Santiago de Chile, September 11 (RHC)-- Thousands of women arrived dressed in black and carrying candles, in front of La Moneda Palace, in downtown Santiago, Sunday night to commemorate the victims of the dictatorship headed by Augusto Pinochet from 1973 to 1990.

President Gabriel Boric issued a message on his social networks in which he highlighted that "the women of Chile, once again, as always, giving us all a lesson."

The participants gathered on the sidewalk of the north sidewalk of La Alameda, as part of a call made by the group "Mujeres por el Nunca Más" (Women for the Never Again).

The vigil is part of "Nunca+ la democracia bombardeada" and was called by more than 50 civil society and human rights organizations. "This was a call made some time ago to all women in feminist organizations. This involves commemorating the murder of women, pregnant women, mothers, and who, in these 50 years have not appeared, and that still painful for Chile", commented one of the participants.

In the courtyard outside the Palace, many women officially entered La Moneda and placed candles in the building.  Outside the courtyard, on the Alameda sidewalk, there was a large number of people waiting to enter the Palace and participate in the ceremony.

The organization made it clear that the event is a "separatist" occasion, so they asked that men do not enter at least to the interior of the Palace, and that they give way to women who come to participate in this activity.

The Minister of Cultures, Arts and Heritage, Carolina Arrendondo, participated in the commemoration accompanied by the Undersecretary of the Ministry, Noela Salas.

"The important thing about participating in the different activities that have taken place during these days is that those who attended share the common feeling of unrestricted defense of memory and democracy, in detriment of the acts of violence that marked Chile on that sad September 11, 1973," said the minister.

This Sunday's event exceeded all expectations, both of the organizers and the participants.  An hour and a half after the start of the activity, there were still women lining up to take their place on the stage.