Silvia Costa Espinoza

Silvia Costa Espinoza (25 April 1929 – 12 March 2015) was a Chilean primary school teacher, union leader and Communist Party politician.

She served as Deputy for the 10th Departamental Group –San Fernando and Santa Cruz– during 1973, but her term was cut short by the military coup.

Biography Born in Santiago to Rodolfo Costa Bella and Catalina Espinoza Pérez. After qualifying as a primary school teacher in 1951, she worked at School No. 2 in San Fernando. She joined the Communist Party in 1958 and held roles in the Union of Women and the Regional Committee.

She served as councilwoman (regidora) of San Fernando from 1960 to 1971. Additionally, she was a provincial leader of the Colchagua teachers, a counselor in the Central Workers’ Union (CUT), and coordinator of the Chimbarongo Peasant Council (1971–1972).

In 1973, she worked as the Head of Rural Development at CORA (Corporation for Agrarian Reform).

Parliamentary term 1973 Elected Deputy in 1973, she sat on the Permanent Commission on Agriculture and Colonization. Her tenure ended abruptly with the coup of 11 September 1973 and the dissolution of Congress under Decree-Law No. 27 on 21 September.

She also contributed to the passage of Law No. 11,170 on Military Recruitment and Training, which later granted free transport benefits to conscripts.