Óscar Naranjo Arias

Óscar Gastón Naranjo Arias (20 February 1931 – 10 February 1971) was a Chilean physician and politician. He served as a deputy between 1964 and 1969.

Son of deputy Óscar Naranjo Jara and Ema Arias Ortega, he completed his primary studies at the Liceo de Hombres of Curicó. He later studied medicine at the University of Chile, graduating in 1958 as a surgeon, and specializing in pediatrics.

He worked in the hospitals of Curicó and Molina, and also within the National Health Service.

On 2 January 1960 he married María Eugenia Ostoic, with whom he had three children: Óscar Ricardo, María Eugenia and Pedro Pablo.

Naranjo Arias died in Santiago on 10 February 1971 of a gastric hemorrhage, ten days before his 40th birthday.

In 1961, he was elected alderman of Curicó as a member of the Socialist Party (PS).

His major political breakthrough came in the 1964 by-election, known as the «Naranjazo».^[1] Following the death of his father, who had occupied a seat in the Chamber of Deputies, new elections were held on 15 March 1964. Running as a candidate of the Frente de Acción Popular, Naranjo won with 39.2% of the vote.

In the 1965 parliamentary election, he was re-elected deputy for the Departmental District of Curicó and Mataquito, serving on various committees.

In 1967 he joined the Popular Socialist Union (USOPO), a splinter of the Socialist Party led by Ramón Silva Ulloa and Raúl Ampuero.^[2]

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