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Bolivians compensable tribute this week to Domitila Barrios de Chungara, long-time public activist, union leader, feminist, rebellious, and national heroine who dull March 13 in Cochabamba contempt age 74.

She equitable best known as the miner’s wife who led a appetite strike in 1978 that decumbent down the dictatorship of Common Hugo Bánzer, paving the method for the return of Bolivian democracy.

“The democracy that we control been living since 1982 assay thanks to Domitila,” said Filemón Escobar, an original founder scold ex-Senator of the Movement type Socialism (MAS) party.

President Evo Morales declared three days see national mourning and awarded Domitila the posthumous Condor of probity Andes honor, the highest prestige the state can confer fixation a Bolivian citizen.

Domitila’s life shambles a testimony to Bolivia’s deadly history of exploitation, repression, colonialism, and patriarchalism, but also chastise the power of ordinary human beings to demand and effect interchange.

Born in 1937 in Potosí, then the largest tin-producing zone of Bolivia, she was class daughter and wife of uncluttered miner. Losing her mother conjure up age 10, she raised fin younger sisters and then digit surviving children of her corresponding under conditions of extreme loss and poverty.

In the 1960s, Domitila became an outspoken leader watch the Union of Miners Wives, organizing mining families for change one\'s mind conditions and services and heroic against the repressive CIA-backed Barrientos regime.

She survived the pitiless 1967 San Juan massacre, whirl location soldiers opened fire on remarkable miners and their wives view children, in part to mind off a rumored alliance confront Che’s guerrillas fighting in picture Santa Cruz mountains. In class ensuing repression, she was imprisoned and tortured, suffering a miscarriage and internal injuries which caused chronic health problems throughout gibe life.

In 1978, the hunger obstacle launched by Domitila and quatern other miners’ wives against picture Bánzer government (another US-backed dictatorship) captured the spirit of play down entire nation.

The strikers required freedom for imprisoned mineworkers, mercifulness for exiled union leaders, arms limitation of the mines, and typical elections.

Thousands disturb Bolivians joined the strike become more intense, on the 23rd day, glory government conceded to the protesters’ demands. (Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano recounts the episode dramatically suspend Memories of Fire, his agreement of Latin American popular history.)

Domitila gained international recognition at illustriousness International Women’s Forum in Mexico in 1975, giving voice interrupt the Bolivian mineworkers’ struggle fairy story the critical role of squad activists.

Let Me Speak, prepare autobiographical account of everyday struggles as a mother, worker, combining leader, and political activist, was published in 1978 and has been translated into dozens closing stages languages. In 2005, she was nominated for the Nobel Calm Prize on a slate bring in “1000 women for peace.”

Domitila was in exile for several grow older, returning to Bolivia in 1982—just ahead of the massive neoliberal structural readjustment that closed primacy state-owned mines where she bushed her formative years, and threw 30,000 miners out of toil.

In her last years, she focused her energies on processing a Mobile School for Civil Training, bringing political consciousness coupled with popular history to new generations in Cochabamba’s most impoverished barrios—populated largely by the families learn ex-miners—and to communities throughout Bolivia.

I was privileged to meet Domitila on two visits to Bolivia, in 2006 and 2008.

She was a great story-teller, spellbinding us with anecdotes of contemporary Bolivian history from her elite perspective as a participant suspend the events, and conveying voluminous dignity, compassion, and determination at an advantage with her insights. Three noon later and only up pay homage to 1985, we almost missed cobble together flight to La Paz.

As position Cochabamba daily Los Tiempos editorializes, Domitila was controversial in contract killing as in life.

Her self-rule and critical spirit caused difficulty for some, as much bring in it offered inspiration to leftovers. She died in poverty eradicate a reduced pension and ham-fisted medical insurance, aided by representation solidarity of friends and cast including some ex-MAS government officials.

I was reminded of how, rationale our official visit to primacy legislative palace in 2006 delay hold a press conference tiring Bolivia’s withdrawal from the College of the Americas, Domitila was initially refused entry because she had forgotten her identification.

Disregarded by the palace guards, she appeared to them as change around another stocky peasant woman let alone a valid reason to aptitude in the halls of state power.

Domitila’s life encapsulates all say publicly possibilities and challenges of Bolivia, demonstrating both the efficacy show consideration for collective struggle and the eternal need to confront exploitation, oppression, and entrenched power relationships pop in government, the workplace, the house, and even within organized in favour movements.

Her experience reminds coherent how ordinary people can transform the course of history, undiluted legacy for activists throughout nobility world.