Church, State and society. The protection of Chilean refugees in Norpatagonia, 1973-1983

Abstract

Abstract: The Chilean-Argentine migration process acquired specific
characteristics from the installation of the dictatorial regime in Chile (1973).
The military government led by General Augusto Pinochet directly
influenced its volume and causes. In this article I reconstruct and analyze the experience of protection and assistance to Chilean refugees headed - from Neuquén and for Norptagonia - by a lay representative of the local Catholic Church in the period 1973-1983. Also, since this task was part of a national network with the participation of the Christian churches, the United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the State, I examine how the configuration and operation thereof varied to the extent that government policy became increasingly repressive and refugees became a "national security issue." I reflect on the contributions that the analysis of this local experience can provide to think relations between Catholic Church, State and society during the seventies.