presided over the General Student Center, and between 1956 and 1958 he was a leader of the Student Federation of Talca.

He joined the Socialist Youth (JS) in 1958. That year, he held the positions of branch leader and sectional secretary in Talca. Later, between 1963 and 1969, he served as sectional secretary in Molina, and between 1965 and 1971, he was regional secretary for Talca. In 1965, he served as finance secretary of the Departmental Council of Lontué and Molina, and collaborated with the Central Única de Trabajadores (CUT).

As a collaborator of the Popular Unity government, on 1 July 1971 he was appointed Governor (Intendente) of the province of Talca, a position he held until 3 November 1972.

In 1973, he was elected Deputy for the 12th Departmental District of Lontué, Curepto, and Talca. His term was interrupted by the coup d’état of 11 September 1973.

In 1980, during the military dictatorship, he was detained after being accused of belonging to an alleged “extremist group” in Talca. He managed to leave for Spain in 1983 thanks to the efforts of Spanish authorities and the intervention of the Socialist deputy Txiki Benegas.