“Chilean! Is This How You Want to See Your Daughter?”

Abstract

Abstract This article studies the impact that the Cuban Revolution had on conservative political actors in Chile during the 1964 presidential campaign. At that time, Cuba served as a dystopian example for anticommunist forces through the direct identification between the Cuban experience and the Chilean Left. They utilized a “language of family” to give meaning to their rejection of any possible establishment of socialism in Chile. In this sense, an eventual electoral victory of the Marxist Left was seen as an attack—as in Cuba—on the stability of the family, traditional gender roles, and even parental control of their daughters’ sexuality. These representations were widely distributed through an anticommunist propaganda campaign known as the “campaign of terror,” which forged transnational networks among local actors, the CIA, and conservative Brazilian women. This triple articulation of anticommunism, Cuba, and gender became a potent discourse in the Chilean electoral campaign.