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Presidency of Salvador Allende

Salvador Allende was the president of Chile from 1970 until his suicide in 1973, and head of the Popular Unity government; he was a Socialist and Marxist elected to the national presidency of a liberal democracy in Latin America.[1][2] In August 1973 the Chilean Senate declared the Allende administration to be "unlawful," Allende's presidency was ended by a military coup before the end of his term. During Allende's three years, Chile gradually transitioned into a socialist state.

Presidency of Salvador Allende
3 November 1970 – 11 September 1973
Salvador Allende
PartyPopular Unity
SeatLa Moneda Palace, Santiago

Standard of the president
Chile inflation rate 1971–1994

During his tenure, Chilean politics reached a state of civil unrest amid political polarization, hyperinflation, lockouts, economic sanctions, CIA-sponsored interventionism and a failed coup in June 1973. Allende's coalition, Unidad Popular, faced the problem of being a minority in the congress and it was plagued by factionalism.[3]

On 11 September 1973, a successful coup led by General Augusto Pinochet overthrew the government of Allende. During the bombing of the presidential palace by the Chilean Air Force, President Allende, after mounting a brief armed resistance against the military, eventually died by suicide.[4] In Chilean historiography, Allende's presidency is the last one of the period known as the "Presidential Republic" (1925–1973).

Election edit

 
Chileans marching in support of Allende

In the 1970 election, Allende ran with the Unidad Popular (UP or Popular Unity) coalition. Succeeding the FRAP left-wing coalition, Unidad Popular comprised most of the Chilean Left: the Socialist Party, the Communist Party, the Radical Party, the Party of the Radical Left (until 1972), the Social Democratic Party, MAPU (Movimiento de Acción Popular Unitario) (in 1972, a splinter group – MAPU Obrero Campesino – emerged) and since 1971 the Christian Left.

Allende received a plurality with 36.2% of the vote. Christian Democrat Radomiro Tomic won 27.8% with a very similar platform to Allende's. Both Allende and Tomic promised to further nationalize the mineral industry and redistribute land and income among other new policies. Conservative former president Jorge Alessandri, standing for the National Party, received slightly under 34.9% of the vote.[5]

According to the constitution, Congress had to decide between the two candidates who had received the most votes. The precedent set on the three previous occasions this situation had arisen since 1932 was for Congress simply to choose the candidate with the largest number of votes; indeed, former president Alessandri had been elected in 1958 with 31.6% of the popular vote.

In this case, however, there was an active campaign against Allende's confirmation by Congress, including clandestine efforts to prevent him taking office, and his presidency was ratified only after he signed a "Statute of Constitutional Guarantees". This statute was suggested as a means to convince the majority of Christian Democrat senators that favoured Allessandri, as they doubted Allende's allegiance to democracy, or at least the UP's. After signing the statute, members of the Christian Democrat party in the Senate gave their vote in favor of Allende. It has been argued that given that less than the majority of the voters voted for him, Allende did not have a clear "mandate" to embark in the policies put forward on his program; however, it is also true that in the post-World War II period three out of the four previous presidents of Chile had, like Allende, also been elected with less than 50% of the vote, due in part to Chile's multi-party system. Specifically, the winners of the four presidential elections prior to Allende's 1970 election had won with: 56.1% (the 1964 election of Frei), 31.6% (the 1958 election of Alessandri), 46.8% (the 1952 election of Ibáñez) and 40.2% (the 1946 election of Gonzalez Videla). The legality of the 1970 election itself is not in dispute.[citation needed]

"The Chilean Way to Socialism" edit

In office, Allende pursued a policy he called "La vía chilena al socialismo" ("The Chilean Way to Socialism"). This included nationalization of certain large-scale industries (notably copper), of the healthcare system, continuation of his predecessor Eduardo Frei Montalva's policies regarding the educational system, a program of free milk for children, and land redistribution. The previous government of Eduardo Frei had already partly nationalised the copper industry by acquiring a 51 percent share in foreign owned mines. The primary U.S. business in Chile at this time was copper mining. The Chilean government sought to fully nationalize U.S. mining operations and the Chilean constitution required "just compensation" to be made according to "minimum international standards." However, the Allende government chose to hold mining companies liable for damages they caused to the state. Subsequently, Chile made significant deductions in computing the amount of compensation due to the North American industries. Such deductions included charges for "loans invested poorly" and "excessive profits" among other reasoning. "Excessive profits" were assessed dating back to the 1950s. Ultimately, deductions for "social and financial malfeasance" when combined with other deductions resulted in the total deductions greatly exceeding the base book values of the mining enterprises. In effect, compensation to three of the five nationalized mines was wholly eliminated by subjective deductions determined by Allende's government.[6] Allende also nationalized coal mining in 1971, a move that was welcomed by the miners of Lota.[7]

Chilean presidents were allowed a maximum of six years in office, which may explain Allende's haste to restructure the economy. He had a significant restructuring program organized.

At the beginning, there was broad support in Congress to expand the government's already large part of the economy, as the Popular Unity and Christian Democrats together had a clear majority. But the government's efforts to pursue these policies led to strong opposition by landowners, some middle-class sectors, the rightist National Party, financiers, and the Roman Catholic Church (which in 1973 was displeased with the direction of the educational policy[1][8]). Eventually the Christian Democrats united with the National Party in Congress.

The Popular Unity coalition itself was far from unanimous. Allende himself said he was committed to democracy and represented a more moderate faction of his Socialist Party. He was supported by the Communist Party, that – despite being ultimately less committed to representative democracy – favoured a cautious, gradual approach. For example, the Communists urged to find a compromise with the Christian Democrats and supported the application of reforms through Congress. In contrast, the radical leftist wing of the Socialist Party wanted to smash the capitalist system at once, even if that meant violent actions.[9] If one includes smaller parties, Allende's moderate left-wing line was supported by moderate Socialists, Communists, Radicals (Social Democrats merged with that party in June 1972) and part of the MAPU (later: MAPU/OC), whereas the left-wing Socialists (led by Altamirano), the extremist elements of the MAPU, of the Christian Left and the MIR (not belonging to the Unidad Popular) represented the far-left.

Allende believed in peaceful change, arguing that capitalism could be ended in Chile through democratic means. As he noted in a 1972 speech

My Government maintains that there is another path for the revolutionary process that is not the violent destruction of the current institutional and constitutional regime.

The entities of the State administration act today not at the service of the ruling class, but at the service of the workers and the continuity of the revolutionary process; therefore, one cannot try to destroy what is now an instrument to act, change, and create for the benefit of Chile and its labor masses.

The power of the big bourgeoisie is not based on the Institutional regime, but on its economic resources and on the complex web of social relations linked to the capitalist property system.

We do not see the path of the Chilean revolution in the violent bankruptcy of the state apparatus. What our people have built over several generations of struggle allows them to take advantage of the conditions created by our history to replace the capitalist foundation of the current institutional regime with another that is adapted to the new social reality.

The popular political parties and movements have always affirmed, and this is contained in the Government Program, that ending the capitalist system requires transforming the class content of the State and of the Fundamental Charter itself. But we have also solemnly affirmed our will to carry it out in accordance with the mechanisms that the Political Constitution has expressly established to be modified.

The great question that the revolutionary process has raised, and that will decide the fate of Chile, is whether the current institutional framework can open the way for the transition to socialism. The answer depends on the degree to which it remains open to change and on the social forces that give it its content. Only if the state apparatus can be crossed by the popular social forces, will the institutionality have enough flexibility to tolerate and promote structural transformations without disintegrating.

Such a transcendental problem was posed crudely from September 4, 1970. The anti-capitalist social forces came to the Government through the regular functioning of the institutional regime. If it had been closed, at that moment the institutionality would have broken down and Chile would have been a victim of the violence unleashed.[10]

Allende also saw his government as representing a transition step between capitalism and socialism, stating in a 1973 speech

Hence, then, also informed by comrade Godoy, I can say that with satisfaction we know that the large centers that bring together the workers of the world, are studying the possibility of a meeting aimed fundamentally at drawing the lines of resistance to the penetration of transnational companies, subjecting countries to the political pressure they exert through venal politicians, or using the influence of their governments, or simply deforming their economy based on a development that only seeks their interests, against the general interest of the country in which they invest their capital. For this reason, it is also when this 20th Anniversary is celebrated, as your Comrade President, along with paying tribute to those who fell in the struggle, and highlighting those who with their life and example have given moral strength to the Central Única of Workers, I have to point out that this Government, which has faced the most powerful enemies from outside and inside; that this Government, in a country where capitalism exists, has its own path according to our history and tradition; that this Government seeks structural changes in pluralism, democracy and freedom; that this Government is an accelerated transition step between capitalism and socialism. That this Government has to make revolutionary changes within the framework of a bourgeois institutional framework, with an autonomous Judicial Branch, where laws are applied that have already lost their content and meaning; that this Government, which has a majority opposition Parliament; that this Government that respects ideological pluralism, doctrines and ideas; that this Government, which like no other, has been respectful of religious beliefs – the Ecumenical Tedeum demonstrates this – ; that this Government, which has respected freedom of information, of the press, of assembly and of association, like no other; than this Government, which has not and will never resort to using repressive forces, not even against its most bitter adversaries.[11]


During its first year in office, the Allende Government achieved economic growth, reductions in inflation and unemployment, a redistribution of income, and an increase in consumption. The government also significantly increased salaries and wages, reduced taxes, and introduced free distribution of some items of prime necessity. Groups which had previously been excluded from the state labor insurance scheme (mainly the self-employed and small businessmen) were included for the first time, while pensions were increased for widows, invalids, orphans, and the elderly. The National Milk Plan affected 50% of Chilean children in 1970, providing 3,470,000 with half a litre of milk daily, free of charge.[12]

The land-redistribution that Allende highlighted as one of the central policies of his government had already begun under his predecessor Eduardo Frei Montalva, who had expropriated between one-fifth and one-quarter of all properties liable to takeover.[13] The Allende government's intention was to appropriate all holdings of more than eighty basic irrigated hectares.[14] Allende also intended to improve the socio-economic welfare of Chile's poorest citizens; a key element was to provide employment, either in the new nationalized enterprises or on public works projects.

Towards the end of 1971, Fidel Castro toured Chile extensively during a four-week visit.[15] This gave credence to the belief of those on the right that "The Chilean Way to Socialism" was an effort to put Chile on the same path as Cuba.

Today, The Chilean Way to Socialism is often associated with the democratic road to socialism, a form of democratic socialism emphasizing representative democracy and the development of an organized working class.[16][17][18][19]

Economics edit

 
Chile real wages between 1967 and 1977. Orange lines mark the beginning and end of Allende's presidency.

The short-term economic results of Minister of Economics Pedro Vuskovic's expansive monetary policy were unambiguously favorable: 12% industrial growth and an 8.6% increase in GDP, accompanied by major declines in Chile’s long-endemic chronic inflation (down from 34.9% to 22.1%) and unemployment (down to 3.8%). In 1972 the Chilean escudo changed 140%. The average Real GDP contracted between 1971 and 1973 at an annual rate of 5.6% ("negative growth"), and the government's fiscal deficit soared while foreign reserves declined.[20][21] During this time, a shortage in basic commodities led to the rise of black markets which ended in late 1973 after Allende was ousted.[22]

In addition to the earlier-discussed provision of employment, Allende also raised wages on a number of occasions throughout 1970 and 1971. These rises in wages were negated by continuing increases in prices for food. Although price rises had also been high under Frei (27% a year between 1967 and 1970), a basic basket of consumer goods rose by 120% from 190 to 421 escudos in one month alone, August 1972. In the period 1970-72, while Allende was in government, exports fell 24% and imports rose 26%, with imports of food rising an estimated 149%.[23] However, although the acceleration of inflation in 1972 and 1973 eroded part of the initial increase in wages, the real minimum wage still rose (on average) during the 1971–73 period.[24]

The falls in exports were mostly due to a fall in the price of copper. Chile was at the mercy of international fluctuations in the value of its single most important export. As with almost half of developing countries, more than 50 percent of Chile's export receipts were from a single primary commodity.[25] Adverse fluctuation in the international price of copper negatively affected the Chilean economy throughout 1971-72. The price of copper fell from a peak of $66 per ton in 1970 to only $48–49 in 1971 and 1972.[26] In addition to the hyperinflation, the fall in the value of copper and lack of economic aid would further depress the economy.

Initially, the governing coalition expected the unearned wage increases and the consequent increase in government spending to be corrected once the 'structural changes' like nationalisation and agrarian reforms were completed. However, by June 1972, Allende was beginning to see the economic hazards. The minister of economy was changed and some austerity measures introduced, but to little avail.[27]

Amidst declining economic indicators, Allende's Popular Unity coalition actually increased its vote to 43 percent in the parliamentary elections early in 1973. However, by this point what had started as an informal alliance with the Christian Democrats[28] was anything but that. The Christian Democrats now leagued with the right-wing National Party and other three minor parties to oppose Allende's government, the five parties calling themselves the Confederation of Democracy (CODE). The conflict between the executive and legislature paralyzed initiatives from either side.[29] His economic policies were used by economists Rudi Dornbusch and Sebastian Edwards to coin the term macroeconomic populism.[30]

Foreign interference and relations edit

Argentina edit

Allende received the 1973 election of Héctor Cámpora, who had previously lived in exile in Chile, as good news. Allende sent in Aniceto Rodríguez to Buenos Aires to work on an alliance between the Socialist Party of Chile and the Justicialism. Later Allende assisted to the presidential inauguration of Campora. All of this was seen with good eyes by Juan Perón who came to refer to Allende as "compañero". However Perón also used Allende as a warning example for the most radical of his followers. In September just a few days before the 1973 Chilean coup d'etat he addressed the Tendencia Revolucionaria:

If you want to do as Allende, then look how it goes for Allende. One has to be calm.[31]

— Juan Perón

Perón condemned the 1973 coup as a "fatality for the continent" stating that the coup leader Augusto Pinochet represented interests "well known" to him. He praised Allende for his "valiant attitude" of committing suicide. He took note of the role of the United States in instigating the coup by recalling his familiarity with coup-making processes.[31]

Soviet Union edit

Salvador Allende's predecessor, President Frei, improved relations with the USSR. In February 1970, President Frei's government signed Chile's first cultural and scientific agreement with the Soviet Union.

Allende's Popular Unity government tried to maintain normal relations with the United States, but when Chile nationalized its copper industry, Washington cut off U.S. credits and increased its support to opposition. Forced to seek alternative sources of trade and finance, Chile gained commitments from the USSR to invest some $400 million in Chile in the next six years.

Allende's government was disappointed that it received far less economic assistance from the Soviet Union than it hoped for. Trade between the two countries did not significantly increase and the credits were mainly linked to the purchase of Soviet equipment. Moreover, credits from Soviet Union were much less than those provided by China and countries of Eastern Europe. When Allende visited Soviet Union in late 1972 in search of more aid and additional lines of credit, he was turned down.[32]

Allegations have been made in a book by Christopher Andrew, based on the handwritten notes of alleged KGB archivist Vasili Mitrokhin, that Allende was connected to the KGB.[33] However, the belief that Allende was a KGB agent is not universal.

Declarations from KGB General Nikolai Leonov, former Deputy Chief of the First Chief Directorate of the State Security Committee of the KGB, state that the Soviet Union supported Allende's government economically, politically and militarily.[34] Leonov stated in an interview at the Chilean Center of Public Studies (CEP) that the Soviet economic support included over $100 million in credit, three fishing ships (that distributed 17,000 tons of frozen fish to the population), factories (as help after the 1971 earthquake), 3,100 tractors, 74,000 tons of wheat, and more than a million tins of condensed milk.[34]

In mid-1973, the USSR had approved the delivery of weapons (artillery, tanks) to the Chilean Army. However, when news of an attempt from the Army to depose Allende through a coup d'état reached Soviet officials, the shipment was redirected to another country.[34]

United States opposition to Allende edit

The United States opposition to Allende started several years before he was elected President of Chile. Declassified documents show that from 1962 through 1964, the CIA spent $3 million in anti-Allende propaganda "to scare voters away from Allende's FRAP coalition", and spent a total of $2.6 million to finance the presidential campaign of Eduardo Frei.[35][36]

U.S. President Richard Nixon, then embroiled in the Vietnam War and Cold War with the Soviet Union, was openly hostile to the possibility of a second socialist regime (after Cuba) in the Western Hemisphere. There was clandestine support by the U.S. government to prevent Allende from taking office after election: On 16 October 1970, a formal instruction was issued to the CIA base in Chile, saying in part, "It is firm and continuing policy that Allende be overthrown by a coup. It would be much preferable to have this transpire prior to 24 October, but efforts in this regard will continue vigorously beyond this date. We are to continue to generate maximum pressure toward this end, utilizing every appropriate resource. It is imperative that these actions be implemented clandestinely and securely so that the USG and American hand be well hidden".[37]

Regarding the botched attempted-kidnapping and manslaughter of Chilean Army Commander René Schneider on 22 October 1970 (Schneider was a constitutionalist opposed to the idea of a coup preventing Allende from taking office or removing him after the fact), the Church Committee observed: "The CIA attempted, directly, to foment a military coup in Chile. It passed three weapons to a group of Chilean officers who plotted a coup. Beginning with the kidnapping of Chilean Army Commander-in-Chief Rene Schneider. However, those guns were returned. The group which staged the abortive kidnap of Schneider, which resulted in his death, apparently was not the same as the group which received CIA weapons."[38] However, the group which killed Schneider had previously been in contact with the CIA. The agency later paid that group $35,000, according to the Hinchey report, "in an effort to keep the prior contact secret, maintain the good will of the group, and for humanitarian reasons".[39] CIA documents indicate that while the CIA had sought his kidnapping, his killing was never intended.[40] Public outrage over the killing of Schneider cooled sentiments for a coup,[1][40] and neither the U.S. nor Chilean military attempted other removal actions in the early years of the Allende administration. On 26 October, President Eduardo Frei Montalva (Salvador Allende was inaugurated 3 November) named General Carlos Prats as commander in chief of the army in replacement of René Schneider. Carlos Prats was also a constitutionalist.[41]

With Allende in office, the United States reduced economic aid to the Chilean government.

In 1973, the CIA was notified by contacts of the impending Pinochet coup two days in advance, but contends it "played no direct role" in the coup. After Pinochet assumed power, U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger told Nixon that the United States "didn't do it" (referring to the coup itself) but had "created the conditions as great [sic] as possible".[42]

Crisis edit

In October 1972, Chile saw the first of what were to be a wave of confrontational strikes led by some of the historically well-off sectors of Chilean society; these received the open support of United States President Richard Nixon. A strike by trucking company owners, which the CIA supported by funding them with US$2 million within the frame of the "September Plan", began on 9 October 1972.[38][43] [failed verification] The strike was declared by the Confederación Nacional del Transporte, then presided by León Vilarín, one of the leaders of the far-right paramilitary group Patria y Libertad.[43] The Confederation, which brought together 165 trucking company business associations, employing 40,000 drivers and 56,000 vehicles, decreed an indefinite strike, paralyzing the country.

It was soon joined by the small businessmen, some (mostly professional) unions, and some student groups. Its leaders (Vilarín, Jaime Guzmán, Rafael Cumsille, Guillermo Elton and Eduardo Arriagada) expected to topple the government through the strike. Other than the inevitable damage to the economy, the chief effect of the 24-day strike was to bring the head of the army, general Carlos Prats, into the government as Interior Minister, as a sign of appeasement.[44] Carlos Prats had succeeded General René Schneider after his assassination on 24 October 1970, by two groups, General Roberto Viaux and General Camilo Valenzuela, who had benefitted from logistical and financial support from the CIA. Prats was a supporter of the legalist Schneider doctrine and refused to involve the military in a coup against Allende.

In March and July 1972, Allende and the Christian Democrats tried to forge a compromise. The moderate Party of the Radical Left, representing the UP coalition in March, held talks with the Christian Democratic Party over regulations of nationalized firms, but ultimately failed, as the minister of economy Pedro Vuskovic boycotted the negotiations and carried out legally dubious expropriations. As a result, the Radical Left also left the UP coalition,[9] hence the coalition lost 5 senators and 7 deputies.[13] In July, the resumed talks were almost going to succeed, until the more conservative elements within the Christian Democrat party managed to break off the negotiations. From that point on, the political life of the country was highly polarized between two opposing camps: the governing left-wing Unidad Popular and the right-wing opposition of Christian Democrats who were allied with the National Party, a vehemently right-wing opposition party.

Tanquetazo edit

Congressional resolutions edit

On 22 August 1973, the Christian Democrats and the National Party members of the Chamber of Deputies voted 81 to 47, a resolution that asked the authorities, in reference to "The President of the Republic, Ministers of State, and members of the Armed and Police Forces", to "put an immediate end" to "breach[es of] the Constitution...with the goal of redirecting government activity toward the path of Law and ensuring the Constitutional order of our Nation, and the essential underpinnings of democratic co-existence among Chileans". The resolution declared that the Allende Government sought "to conquer absolute power with the obvious purpose of subjecting all citizens to the strictest political and economic control by the state ... [with] the goal of establishing a totalitarian system", claiming it had made "violations of the Constitution...a permanent system of conduct". Finally, the resolution condemned the "creation and development of government-protected [socialist] armed groups, which ... are headed towards a confrontation with the armed forces". President Allende's efforts to re-organize the military and the police forces were characterised as "notorious attempts to use the armed and police forces for partisan ends, destroy their institutional hierarchy, and politically infiltrate their ranks".[45]

Most of the accusations were about the Socialist Government disregarding the separation of powers, and arrogating legislative and judicial prerogatives to the executive branch of government.[46] The resolution was later used by Pinochet a way to justify the coup, which occurred two weeks later.[47] On 24 August 1973, Allende responded point-by point to the accusations. He accused the opposition of trying to incite a military coup by encouraging the armed forces to disobey civilian authorities.[48] He said that Congress was "facilitat[ing] the seditious intention of certain sectors" and promoting a coup or a civil war by "invoking the intervention of the Armed Forces and of Order against a democratically elected government". He observed that the declaration had failed to obtain the required two-thirds majority constitutionally required to bring an accusation against the president and argued that the legislature was trying to usurp the executive role. He wrote that "Chilean democracy is a conquest by all of the people. It is neither the work nor the gift of the exploiting classes, and it will be defended by those who, with sacrifices accumulated over generations, have imposed it...With a tranquil conscience ... I sustain that never before has Chile had a more democratic government than that over which I have the honor to preside". He concluded by calling upon "the workers, all democrats and patriots" to join him in defense of the constitution and of the "revolutionary process".[49]

Final coup edit

In early September 1973, Allende floated the idea of resolving the crisis with a referendum. However, the Chilean military seized the initiative of the Chamber of Deputies' 22 August Resolution (which had implored Allende's military removal) to oust Allende on 11 September 1973. As the Presidential Palace was surrounded and bombed, Allende died by suicide.

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ a b c Don Mabry, Chile: Allende's Rise and Fall. 30 October 2006 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "Profile of Salvador Allende". BBC. 8 September 2003. from the original on 9 July 2017. Retrieved 15 May 2009. Chile's Salvador Allende was murdered in a United States-backed coup on 11 September 1973 – three years earlier he had become Latin America's first democratically-elected Marxist president.
  3. ^ Angell, Alan (1993). "Chile since 1958". In Bethell, Leslie (ed.). Chile since independence. Cambridge University Press. pp. 159–160. ISBN 0-521-43987-6.
  4. ^ "Ministro cierra investigación sobre Allende: fue asesinado – Terra Colombia" (in Spanish). Noticias.terra.com.co. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
  5. ^ Angell, 1993, p. 50
  6. ^ John Fleming, The Nationalization of Chile's Large Copper Companies in Contemporary Interstate Relations, 18 Vill. L. Rev. 593 (1973)
  7. ^ Reyes Herrera, Sonia E.; Rodríguez Torrent, Juan Carlos; Medina Hernández, Patricio (2014). "El sufrimiento colectivo de una ciudad minera en declinación. El caso de Lota, Chile". Horizontes Antropológicos (in Spanish). 20 (42).
  8. ^ CECH – Conferencia Episcopal de Chile [www.iglesiachile.org] 16 February 2006 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ a b Cohen, Youssef (1994). Radicals, Reformers, and Reactionaries: The Prisoner's Dilemma and the Collapse of Democracy in Latin America. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. pp. 98–118. ISBN 978-0226112718.
  10. ^ Textos de Salvador Allende 1972, p. 459
  11. ^ Textos de Salvador Allende 1973, pp. 135–136
  12. ^ Zipper, Ricardo Israel (1989). Politics and Ideology in Allende's Chile. Phoenix: Arizona State University Press. ISBN 978-0879180645.
  13. ^ a b Collier, Simon; William F. Sater (2004). A History of Chile, 1808–1994 (2 ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521534840.
  14. ^ Faundez, 1988
  15. ^ Castro Speech Data Base – LANIC – Browse Speeches from 1971
  16. ^ Fleet, Michael H. (1973). "Chile's Democratic Road to Socialism". The Western Political Quarterly. 26 (4): 766–786. doi:10.2307/447149. ISSN 0043-4078.
  17. ^ Oppenheim, Lois Hecht (1989). Bitar, Sergio; Chavkin, Samuel; Davis, Nathaniel; Farrell, Joseph P.; Fleet, Michael; Fermandois, Joaquin; Garreton, Manuel Antonio; Moulian, Tomas; Department, National Education (eds.). "The Chilean Road to Socialism Revisited". Latin American Research Review. 24 (1): 155–183. ISSN 0023-8791.
  18. ^ Allende, Ben B. , Marianela D'Aprile, and Salvador (11 September 2018). "Allende and Democratic Socialism". The Call. Retrieved 1 February 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  19. ^ Duhalde, David (11 September 2023). "Immediately After the 1973 Chilean Coup, US Socialists Supported Those Fighting for Freedom". Jacobin. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
  20. ^ Flores, 1997: title missing from References
  21. ^ Stats on declining GDP, in constant dollars http://www.indexmundi.com/facts/chile/gdp-per-capita
  22. ^ Solimano, Giorgio; Taylor, Lance (1980). "Economic policies and their effect on the food buying capacity of the urban poor". Food price policies and nutrition in Latin America. United Nations University. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  23. ^ Nove, 1986, pp. 4–12, tables 1.1 & 1.7
  24. ^ Marcel, M.; Solimano, A. (1993). Developmentalism, Socialism, and Free Market Reform: Three Decades of Income Distribution in Chile. Vol. 1188. Policy Research Department, World Bank. p. 12. from the original on 26 December 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  25. ^ Hoogvelt, 1997
  26. ^ Nove, Alexander (1986). "Socialism, Economics and Development". p. 13. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  27. ^ Hickman, John (15 December 1998). News From the End of the Earth: A Portrait of Chile. ISBN 9780312215675. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
  28. ^ Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress: Chile - Constitutional History - Development and Breakdown of Democracy, 1830-1973. Retrieved 11 December 2006.
  29. ^ (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 22 September 2003.
  30. ^ Dornbusch, Edwards, 1989
  31. ^ a b Ortega, José (2014). "Perón y Chile" (PDF). Encucijada Americana. 6 (2): 67. doi:10.53689/ea.v6i2.67. S2CID 211276031.
  32. ^ Mujal-León, Eusebio (1989). The USSR and Latin America: A Developing Relationship. Unwin Hyman. ISBN 9780044451655.
  33. ^ The Times extract from the Mitrokhin Archive volume II, by Mitrokhin and historian Christopher Andrew[1]
  34. ^ a b c Nikolai Leonov, "Soviet Intelligence in Latin America During the Cold War 28 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine", Lectures by General Nikolai Leonov, Centro de Estudios Publicos (Chile), 22 September 1999.
  35. ^ "Chile 1964: CIA Covert Support in Frei Election Detailed". The National Security Archive. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  36. ^ "Memorandum for the 303 Committee:Final Report: March 1969 Chilean Congressional Election". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  37. ^ Kornbluh, Peter. Chile and the United States: Declassified Documents Relating to the Military Coup, September 11, 1973 (National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 8 ed.). George Washington University National Security Archive.
  38. ^ a b . Archived from the original on 11 September 2009. Retrieved 11 August 2006.
  39. ^ Hinchey Report 20 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine, 18 September 2000.
  40. ^ a b Gustafson, Kristian C. . Archived from the original on 5 October 2003.
  41. ^ Andrew J. Rhodes, ""
  42. ^ Kissinger Telcons on Chile
  43. ^ a b El paro que coronó el fin ó la rebelión de los patrones 25 May 2016 at the Wayback Machine, El Periodista, 8 June 2003 (in Spanish)
  44. ^ (in Spanish) Comienzan los problemas Archived 2 August 2007 at archive.today, part of series "Icarito > Enciclopedia Virtual > Historia > Historia de Chile > Del gobierno militar a la democracia" on LaTercera.cl. Retrieved 22 September 2006.
  45. ^ English translation on Wikisource.
  46. ^ Agouborde, María Victoria (23 August 2023). "La Cámara de Diputados de Chile lee la resolución de 1973 que acusó de inconstitucional al Gobierno de Allende". El País Chile (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  47. ^ Goldberg, Peter A. (1975). "The Politics of the Allende Overthrow in Chile". Political Science Quarterly. 90 (1): 93–116. doi:10.2307/2148700. ISSN 0032-3195.
  48. ^ Affairs, United States Congress House Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Inter-American (1975). United States and Chile During the Allende Years, 1970-1973: Hearings Before the Subcommittee on Inter-American Affairs of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives ... U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 393.
  49. ^ (in Spanish) La respuesta del Presidente Allende on Wikisource.

References edit

  • Alan Angell (1993). Chile de Alessandri a Pinochet: En busca de la utopía. Santiago: Editorial Andrés Bello.
  • Simon Collier & William F. Sater (1996). A History of Chile: 1808–1994. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Julio Faundez (1988). Marxism and democracy in Chile: From 1932 to the fall of Allende, New Haven: Yale University Press.
  • Anke Hoogvelt (1997). Globalisation and the postcolonial world, London: Macmillan.
  • Henry Kissinger (1970). National Security Decision 93: Policy Towards Chile, Washington: National Security Council.
  • Alec Nove (1986). Socialism, Economics and Development, London: Allen & Unwin.
  • Don Mabry (2003). .
  • Sebastián Hurtado-Torres. 2019. "The Chilean Moment in the Global Cold War: International Reactions to Salvador Allende's Victory in the Presidential Election of 1970." Journal of Cold War studies.

External links edit

  • The research and detail are enormous.
  • under which the Chamber of Deputies opposed the Allende regime. This is a solid translation of the document, although the introductory note is clearly that of an apologist for the coup.
  • [2] Examination of the coup that ended the Allende presidency, including ties to direction by the CIA.
  • (in Spanish) Allende's 24 August 1973 response
  • National Security Archive's Chile Documentation Project which provides documents obtained from FOIA requests regarding U.S. involvement in Chile, beginning with attempts to promote a coup in 1970 and continuing through U.S. support for Pinochet
  • LIFE Magazine July 16, 1971 "Allende: A special kind of Marxist"


presidency, salvador, allende, salvador, allende, president, chile, from, 1970, until, suicide, 1973, head, popular, unity, government, socialist, marxist, elected, national, presidency, liberal, democracy, latin, america, august, 1973, chilean, senate, declar. Salvador Allende was the president of Chile from 1970 until his suicide in 1973 and head of the Popular Unity government he was a Socialist and Marxist elected to the national presidency of a liberal democracy in Latin America 1 2 In August 1973 the Chilean Senate declared the Allende administration to be unlawful Allende s presidency was ended by a military coup before the end of his term During Allende s three years Chile gradually transitioned into a socialist state Presidency of Salvador Allende 3 November 1970 11 September 1973PresidentSalvador AllendePartyPopular UnitySeatLa Moneda Palace Santiago Frei administrationPinochet administration Standard of the president Chile inflation rate 1971 1994 During his tenure Chilean politics reached a state of civil unrest amid political polarization hyperinflation lockouts economic sanctions CIA sponsored interventionism and a failed coup in June 1973 Allende s coalition Unidad Popular faced the problem of being a minority in the congress and it was plagued by factionalism 3 On 11 September 1973 a successful coup led by General Augusto Pinochet overthrew the government of Allende During the bombing of the presidential palace by the Chilean Air Force President Allende after mounting a brief armed resistance against the military eventually died by suicide 4 In Chilean historiography Allende s presidency is the last one of the period known as the Presidential Republic 1925 1973 Contents 1 Election 2 The Chilean Way to Socialism 3 Economics 4 Foreign interference and relations 4 1 Argentina 4 2 Soviet Union 4 3 United States opposition to Allende 5 Crisis 5 1 Tanquetazo 5 2 Congressional resolutions 5 3 Final coup 6 See also 7 Notes 8 References 9 External linksElection editMain article 1970 Chilean presidential election nbsp Chileans marching in support of Allende In the 1970 election Allende ran with the Unidad Popular UP or Popular Unity coalition Succeeding the FRAP left wing coalition Unidad Popular comprised most of the Chilean Left the Socialist Party the Communist Party the Radical Party the Party of the Radical Left until 1972 the Social Democratic Party MAPU Movimiento de Accion Popular Unitario in 1972 a splinter group MAPU Obrero Campesino emerged and since 1971 the Christian Left Allende received a plurality with 36 2 of the vote Christian Democrat Radomiro Tomic won 27 8 with a very similar platform to Allende s Both Allende and Tomic promised to further nationalize the mineral industry and redistribute land and income among other new policies Conservative former president Jorge Alessandri standing for the National Party received slightly under 34 9 of the vote 5 According to the constitution Congress had to decide between the two candidates who had received the most votes The precedent set on the three previous occasions this situation had arisen since 1932 was for Congress simply to choose the candidate with the largest number of votes indeed former president Alessandri had been elected in 1958 with 31 6 of the popular vote In this case however there was an active campaign against Allende s confirmation by Congress including clandestine efforts to prevent him taking office and his presidency was ratified only after he signed a Statute of Constitutional Guarantees This statute was suggested as a means to convince the majority of Christian Democrat senators that favoured Allessandri as they doubted Allende s allegiance to democracy or at least the UP s After signing the statute members of the Christian Democrat party in the Senate gave their vote in favor of Allende It has been argued that given that less than the majority of the voters voted for him Allende did not have a clear mandate to embark in the policies put forward on his program however it is also true that in the post World War II period three out of the four previous presidents of Chile had like Allende also been elected with less than 50 of the vote due in part to Chile s multi party system Specifically the winners of the four presidential elections prior to Allende s 1970 election had won with 56 1 the 1964 election of Frei 31 6 the 1958 election of Alessandri 46 8 the 1952 election of Ibanez and 40 2 the 1946 election of Gonzalez Videla The legality of the 1970 election itself is not in dispute citation needed The Chilean Way to Socialism editSee also Chilean nationalization of copper Chilean land reform and Chilean university reform In office Allende pursued a policy he called La via chilena al socialismo The Chilean Way to Socialism This included nationalization of certain large scale industries notably copper of the healthcare system continuation of his predecessor Eduardo Frei Montalva s policies regarding the educational system a program of free milk for children and land redistribution The previous government of Eduardo Frei had already partly nationalised the copper industry by acquiring a 51 percent share in foreign owned mines The primary U S business in Chile at this time was copper mining The Chilean government sought to fully nationalize U S mining operations and the Chilean constitution required just compensation to be made according to minimum international standards However the Allende government chose to hold mining companies liable for damages they caused to the state Subsequently Chile made significant deductions in computing the amount of compensation due to the North American industries Such deductions included charges for loans invested poorly and excessive profits among other reasoning Excessive profits were assessed dating back to the 1950s Ultimately deductions for social and financial malfeasance when combined with other deductions resulted in the total deductions greatly exceeding the base book values of the mining enterprises In effect compensation to three of the five nationalized mines was wholly eliminated by subjective deductions determined by Allende s government 6 Allende also nationalized coal mining in 1971 a move that was welcomed by the miners of Lota 7 Chilean presidents were allowed a maximum of six years in office which may explain Allende s haste to restructure the economy He had a significant restructuring program organized At the beginning there was broad support in Congress to expand the government s already large part of the economy as the Popular Unity and Christian Democrats together had a clear majority But the government s efforts to pursue these policies led to strong opposition by landowners some middle class sectors the rightist National Party financiers and the Roman Catholic Church which in 1973 was displeased with the direction of the educational policy 1 8 Eventually the Christian Democrats united with the National Party in Congress The Popular Unity coalition itself was far from unanimous Allende himself said he was committed to democracy and represented a more moderate faction of his Socialist Party He was supported by the Communist Party that despite being ultimately less committed to representative democracy favoured a cautious gradual approach For example the Communists urged to find a compromise with the Christian Democrats and supported the application of reforms through Congress In contrast the radical leftist wing of the Socialist Party wanted to smash the capitalist system at once even if that meant violent actions 9 If one includes smaller parties Allende s moderate left wing line was supported by moderate Socialists Communists Radicals Social Democrats merged with that party in June 1972 and part of the MAPU later MAPU OC whereas the left wing Socialists led by Altamirano the extremist elements of the MAPU of the Christian Left and the MIR not belonging to the Unidad Popular represented the far left Allende believed in peaceful change arguing that capitalism could be ended in Chile through democratic means As he noted in a 1972 speech My Government maintains that there is another path for the revolutionary process that is not the violent destruction of the current institutional and constitutional regime The entities of the State administration act today not at the service of the ruling class but at the service of the workers and the continuity of the revolutionary process therefore one cannot try to destroy what is now an instrument to act change and create for the benefit of Chile and its labor masses The power of the big bourgeoisie is not based on the Institutional regime but on its economic resources and on the complex web of social relations linked to the capitalist property system We do not see the path of the Chilean revolution in the violent bankruptcy of the state apparatus What our people have built over several generations of struggle allows them to take advantage of the conditions created by our history to replace the capitalist foundation of the current institutional regime with another that is adapted to the new social reality The popular political parties and movements have always affirmed and this is contained in the Government Program that ending the capitalist system requires transforming the class content of the State and of the Fundamental Charter itself But we have also solemnly affirmed our will to carry it out in accordance with the mechanisms that the Political Constitution has expressly established to be modified The great question that the revolutionary process has raised and that will decide the fate of Chile is whether the current institutional framework can open the way for the transition to socialism The answer depends on the degree to which it remains open to change and on the social forces that give it its content Only if the state apparatus can be crossed by the popular social forces will the institutionality have enough flexibility to tolerate and promote structural transformations without disintegrating Such a transcendental problem was posed crudely from September 4 1970 The anti capitalist social forces came to the Government through the regular functioning of the institutional regime If it had been closed at that moment the institutionality would have broken down and Chile would have been a victim of the violence unleashed 10 Allende also saw his government as representing a transition step between capitalism and socialism stating in a 1973 speech Hence then also informed by comrade Godoy I can say that with satisfaction we know that the large centers that bring together the workers of the world are studying the possibility of a meeting aimed fundamentally at drawing the lines of resistance to the penetration of transnational companies subjecting countries to the political pressure they exert through venal politicians or using the influence of their governments or simply deforming their economy based on a development that only seeks their interests against the general interest of the country in which they invest their capital For this reason it is also when this 20th Anniversary is celebrated as your Comrade President along with paying tribute to those who fell in the struggle and highlighting those who with their life and example have given moral strength to the Central Unica of Workers I have to point out that this Government which has faced the most powerful enemies from outside and inside that this Government in a country where capitalism exists has its own path according to our history and tradition that this Government seeks structural changes in pluralism democracy and freedom that this Government is an accelerated transition step between capitalism and socialism That this Government has to make revolutionary changes within the framework of a bourgeois institutional framework with an autonomous Judicial Branch where laws are applied that have already lost their content and meaning that this Government which has a majority opposition Parliament that this Government that respects ideological pluralism doctrines and ideas that this Government which like no other has been respectful of religious beliefs the Ecumenical Tedeum demonstrates this that this Government which has respected freedom of information of the press of assembly and of association like no other than this Government which has not and will never resort to using repressive forces not even against its most bitter adversaries 11 During its first year in office the Allende Government achieved economic growth reductions in inflation and unemployment a redistribution of income and an increase in consumption The government also significantly increased salaries and wages reduced taxes and introduced free distribution of some items of prime necessity Groups which had previously been excluded from the state labor insurance scheme mainly the self employed and small businessmen were included for the first time while pensions were increased for widows invalids orphans and the elderly The National Milk Plan affected 50 of Chilean children in 1970 providing 3 470 000 with half a litre of milk daily free of charge 12 The land redistribution that Allende highlighted as one of the central policies of his government had already begun under his predecessor Eduardo Frei Montalva who had expropriated between one fifth and one quarter of all properties liable to takeover 13 The Allende government s intention was to appropriate all holdings of more than eighty basic irrigated hectares 14 Allende also intended to improve the socio economic welfare of Chile s poorest citizens a key element was to provide employment either in the new nationalized enterprises or on public works projects Towards the end of 1971 Fidel Castro toured Chile extensively during a four week visit 15 This gave credence to the belief of those on the right that The Chilean Way to Socialism was an effort to put Chile on the same path as Cuba Today The Chilean Way to Socialism is often associated with the democratic road to socialism a form of democratic socialism emphasizing representative democracy and the development of an organized working class 16 17 18 19 Economics edit nbsp Chile real wages between 1967 and 1977 Orange lines mark the beginning and end of Allende s presidency The short term economic results of Minister of Economics Pedro Vuskovic s expansive monetary policy were unambiguously favorable 12 industrial growth and an 8 6 increase in GDP accompanied by major declines in Chile s long endemic chronic inflation down from 34 9 to 22 1 and unemployment down to 3 8 In 1972 the Chilean escudo changed 140 The average Real GDP contracted between 1971 and 1973 at an annual rate of 5 6 negative growth and the government s fiscal deficit soared while foreign reserves declined 20 21 During this time a shortage in basic commodities led to the rise of black markets which ended in late 1973 after Allende was ousted 22 In addition to the earlier discussed provision of employment Allende also raised wages on a number of occasions throughout 1970 and 1971 These rises in wages were negated by continuing increases in prices for food Although price rises had also been high under Frei 27 a year between 1967 and 1970 a basic basket of consumer goods rose by 120 from 190 to 421 escudos in one month alone August 1972 In the period 1970 72 while Allende was in government exports fell 24 and imports rose 26 with imports of food rising an estimated 149 23 However although the acceleration of inflation in 1972 and 1973 eroded part of the initial increase in wages the real minimum wage still rose on average during the 1971 73 period 24 The falls in exports were mostly due to a fall in the price of copper Chile was at the mercy of international fluctuations in the value of its single most important export As with almost half of developing countries more than 50 percent of Chile s export receipts were from a single primary commodity 25 Adverse fluctuation in the international price of copper negatively affected the Chilean economy throughout 1971 72 The price of copper fell from a peak of 66 per ton in 1970 to only 48 49 in 1971 and 1972 26 In addition to the hyperinflation the fall in the value of copper and lack of economic aid would further depress the economy Initially the governing coalition expected the unearned wage increases and the consequent increase in government spending to be corrected once the structural changes like nationalisation and agrarian reforms were completed However by June 1972 Allende was beginning to see the economic hazards The minister of economy was changed and some austerity measures introduced but to little avail 27 Amidst declining economic indicators Allende s Popular Unity coalition actually increased its vote to 43 percent in the parliamentary elections early in 1973 However by this point what had started as an informal alliance with the Christian Democrats 28 was anything but that The Christian Democrats now leagued with the right wing National Party and other three minor parties to oppose Allende s government the five parties calling themselves the Confederation of Democracy CODE The conflict between the executive and legislature paralyzed initiatives from either side 29 His economic policies were used by economists Rudi Dornbusch and Sebastian Edwards to coin the term macroeconomic populism 30 Foreign interference and relations editSee also Fidel Castro s state visit to Chile Argentina edit Allende received the 1973 election of Hector Campora who had previously lived in exile in Chile as good news Allende sent in Aniceto Rodriguez to Buenos Aires to work on an alliance between the Socialist Party of Chile and the Justicialism Later Allende assisted to the presidential inauguration of Campora All of this was seen with good eyes by Juan Peron who came to refer to Allende as companero However Peron also used Allende as a warning example for the most radical of his followers In September just a few days before the 1973 Chilean coup d etat he addressed the Tendencia Revolucionaria If you want to do as Allende then look how it goes for Allende One has to be calm 31 Juan Peron Peron condemned the 1973 coup as a fatality for the continent stating that the coup leader Augusto Pinochet represented interests well known to him He praised Allende for his valiant attitude of committing suicide He took note of the role of the United States in instigating the coup by recalling his familiarity with coup making processes 31 Soviet Union edit Salvador Allende s predecessor President Frei improved relations with the USSR In February 1970 President Frei s government signed Chile s first cultural and scientific agreement with the Soviet Union Allende s Popular Unity government tried to maintain normal relations with the United States but when Chile nationalized its copper industry Washington cut off U S credits and increased its support to opposition Forced to seek alternative sources of trade and finance Chile gained commitments from the USSR to invest some 400 million in Chile in the next six years Allende s government was disappointed that it received far less economic assistance from the Soviet Union than it hoped for Trade between the two countries did not significantly increase and the credits were mainly linked to the purchase of Soviet equipment Moreover credits from Soviet Union were much less than those provided by China and countries of Eastern Europe When Allende visited Soviet Union in late 1972 in search of more aid and additional lines of credit he was turned down 32 Allegations have been made in a book by Christopher Andrew based on the handwritten notes of alleged KGB archivist Vasili Mitrokhin that Allende was connected to the KGB 33 However the belief that Allende was a KGB agent is not universal Declarations from KGB General Nikolai Leonov former Deputy Chief of the First Chief Directorate of the State Security Committee of the KGB state that the Soviet Union supported Allende s government economically politically and militarily 34 Leonov stated in an interview at the Chilean Center of Public Studies CEP that the Soviet economic support included over 100 million in credit three fishing ships that distributed 17 000 tons of frozen fish to the population factories as help after the 1971 earthquake 3 100 tractors 74 000 tons of wheat and more than a million tins of condensed milk 34 In mid 1973 the USSR had approved the delivery of weapons artillery tanks to the Chilean Army However when news of an attempt from the Army to depose Allende through a coup d etat reached Soviet officials the shipment was redirected to another country 34 United States opposition to Allende edit Main article U S intervention in Chile The United States opposition to Allende started several years before he was elected President of Chile Declassified documents show that from 1962 through 1964 the CIA spent 3 million in anti Allende propaganda to scare voters away from Allende s FRAP coalition and spent a total of 2 6 million to finance the presidential campaign of Eduardo Frei 35 36 U S President Richard Nixon then embroiled in the Vietnam War and Cold War with the Soviet Union was openly hostile to the possibility of a second socialist regime after Cuba in the Western Hemisphere There was clandestine support by the U S government to prevent Allende from taking office after election On 16 October 1970 a formal instruction was issued to the CIA base in Chile saying in part It is firm and continuing policy that Allende be overthrown by a coup It would be much preferable to have this transpire prior to 24 October but efforts in this regard will continue vigorously beyond this date We are to continue to generate maximum pressure toward this end utilizing every appropriate resource It is imperative that these actions be implemented clandestinely and securely so that the USG and American hand be well hidden 37 Regarding the botched attempted kidnapping and manslaughter of Chilean Army Commander Rene Schneider on 22 October 1970 Schneider was a constitutionalist opposed to the idea of a coup preventing Allende from taking office or removing him after the fact the Church Committee observed The CIA attempted directly to foment a military coup in Chile It passed three weapons to a group of Chilean officers who plotted a coup Beginning with the kidnapping of Chilean Army Commander in Chief Rene Schneider However those guns were returned The group which staged the abortive kidnap of Schneider which resulted in his death apparently was not the same as the group which received CIA weapons 38 However the group which killed Schneider had previously been in contact with the CIA The agency later paid that group 35 000 according to the Hinchey report in an effort to keep the prior contact secret maintain the good will of the group and for humanitarian reasons 39 CIA documents indicate that while the CIA had sought his kidnapping his killing was never intended 40 Public outrage over the killing of Schneider cooled sentiments for a coup 1 40 and neither the U S nor Chilean military attempted other removal actions in the early years of the Allende administration On 26 October President Eduardo Frei Montalva Salvador Allende was inaugurated 3 November named General Carlos Prats as commander in chief of the army in replacement of Rene Schneider Carlos Prats was also a constitutionalist 41 With Allende in office the United States reduced economic aid to the Chilean government In 1973 the CIA was notified by contacts of the impending Pinochet coup two days in advance but contends it played no direct role in the coup After Pinochet assumed power U S Secretary of State Henry Kissinger told Nixon that the United States didn t do it referring to the coup itself but had created the conditions as great sic as possible 42 Crisis editIn October 1972 Chile saw the first of what were to be a wave of confrontational strikes led by some of the historically well off sectors of Chilean society these received the open support of United States President Richard Nixon A strike by trucking company owners which the CIA supported by funding them with US 2 million within the frame of the September Plan began on 9 October 1972 38 43 failed verification The strike was declared by the Confederacion Nacional del Transporte then presided by Leon Vilarin one of the leaders of the far right paramilitary group Patria y Libertad 43 The Confederation which brought together 165 trucking company business associations employing 40 000 drivers and 56 000 vehicles decreed an indefinite strike paralyzing the country It was soon joined by the small businessmen some mostly professional unions and some student groups Its leaders Vilarin Jaime Guzman Rafael Cumsille Guillermo Elton and Eduardo Arriagada expected to topple the government through the strike Other than the inevitable damage to the economy the chief effect of the 24 day strike was to bring the head of the army general Carlos Prats into the government as Interior Minister as a sign of appeasement 44 Carlos Prats had succeeded General Rene Schneider after his assassination on 24 October 1970 by two groups General Roberto Viaux and General Camilo Valenzuela who had benefitted from logistical and financial support from the CIA Prats was a supporter of the legalist Schneider doctrine and refused to involve the military in a coup against Allende In March and July 1972 Allende and the Christian Democrats tried to forge a compromise The moderate Party of the Radical Left representing the UP coalition in March held talks with the Christian Democratic Party over regulations of nationalized firms but ultimately failed as the minister of economy Pedro Vuskovic boycotted the negotiations and carried out legally dubious expropriations As a result the Radical Left also left the UP coalition 9 hence the coalition lost 5 senators and 7 deputies 13 In July the resumed talks were almost going to succeed until the more conservative elements within the Christian Democrat party managed to break off the negotiations From that point on the political life of the country was highly polarized between two opposing camps the governing left wing Unidad Popular and the right wing opposition of Christian Democrats who were allied with the National Party a vehemently right wing opposition party Tanquetazo edit Main article Tanquetazo Congressional resolutions edit On 22 August 1973 the Christian Democrats and the National Party members of the Chamber of Deputies voted 81 to 47 a resolution that asked the authorities in reference to The President of the Republic Ministers of State and members of the Armed and Police Forces to put an immediate end to breach es of the Constitution with the goal of redirecting government activity toward the path of Law and ensuring the Constitutional order of our Nation and the essential underpinnings of democratic co existence among Chileans The resolution declared that the Allende Government sought to conquer absolute power with the obvious purpose of subjecting all citizens to the strictest political and economic control by the state with the goal of establishing a totalitarian system claiming it had made violations of the Constitution a permanent system of conduct Finally the resolution condemned the creation and development of government protected socialist armed groups which are headed towards a confrontation with the armed forces President Allende s efforts to re organize the military and the police forces were characterised as notorious attempts to use the armed and police forces for partisan ends destroy their institutional hierarchy and politically infiltrate their ranks 45 Most of the accusations were about the Socialist Government disregarding the separation of powers and arrogating legislative and judicial prerogatives to the executive branch of government 46 The resolution was later used by Pinochet a way to justify the coup which occurred two weeks later 47 On 24 August 1973 Allende responded point by point to the accusations He accused the opposition of trying to incite a military coup by encouraging the armed forces to disobey civilian authorities 48 He said that Congress was facilitat ing the seditious intention of certain sectors and promoting a coup or a civil war by invoking the intervention of the Armed Forces and of Order against a democratically elected government He observed that the declaration had failed to obtain the required two thirds majority constitutionally required to bring an accusation against the president and argued that the legislature was trying to usurp the executive role He wrote that Chilean democracy is a conquest by all of the people It is neither the work nor the gift of the exploiting classes and it will be defended by those who with sacrifices accumulated over generations have imposed it With a tranquil conscience I sustain that never before has Chile had a more democratic government than that over which I have the honor to preside He concluded by calling upon the workers all democrats and patriots to join him in defense of the constitution and of the revolutionary process 49 Final coup edit Main article 1973 Chilean coup d etat In early September 1973 Allende floated the idea of resolving the crisis with a referendum However the Chilean military seized the initiative of the Chamber of Deputies 22 August Resolution which had implored Allende s military removal to oust Allende on 11 September 1973 As the Presidential Palace was surrounded and bombed Allende died by suicide See also editVuskovic plan UP s economic policy Chilean nationalization of copper Death of Salvador Allende controversy regarding his death Project Cybersyn Allendism ideologies based on Allende s governmentNotes edit a b c Don Mabry Chile Allende s Rise and Fall Archived 30 October 2006 at the Wayback Machine Profile of Salvador Allende BBC 8 September 2003 Archived from the original on 9 July 2017 Retrieved 15 May 2009 Chile s Salvador Allende was murdered in a United States backed coup on 11 September 1973 three years earlier he had become Latin America s first democratically elected Marxist president Angell Alan 1993 Chile since 1958 In Bethell Leslie ed Chile since independence Cambridge University Press pp 159 160 ISBN 0 521 43987 6 Ministro cierra investigacion sobre Allende fue asesinado Terra Colombia in Spanish Noticias terra com co Retrieved 12 September 2012 Angell 1993 p 50 John Fleming The Nationalization of Chile s Large Copper Companies in Contemporary Interstate Relations 18 Vill L Rev 593 1973 Reyes Herrera Sonia E Rodriguez Torrent Juan Carlos Medina Hernandez Patricio 2014 El sufrimiento colectivo de una ciudad minera en declinacion El caso de Lota Chile Horizontes Antropologicos in Spanish 20 42 CECH Conferencia Episcopal de Chile www iglesiachile org Archived 16 February 2006 at the Wayback Machine a b Cohen Youssef 1994 Radicals Reformers and Reactionaries The Prisoner s Dilemma and the Collapse of Democracy in Latin America Chicago IL University of Chicago Press pp 98 118 ISBN 978 0226112718 Textos de Salvador Allende 1972 p 459 Textos de Salvador Allende 1973 pp 135 136 Zipper Ricardo Israel 1989 Politics and Ideology in Allende s Chile Phoenix Arizona State University Press ISBN 978 0879180645 a b Collier Simon William F Sater 2004 A History of Chile 1808 1994 2 ed Cambridge Cambridge University Press ISBN 978 0521534840 Faundez 1988 Castro Speech Data Base LANIC Browse Speeches from 1971 Fleet Michael H 1973 Chile s Democratic Road to Socialism The Western Political Quarterly 26 4 766 786 doi 10 2307 447149 ISSN 0043 4078 Oppenheim Lois Hecht 1989 Bitar Sergio Chavkin Samuel Davis Nathaniel Farrell Joseph P Fleet Michael Fermandois Joaquin Garreton Manuel Antonio Moulian Tomas Department National Education eds The Chilean Road to Socialism Revisited Latin American Research Review 24 1 155 183 ISSN 0023 8791 Allende Ben B Marianela D Aprile and Salvador 11 September 2018 Allende and Democratic Socialism The Call Retrieved 1 February 2024 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint multiple names authors list link Duhalde David 11 September 2023 Immediately After the 1973 Chilean Coup US Socialists Supported Those Fighting for Freedom Jacobin Retrieved 1 February 2024 Flores 1997 title missing from References Stats on declining GDP in constant dollars http www indexmundi com facts chile gdp per capita Solimano Giorgio Taylor Lance 1980 Economic policies and their effect on the food buying capacity of the urban poor Food price policies and nutrition in Latin America United Nations University Retrieved 20 July 2015 Nove 1986 pp 4 12 tables 1 1 amp 1 7 Marcel M Solimano A 1993 Developmentalism Socialism and Free Market Reform Three Decades of Income Distribution in Chile Vol 1188 Policy Research Department World Bank p 12 Archived from the original on 26 December 2019 Retrieved 20 May 2015 Hoogvelt 1997 Nove Alexander 1986 Socialism Economics and Development p 13 Retrieved 23 April 2018 Hickman John 15 December 1998 News From the End of the Earth A Portrait of Chile ISBN 9780312215675 Retrieved 10 April 2014 Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress Chile Constitutional History Development and Breakdown of Democracy 1830 1973 Retrieved 11 December 2006 Se desata la crisis in Spanish Archived from the original on 22 September 2003 Dornbusch Edwards 1989 a b Ortega Jose 2014 Peron y Chile PDF Encucijada Americana 6 2 67 doi 10 53689 ea v6i2 67 S2CID 211276031 Mujal Leon Eusebio 1989 The USSR and Latin America A Developing Relationship Unwin Hyman ISBN 9780044451655 The Times extract from the Mitrokhin Archive volume II by Mitrokhin and historian Christopher Andrew 1 a b c Nikolai Leonov Soviet Intelligence in Latin America During the Cold War Archived 28 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine Lectures by General Nikolai Leonov Centro de Estudios Publicos Chile 22 September 1999 Chile 1964 CIA Covert Support in Frei Election Detailed The National Security Archive Retrieved 25 June 2015 Memorandum for the 303 Committee Final Report March 1969 Chilean Congressional Election U S Department of State Office of the Historian Retrieved 26 June 2015 Kornbluh Peter Chile and the United States Declassified Documents Relating to the Military Coup September 11 1973 National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No 8 ed George Washington University National Security Archive a b Church Report Covert Action in Chile 1963 1973 Archived from the original on 11 September 2009 Retrieved 11 August 2006 Hinchey Report Archived 20 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine 18 September 2000 a b Gustafson Kristian C Reexamining the Record CIA Machinations in Chile in 1970 Archived from the original on 5 October 2003 Andrew J Rhodes Chilean Civil Military Relations Kissinger Telcons on Chile a b El paro que corono el fin o la rebelion de los patrones Archived 25 May 2016 at the Wayback Machine El Periodista 8 June 2003 in Spanish in Spanish Comienzan los problemas Archived 2 August 2007 at archive today part of series Icarito gt Enciclopedia Virtual gt Historia gt Historia de Chile gt Del gobierno militar a la democracia on LaTercera cl Retrieved 22 September 2006 English translation on Wikisource Agouborde Maria Victoria 23 August 2023 La Camara de Diputados de Chile lee la resolucion de 1973 que acuso de inconstitucional al Gobierno de Allende El Pais Chile in Spanish Retrieved 30 August 2023 Goldberg Peter A 1975 The Politics of the Allende Overthrow in Chile Political Science Quarterly 90 1 93 116 doi 10 2307 2148700 ISSN 0032 3195 Affairs United States Congress House Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Inter American 1975 United States and Chile During the Allende Years 1970 1973 Hearings Before the Subcommittee on Inter American Affairs of the Committee on Foreign Affairs House of Representatives U S Government Printing Office p 393 in Spanish La respuesta del Presidente Allende on Wikisource References editAlan Angell 1993 Chile de Alessandri a Pinochet En busca de la utopia Santiago Editorial Andres Bello Simon Collier amp William F Sater 1996 A History of Chile 1808 1994 Cambridge Cambridge University Press Julio Faundez 1988 Marxism and democracy in Chile From 1932 to the fall of Allende New Haven Yale University Press Anke Hoogvelt 1997 Globalisation and the postcolonial world London Macmillan Henry Kissinger 1970 National Security Decision 93 Policy Towards Chile Washington National Security Council Alec Nove 1986 Socialism Economics and Development London Allen amp Unwin Don Mabry 2003 Chile Allende s Rise and Fall Sebastian Hurtado Torres 2019 The Chilean Moment in the Global Cold War International Reactions to Salvador Allende s Victory in the Presidential Election of 1970 Journal of Cold War studies External links editAn extensive Spanish language site providing a day by day chronology of the Allende era The research and detail are enormous The 22 August 1973 document under which the Chamber of Deputies opposed the Allende regime This is a solid translation of the document although the introductory note is clearly that of an apologist for the coup 2 Examination of the coup that ended the Allende presidency including ties to direction by the CIA in Spanish Allende s 24 August 1973 response National Security Archive s Chile Documentation Project which provides documents obtained from FOIA requests regarding U S involvement in Chile beginning with attempts to promote a coup in 1970 and continuing through U S support for Pinochet LIFE Magazine July 16 1971 Allende A special kind of Marxist Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Presidency of Salvador Allende amp oldid 1202053881, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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