Resumo: O Chile registrou grandes mudanças sociais no final do século XIX e começo do século XX. Neste contexto, as mulheres começaram a organizar-se no espaço público para melhorar sua condição de vida em diversas esferas. Este artigo faz uma análise da contribuição de Amanda Labarca à organização das primeiras instituições feministas chilenas (1910-1922), abordando, a partir da história cultural, para compreender as implicações que teve a organização das mulheres no progresso do país, o que se realizou a partir de fontes primárias e secundárias. O estudo evidencia o protagonismo de Labarca nos recentes movimentos feministas chilenos, que ganhou forma com a sua liderança na criação do Círculo de Lectura, em 1915. Posteriormente, teve uma participação ativa em diversos grupos de mulheres responsáveis pelo crescimento de organizações acadêmicas, culturais e políticas que se consolidaram entre 1930 e 1950.

Abstract: Chile underwent profound social changes at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. In this context, women began to organize themselves in public spaces to improve their living conditions in different spheres. This article analyses the contribution of Amanda Labarca to the organization of the first feminist institutions in Chile (1910-1922). It looks at this from a cultural-historical perspective to understand the implications that such women's organizations had on the country's progress at the time, drawing on both primary and secondary sources of evidence. The findings show that Labarca played a leading role in the then incipient Chilean feminist movement, as materialized by her leadership in the creation of the Círculo de Lectura in 1915. She also played an active role in various women's groups that evolved into academic, cultural, and political organizations that were consolidated between 1930-1950.

Resumen: Chile registró profundos cambios sociales a finales del s. XIX e inicios del s. XX. En este contexto, las mujeres comienzan a organizarse en el espacio público para mejorar su condición de vida en distintas esferas. El presente artículo realiza un análisis de la contribución de Amanda Labarca a la organización de las primeras instituciones feministas en Chile (1910-1922), lo cual se aborda desde la historia cultural para comprender las implicancias que tuvo la organización de las mujeres en el progreso del país, lo que se realizó a partir de fuentes primarias y secundarias. Los hallazgos evidencian el protagonismo de Labarca en el entonces incipiente movimiento feminista chileno lo que se materializó con su liderazgo en la creación del Círculo de Lectura en 1915. Posteriormente tuvo un rol activo en diversas agrupaciones de mujeres que evolucionaron a organizaciones académicas, culturales y políticas que se consolidaron entre 1930-1950.

This article analyzes some publications of Ernestina Pérez Barahona (1865-1951), the second Chilean and Latin American female physician. It exposes her concern for the public health and, more precisely, for the problem of the Chilean race. She constantly refers to hygiene in her conferences, articles and books published between 1887 and 1920. Thus, the aim of this review is to recover her production and to inform the readers about her intervention as a medical professional.

Eloísa Díaz Insunza, the first Latin American female physician, completed her studies in Medicine and Surgery at the University of Chile in 1887 and worked a large part of her life as Medical Inspector of Public Schools of Santiago, Chile. In this article, the focus is placed on her “Test Memorandum” (1886) and her first Reports to the Ministry of Public Education (1899-1905), to appreciate the hygienist perspective that characterizes her proposals. We describe her intervention project that sought to integrate medical practice with psychology and education, to solve a social problem such as the degeneration of the Chilean race.