Ana Ugalde Arias
Ana Eugenia Ugalde Arias was a Chilean lawyer and politician, member of the Radical Party of Chile. She served as Deputy of the Republic for the 7th Departmental Grouping of Santiago between 1957 and 1965, during the XLIII and XLIV legislative periods.
Biography
Daughter of the Radical deputy and senator Pedro León Ugalde Naranjo and of Ana Arias Alfaro, she pursued her early studies at the Liceo N.º 1 Javiera Carrera in Santiago. She then studied law at the University of Chile and later at the University of Cuenca, where she obtained her professional degree on 31 July 1948.She married Óscar Cifuentes Herrera, with whom she had three children: Ana Ercilia, Óscar Maximiliano, and Óscar Marcos Augusto. Ugalde was active in student leadership, serving as President of the Law Students’ Center and Vice President of the University of Chile Student Federation in 1943.
She began her professional career as a legal officer in the Social Security Service and later at the Directorate of Social Assistance of the Ministry of the Interior, before devoting herself to private practice. She became national vice president of the Radical Party of Chile in 1956.
Parliamentary career
Elected deputy in the 1957 Chilean parliamentary election for the 7th Departmental Grouping, she served on several standing committees, including Public Education, Labor and Social Legislation, Finance, and Constitution, Legislation and Justice. She also sat on Special Investigative Committees, such as those on the Casa de Moneda, Constitutional Accusations, and Housing.Re-elected in 1961, she co-sponsored numerous social reforms, including Law No. 15,299, amending Article 349 of the Labour Code regarding bakers’ registration cards, and supported the Law on Nursery Schools.
Her political activity also included international participation: she represented Chile at the Pro-Peace Conference in Colombia, and in 1966 she met with Chinese Vice Premier Chen Yi in Beijing. She also made official visits to the United States, Cuba, France, and Spain.
In 1965 she ran as an independent candidate for deputy in Valparaíso and simultaneously for senator in a complementary election, though she was not elected. Later, during the 1970 presidential campaign, she participated as a national leader of the Allendista Women’s Movement.