Ramón Sepúlveda Leal

Ramón Sepúlveda Leal (27 August 1886 – 15 May 1970) was a Chilean politician and labor leader who was active in the Democratic, Socialist and Communist movements in Chile.

Biography

He was born on 27 August 1886 in Talca, Chile to Luis Sepúlveda and María Jesús Leal Ríos. He married Albina Acuña Venegas in 1907 and later married Ana Araya Olavarría in 1968, having children in both marriages.

His formal education extended to three years of schooling in Valparaíso, after which he pursued self-directed studies in languages and social sciences.

He worked from an early age, first as a shoemaker, later as an employee of the Caja de Crédito y Fomento Minero, and participated in journalistic activities, founding the newspaper La Comuna in Viña del Mar and collaborating with El Socialista in Antofagasta.

Political career

He was affiliated with the Democratic Party and later joined the Partido Obrero Socialista in 1912, becoming its founder and first secretary general. In 1922 he was cofounder and first secretary general of the Communist Party of Chile, leaving the organization in 1927; that same year he was deported and later returned to Chile.

During the early 1930s he experienced confinement in Aysén and subsequently resumed parliamentary and political activities, participating in the foundation of the Socialist Party of Chile in 1933. He also led the Federación Obrera de Chile and served as councilor of the Municipality of Valparaíso between 1921 and 1926.