Justo Zamora Rivera

Justo Zamora Rivera (2 July 1902 – 5 November 2001) was a Chilean laborer, trade union leader and communist politician who served as a member of the Chamber of Deputies between 1941 and 1945.

Biography Zamora Rivera was born in Puchuncaví, Chile, the son of Leoncio Zamora Valencia and Delia Rivera Ureta. He was largely self-educated and received political training within the Communist Party.

He worked as a nitrate miner in mechanical workshops, later as a private driver and freight transporter between Santiago and Valparaíso, and as a public transport driver in both cities. He became a prominent trade union leader in Valparaíso, representing tramway workers and drivers, and was active in the Transport Workers’ Guild.

Political career Zamora Rivera joined the Communist Party in 1930 and remained a member until 1990. During periods of political repression, he participated in the National Progressive Party while the Communist Party operated clandestinely.

He served as regional secretary of the Communist Party in Aconcagua and Valparaíso (1931–1937), later in Concepción (1940), and became a member of the party’s Central Committee in 1936. He also presided over the party’s agrarian commission in 1940.

In 1932, he was exiled to Mocha Island by the government of Carlos Dávila Espinoza, and in 1933 he was detained for four months for his participation in a Communist congress held in Ovalle. He collaborated with party-affiliated newspapers such as *El Siglo* in Santiago and *El Frente Popular* in Concepción.

Zamora Rivera was elected Deputy for the 17th Departmental Group—Concepción, Tomé, Talcahuano, Yumbel and Coronel—serving from 1941 to 1945. During his term, he was a member of the Standing Committees on Finance and on Government and Internal Affairs.

Later life He received the Luis Emilio Recabarren Medal in 1965 and a medal commemorating 50 years of Communist Party membership in 1980.

In 1991, he joined the Democratic Left Party, where he served on its political committee and was named honorary president in 1998.