Sebastián Acevedo

Sebastián Acevedo Becerra (1931 – 11 November 1983) was a Chilean worker who famously, motivated by the arrest of his children by the secret police of the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship, blew himself up in the Plaza of the Independence of Chile in front of the Cathedral of the Most Holy Conception.[1]

Cross and plaque of Sebastián Acevedo at the entrance of the Cathedral of the Most Holy Conception.

Search for his children

On 9 November 1983 Galo and María Candelaria Acevedo, children of Sebastián, were arrested by armed civilians who did not identify themselves. Their father searched for them in different precincts, suspecting that they were held by the National Informational Center.[2]

Two days later with no news of his children, on 11 November he sprayed gasoline and kerosene on his clothes at the Plaza de Armas in Conceptión as a sign of protest to pressure the authorities. When a rifleman tried to stop him, he set fire to his clothes. Sebastián died a few hours later as a result of the burns.[2] Before he died, he received the last rites from Enrique Moreno, who recorded his last words on a tape recorder: "I want the CNI to return my children... Lord, forgive them and also forgive me for this sacrifice".[3]

Family

His daughter María Candelaria Acevedo was elected to the Chamber of Deputies of Chile in the 2021 general election.[4]

References
  1. Mostrador, El (2016-06-01). "Sacerdote José Aldunate es distinguido con el Premio Nacional de Derechos Humanos". El Mostrador (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-03-22.
  2. "A fuego vivo: En memoria de Sebastián Acevedo". El Ciudadano (in Spanish). 2010-11-11. Archived from the original on 2017-11-07. Retrieved 2017-11-07.
  3. Arrieta, Daniel; Matus, Alejandra. "Un padre desesperado". Los casos de la Vicaría (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-04-05.
  4. Cooperativa.cl. "Hija de Sebastián Acevedo llega a la Cámara Baja para representar a Concepción". Cooperativa.cl (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-03-22.
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