Fundación de Documentación y Archivo de la Vicaría de la Solidaridad Colección Digital (FUNVISOL)

History and Founding

The Fundación de Documentación y Archivo de la Vicaría de la Solidaridad (FUNVISOL) was established by Archiepiscopal Decree No. 262 on 18 August 1992 and began operations on 1 January 1993. It was created to preserve the documentary heritage of two organisations that defended human rights in Chile during the Pinochet dictatorship: the Comité de Cooperación para la Paz en Chile (COPACHI, 1973–1975) and the Vicaría de la Solidaridad (1976–1992). The Vicaría was established under Cardinal Raúl Silva Henríquez after the 1973 military coup to provide legal and social assistance to victims of political repression. In 2017, the archives of the Vicaría de la Solidaridad were declared National Historical Monuments in Chile.

Collections and Holdings

FUNVISOL holds more than 85,000 documents, many of them unique originals. The collection is organised into several major fonds: the Legal Fund (over 85,000 documents including 45,000 case files on individuals attended by the Vicaría, covering habeas corpus petitions, torture investigations, and forced disappearances); a Microfilm Archive of confidential materials; the Iconographic Fund (photographs documenting human rights violations and the activities of the Vicaría); press clippings from the 1973–1990 period; and a bibliographic collection of approximately 4,200 human rights titles and 84 periodical titles.

Notable Materials Related to Journalism and Media

FUNVISOL holds the complete photographic archive of the magazine Solidaridad, published by the Vicaría, which documented human rights violations, protests, and political life under the dictatorship. Press archives from the period 1973–1990 constitute an important journalistic and media record of censorship and resistance under authoritarian rule.

Access and Usage

The archive's physical collections are accessible only through the on-site Centro de Documentación, available to national and international researchers, professionals, students, and—with special attention—to family members and victims of human rights violations. A selection of the digital collection is available online at the Vicaría's website.