Fabiola Campillai

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Fabiola Campillai
Senadora Fabiola Campillai.webp
Member of the Senate
Incumbent
Assumed office
11 March 2022

Fabiola Andrea Campillai Rojas (born May 17, 1983) is a Chilean Senator known for losing her sight in a case of police brutality in the 2019 Chilean protests.

Contents

Before entering politics, Campillai worked in various occupations and was social leader. Since 2022, she has served as an independent member of the Senate of Chile, representing the Metropolitan Region, supported by social movements and victims' groups.

In 2019, she became a national symbol of the victims of police violence during the social protests, after losing her sight and sense of smell and taste when she was struck in the face by a tear-gas canister fired by police while on her way to work.

Biography

She was born on 17 May 1983 in the commune of San Bernardo. She is the daughter of María Rojas García and Luis Campillai Tarifeño. She completed her secondary education at the Fidel Pinochet Le-Brun High School in San Bernardo and at the Liceo Manuel Barros Borgoño in Santiago. [1]

From an early age, she worked in caregiving and in various occupations, such as shop assistant and production operator at the food company Carozzi. [1] An activist and community organiser in the Cinco Pinos neighbourhood of San Bernardo, where she lives, she helped establish the “Neighbourhood Aid Committee” (Comité de Ayuda Vecinal) to address local needs and support the work of the Cinco Pinos Neighbourhood Council. She also served as a firefighter. [1]

She is married to Mario Cornejo González and is the mother of two daughters and one son. [2] [3]

Police incident

She is a former worker and firefighter. [4] On November 26, 2019, she was hit by a tear gas grenade, permanently losing the sight in both eyes [5] and the senses of olfaction and taste. [6]

Campillai was going to her nighttime work when she was hit by the grenade. [5] She was accompanied by her sister, Ana María, when the incident happened. [4] Ana María immediately confronted the police squad who shot the grenade, but had a grenade shot next to her causing her dress to catch fire. [4]

As the police denied Fabiola aid, Ana María shouted for help to which a neighbour reacted and brought Fabiola to hospital in his car. [4] The next day police showed up outside Ana María's house aiming to bring her to the police station, without showing any valid arrest warrant, which Ana María rejected after consulting with her lawyer. [4]

As of June 19, 2020, no suspect had been identified, [6] but then on August 14, 2020, two police officers were fired for their involvement in the case. [4] Both the officer in charge of the squad and the one who shot have been identified, and the latter brought to justice. [4] The involved officers deny having aimed at her body or noticed that Fabiola had been injured. [4]

Political career

Campillai and Gustavo Gatica, another well-known victim of police brutality, were part of campaign advertising for the "Approve" option in the 2020 Chilean national plebiscite held on October 25, 2020. [7] [8]

In November 2021 Campillai was elected senator for Santiago Metropolitan Region with 15% of the valid votes in the 2021 Chilean general election, receiving more votes than any other candidate in her district. [9] She celebrated her election in Plaza Baquedano. [9]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Fabiola Campillai Rojas. Parliamentary biographical review". Library of the National Congress of Chile . 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  2. ↑ Montes, Rocío (26 August 2021). "The symbol of Chile's police violence victims seeks a place in the Senate". El País. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  3. ↑ "Ana María Campillai: Everything about my sister Fabiola". The Clinic. 10 December 2019. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Jara, Ilsen (September 1, 2020). "Los ojos de Fabiola Campillai que la policía chilena cegó". El País (in Spanish). Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  5. 1 2 "INDH se querella por homicidio frustrado contra Carabineros en favor de trabajadora que habría perdido visión de ambos ojos". Instituto Nacional de Derechos Humanos (in Spanish). November 27, 2020. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  6. 1 2 Villaroel, María José (June 19, 2020). "Carabineros da de baja a funcionario acusado de incumplir protocolos en caso de Gustavo Gatica". Radio Bío-Bío . Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  7. ↑ "Fabiola Campillai va por el Apruebo: una de las víctimas de lesiones oculares durante el estallido social participó en la franja electoral". El Mostrador (in Spanish). October 19, 2020. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  8. ↑ "Gustavo Gatica en franja del Apruebo: "Lo que hemos logrado hasta ahora no puede quedar en nada"". La Tercera (in Spanish). September 25, 2020. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  9. 1 2 "Fabiola Campillai, senadora de la República: víctima de la violencia policial en el estallido fue primera mayoría en la RM". El Mostrador (in Spanish). 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
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