Hugo Robles Robles

Hugo Orlando Robles Robles (3 July 1915 – 24 June 1999) was a Chilean miner, labor union leader, and politician affiliated with the Communist Party of Chile.

He served as Deputy for the 2nd Departmental Group (Antofagasta, Tocopilla, El Loa, and Taltal) from 1961 to 1973. He also served as Councilman of Antofagasta from 1947 to 1950.

Biography Born in Vallenar on 3 July 1915, he was the son of Ernesto Robles and María Lusa Robles. He studied at the Escuela Primaria N.º 1 in Vallenar and worked twelve years in the nitrate industry at Alianza Blac, Potrerillos, and the Pedro de Valdivia saltpeter office.

He began his political activity as a union leader in the Sindicato Obrero of Pedro de Valdivia. He later became provincial secretary of the Central Única de Trabajadores de Chile (CUT) and a national-level union leader.

From 1947 to 1950, he served as Councilman in the Municipality of Antofagasta. In 1957, because of his affiliation with the Communist Party, he was exiled and sent successively to Pisagua, Putre, and Capitán Pastene.

Robles was first elected Deputy in 1961, and then re-elected in 1965, 1969, and 1973. During his parliamentary service, he sat on the Permanent Committees on Labor and Social Legislation; Medical Assistance, Social Hygiene; and Government Interior and Social Security, as well as the Special Saltpeter Commission (1962). His term ended with the coup d’état of 11 September 1973.

He was persecuted during the military dictatorship and lived in exile until returning to Chile in 1990. He later ran as councilor in the 1992 and 1996 municipal elections but was not elected.

A street in Antofagasta is named in his honor.