César Godoy

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César Godoy Urrutia (1901–1985) was a Chilean teacher and politician who played a major role in his country’s left-wing movements. He was born in Teno and trained as a teacher, earning his degree in 1918. He taught in Talca and Santiago and wrote for publications like Consigna and Claridad. He also led the International of American Teachers from 1928 to 1929.

In politics, Godoy helped found the Socialist Party of Chile in 1933 and served as a Santiago city councilor from 1936 to 1937. He was elected deputy for Santiago in 1937 and served in Congress for many years, including 1937–1941, 1941–1945, and 1945–1949. He left the Socialist Party for the Socialist Workers Party and directed the newspaper Combate in 1939. In 1944 he joined the Communist Party of Chile and continued to serve as deputy for Santiago in 1945–1949.

After the Law for the Permanent Defense of Democracy was enacted in 1949, Godoy was persecuted and sought asylum in Mexico. He remained active in the Communist Party, becoming a Central Committee member at several party congresses. He was again elected deputy for Santiago from 1961 to 1965 and from 1965 to 1969, serving on several commissions, including Foreign Affairs, Labor and Social Legislation, Public Education, and National Defense.

From 1970 to 1973 he worked as a columnist for the newspaper Puro Chile. After the 1973 coup, he was imprisoned as a political prisoner and went into exile in Mexico in 1975, returning to Chile in 1984. He died in Santiago in 1985. Godoy was married twice: first to Flor María Forniachari and then to María del Tránsito Herrera Ferrada.