José Oyarce

José del Carmen Oyarce Jara (31 July 1922 – 6 October 2007) was a Chilean worker and politician of the Communist Party of Chile. He served as a Deputy (1953–1961) and later as Chile’s Minister of Labor and Social Welfare (1970–1972).

Biography

Born in Navidad, Oyarce worked from a young age in agricultural labor and later in Chile’s nitrate fields. From 1944 to 1953 he was a stoker and workshop worker at the State Railways in San Eugenio.

A Communist since 1948, he led union bodies (including the “Santiago Watt” federation) and took part in the founding congress of the CUT in 1953.

Political career

Elected Deputy in 1953 and re-elected in 1957, he sat on commissions including Health and Hygiene, Foreign Relations, Education, Government, Constitution and Justice, among others. Several motions he co-sponsored became law, such as extending pension coverage to National Zoo workers (Law 14,618) and regulating the practice of medical assistants (Law 15,226).

Appointed Minister of Labor in Allende’s cabinet, he served from November 1970 to June 1972. A constitutional accusation against him—over interventions in labor disputes—was rejected by Congress on 30 March 1971.