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Former Nicaraguan president to run for president
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Chileans bid farewell to late communist leader
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Chavez expresses support for Bolivia's embattled president
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Venezuela confirmed as Copa
America venue
Chileans bid farewell to late communist leader
Tens of thousands of mourners
Tuesday attended the funeral of Gladys Marin, the ex-president of the
Communist Party of Chile, who was considered one of the most outstanding
politicians of the country in the last decades.
The mourners gathered in the square in front of the General Cemetery of
Santiago, waving red flags and leaving a carpet of red carnations and
flower petals.
During the funeral, Guillermo Tellier, current secretary-general of the
Communist Party, and Ricardo Alarcon de Quesada, president of Cuban
National Assembly of People's Power, delivered speeches to bid farewell
to Marin.
Before the funeral, the government ordered a two-day national mourning
for her. Marin's body was laid at the former National Congress in
Santiago for people to pay their last respects. Many people, including
those from the left wing, participated in Sunday's mass gathering.
Marin died in the early hours of Sunday at the age of 63 after a year
and a half of fighting against a brain tumor.
She and her husband had been hunted by the military regime of Augusto
Pinochet. Marin fled Chile in 1976 and returned in 1978 asa leader of
underground resistance against Pinochet. Marin's husband was among many
who disappeared during Pinochet's rule.
Marin was elected general secretary of the Chilean Communist Party in
1994 and chairwoman of the party in 2004. The party is one of the
largest communist parties in Latin America and a strongvoice in Chile's
labor unions.
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