ABSTRACT
In 1984y Teresa Valdes began to conduct extensive interviews with poor women living in and around Santiago. The criteria for selection for interviews were open, but the women came from a variety of age groups and represented various reproductive experiences (pregnancy, avoidance of pregnancy, motherhood, and childlessness). Her analysis of twenty-six of these interviews was compiled in a lengthy monograph, published in Spanish, from which the following chapter is extracted. Valdes, who works for the prestigious research institute FLACSO, seeks to replicate the actual voices of women from the poblaciones: their struggles, anger, confusion, depression, and humor. She sees them as suffering a double oppression for being poor and for being women, and this comes through vividly in some of her interview materials. However, one can also recognize in these women a certain unquenchable spirit, which is not content with mere survival but is determined to live in a richer, more human fashion despite great difficulties.
Teresa Valdés is one of a small group of feminist social scientists in Chile. She is unique in having devoted most of her numerous research projects to understanding the condition of poor women. Many of her studies have been published, including Las mujeres y la dictadura militar en Chile (FLACSO, 1987).
