[7] They were the wives of miners who had demanded higher wages and been subsequently imprisoned in La Paz, about 200 miles from Siglo XX.
They decided go together to La Paz, and though they were confronted by the barzolas of the Revolutionary Nationalist Movement, their husbands' demands were met after the women staged a ten-day hunger strike.
Barrientos had outlawed the union, but when the decree of monetary devaluation came out, the Housewives' Committee demanded a raise in living allowance at the company grocery store.
Domitila's work with the Housewives' Committee would lead to her arrest, her forced exile to Oruro and later to Los Yungas, because the military has suspected her of communist activity.
She struggled with guilt over her involvement with the committee during her time in Los Yungas—over the loss of a child, her husbands' blacklist status, and moreover, her place as a woman.
[16] In her much renowned autobiography, “Let Me Speak!”, Domitila Barrios de Chungara depicts the story of a woman who, through great injustices, was able to develop a political mindset that would change Bolivian social class' relations forever.
[17] Though her actions and 'attacks' against the status quo imposed by the higher class did bring her much trouble (Jail time, tortured, and lost a child), the loyalty to her values and political views is what garnished her unrivaled public support.
In fact, her commitment to the Marxist political system was so evident that one of her most famous quotes paralleled a Marx idea: Because of Domitila's resilient nature, she accumulated various enemies over the years.
Unwilling to succumb to their insults and pressures, Domitila attacked back saying, “I began seeing how they were just one more group at the beck and call of imperialism.
In other words, I identified fully with what I read about Marxism.”[20] Though Domitila did place much of her inspiration on Marx and other revolutionary thinkers, her guiding light —in a more peaceful manner— was 'Che' Guevara.
In the midst of her political career, Domitila gave one of her most famous quotes: “I want to leave future generations the only valid inheritance: a free country and social justice.”[22]