María de la Cruz

ABOUT MARíA DE LA CRUZ

Chilean politician and women's suffragist who, in 1953, became the first woman to serve on the Chilean Senate.

She published a novel and a poetry collection when she was in her early thirties, and she also became a popular journalist and radio host.

She won her Senate seat by the largest margin recorded up until that time. However, just six months after being sworn in, she was accused of being involved in an Argentinian watch smuggling chain and was removed from the Senate despite the utter lack of evidence against her.

She was born in Chimbarongo, Chile to Edicia Toledo and Marco Aurelio de la Cruz. After her political failures she joined the empty-pots movement in opposition of Salvador Allende .

She supported candidate Jorge Alessandri in the 1958 Chilean presidential election.