Rafael Agustín Gumucio
Rafael Agustín Gumucio Vives (February 22, 1909 – June 28, 1996) was a Chilean lawyer, professor, and politician. He served as a deputy from 1955 to 1965 and as a senator from 1965 to 1973. Earlier, he was Undersecretary of Finance under President Gabriel González Videla.
Born in Santiago, he was the son of Francisco Gumucio Vergara and Rosa Vives Solar. He studied at the Instituto de Humanidades Luis Campino and the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, where he became a lawyer in 1932. He was married to Marta Rivas González, and they had three children: Rafael Luis, Manuela, and Juan Sebastián. His brother was the priest Esteban Gumucio, and his grandsons are Marco Enríquez-Ominami and writer Rafael Gumucio.
Gumucio joined the Falange Nacional in the 1940s and later helped found the Christian Democratic Party (PDC) in 1957, becoming one of its prominent members. In 1969 he left the PDC to join MAPU and helped establish the Christian Left, aligning with opposition forces to Chile’s military dictatorship.
During his time in the Chamber of Deputies, he served on commissions for Government Interior, Economy and Commerce, Labor and Social Legislation, and Education. As a senator, he worked on Public Education, Foreign Relations, and Public Health, and served as vice president of the Senate from 1969 to 1971.
After the 1973 coup, Gumucio went into exile in Italy and France, where he met leaders including French president François Mitterrand. He contributed to opposition magazines Apsi and Análisis. He returned to Chile in 1983 and participated in the resistance to the dictatorship. In 1985 he joined Intransigencia Democrática and served on the board of the Fortín Mapocho newspaper. In 1989 he co-founded and directed the ecumenical magazine Reflexión y Liberación until his death.
Gumucio died in Santiago on June 28, 1996. His funeral was led by his brother Esteban Gumucio, and he was buried in Cementerio General de Santiago.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 19:16 (CET).