Asdrúbal Pezoa

Asdrúbal Pezoa Estrada (26 April 1905 – 16 September 1967) was a Chilean politician and labour activist who briefly served as a member of the Chamber of Deputies of Chile during the 1937–1941 legislative period.^[1]

He was born in Temuco to Asdrúbal Pezoa González and Marta Estrada Gutiérrez. He studied at Colegio San Ignacio in Concepción and later enrolled in the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Chile, although he was unable to complete his higher education due to financial difficulties.

During his university years, he joined the Socialist Party. After leaving his studies, he returned to the Arauco region, where he worked as a labourer and later as an administrator of industrial operations, becoming a prominent party organizer in southern Chile.^[1]

In 1937, Pezoa Estrada was elected to the Chamber of Deputies of Chile representing the districts of Laja, Mulchén and Angol for the 1937–1941 legislative period. During his short tenure, he served on the Standing Committee on Internal Government. However, the election result was contested due to the extremely narrow margin between Pezoa and Pedro Freeman, the candidate of the Radical Party. Because two polling stations failed to be constituted in the locality of Quilaco, the Electoral Court ordered a supplementary vote in those districts.^[1]

After the additional ballot was held, and despite public support for Pezoa from the Communist Party—which sent prominent national figures such as Amador Pairoa, Amaro Castro and Marmaduque Grove to Quilaco—the Radical Party succeeded in securing victory for Freeman. The Electoral Court ultimately ruled against Pezoa and in favour of Freeman, who was sworn in as deputy on 10 August 1937. As a result, Pezoa Estrada lost both his parliamentary seat and parliamentary immunity.^[1]

• BCN Profile