CHILEAN WOMENS ORGANIZATIONS - THEIR POTENTIAL FOR CHANGE

This article examines the consequences for women of the political and economic measures implemented by the hegemonic sectors of Chilean society. The purpose is to point out how, in these adverse circumstances, women have organized and developed strategies for opposing these hegemonic sectors that, at the same time, have helped them to increase their level of awareness and public participation, thus enabling them to play a primary role in the struggle against the dictatorship. It focuses on the factors that have made it possible for a large number of women to organize, the composition of the various groups, their impact on the development and self-awareness of the women themselves, their effect on the popular movement, the changes that have occurred as a result of the redemocratization process, and, finally, the prospects for the women's movement under the elected government. -from Author