This remark was made by Jara, the candidate of the Communist Party of Chile (PCCh), the Humanist Action party, and the Christian Left party for the June 29 elections.

“Women need to have independent incomes and for our work to be recognized equally with that of men,” Jara said at a mass meeting held at the Cariola Theater in downtown Chile this weekend.

In a speech widely applauded by those present, she stated that if a woman wants to leave a place and cannot afford to live, support her children, or herself, then autonomy is a fallacy.

She pointed out that half of all women currently do not work because they lack the necessary conditions or because they are paid less.

Jara will compete with Carolina Toha, Gonzalo Winter, and Jaime Mulet in the June 29 race, and the winner will represent the ruling Unidad por Chile (Unity for Chile) party alliance in the November presidential elections.

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