Outside of the USA, the name Salvador Allende invokes strong feelings. Even those who opposed the policies of his administration, many are quite adamant about their opposition to his illegitimate removal on the 11th of September in 1973. Emotions in many places are also triggered by the direct and covert activities of the US government behind the scenes to interfere.
The Allende administration demonstrated – openly – to Latin America and the rest of the world that both the government of the USA and those aligned with US-interests had no qualms about using any means, most illegitimate, to remove from elected power some who threatened their interests. The activities of these interests direct at President Allende, his supporters and ultimately his elected government have been vastly documented for over 50 years. A small but significant amount of activities were revealed by the Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities (called ‘The Church Committee’) in a study called Covert Action in Chile, 1963-1973. Read it here.
Salvador Allende Gossens was a physician and politician. He was a co-founder of the Partido Socialista de Chile (or PS: the Chilean Socialist Party) in the 1930s and served in several party posts, elected posts (in Congress and the Senate), and government posts (under Pedro Aguirre Cerda’s Frente Popular government). After Germany’s Kristallnacht, he was one of the number of congressional members who sent a telegram to Hitler denouncing the persecution of Jews.
Despite a well-funded international attack on self-identified socialists (whether they were Marxists or not), Allende continued to serve in government without losing his election position (by ballot box or force). He became a candidate for president for the first time in 1952 as a standard-bearer of a coalition of aligned political parties. He would run again in the next three elections: 1958, 1964 and 1970. He came close in 1958: finishing second behind Jorge Alessandri, son of 3-time president Arturo Alessandri (who, unlike his son, had some support at times among left-wing and progressive groups during his presidencies). Allende lost by less than 3% of the vote in a four-way split. Six years later, the CIA got involved to help Eduardo Frei, a centrist standard-bearer of the Partido Demócrata Cristiano (PDC). (His son Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle would win the 1993 Presidential election.) In this election, the non-leftist parties aligned with Frei to prevent a split of votes that might allow Allende to win. (Allende lost 56% to 39%).
The Frei administration moved towards reforming the Chilean infrastructure, from taxation housing, education, health care, insurance, agrarian reform and labor. The last two were directed at counter-acting the support of Allende, the PS and the Marxist parties had built since the 1930s. The results were mixed: much progress was made in alleviating the crisis of education and health care and wages and workers’ rights increased but opposition on both sides of the political spectrum slowed the government programs.
In 1970, constitutionally forbidden to run again, the PDC selected Radomiro Tomic as their candidate. Unhappiness on the right led by two major parties (Democracia Radical, DR and Partido Nacional, PN – newer party that rose out of a coalition of three earlier group) to select former President Jorge Alessandri to run. Allende and the PS put together the Unidad Popular (UP) coalition of left-wing parties, including socialists and Marxist parties. Allende would win the popular vote:
Candidate |
Political party/coalition |
vote count |
% |
Salvador Allende |
Unidad Popular |
1,070,334 |
36.61 |
Jorge Alessandri |
Democracia Radical &
Partido Nacional
|
1,031,159 |
35.27 |
Radomiro Tomic |
Partido Demócrata Cristiano |
821,801 |
28.11 |
Close!
(As a side note, when I first visited Chile in 1985 — during the Pinochet dictatorship — my group had several private lectures by current and former professors who not only relayed the general thoughts that I have outline above but breathlessly, and without notes, recounted the number of votes in this election, the previous presidential ones and the congressional ones before 1970 and up to the days before the 1973 coup d’état. I was nineteen at the time and it took me some time to realize that the power of remembering the number of votes reminded them — and us — of the people who stood for a system that, at that time, had been completely destroyed over 10 years before.)
La vía chilena al socialismo
With Allende's victory in the September 1970 presidential election, the traditional Left for the first time gained control over the executive branch of government. Without control over the judicial or legislative branches, the UP nevertheless purported to be opening what he called the " La vía chilena al socialismo" ("The Chilean Way to Socialism").
Allende assumed the Presidency on November 3rd — though not without some obstacles (see below).
Despite the difficulties of holding the broad coalition together – and it did expand and increase its share of congressional votes – Allende’s government pushed forward a series of reforms and new measures. Some examples:
- In two years, the UP government expropriated almost twice as much land as the Frei government had in six years.
- It nationalized over 150 enterprises (including the entire large mining sector). I have written extensively on this nationalization: unlike what is portrayed in the bourgeoise media, the Chilean government would pay these companies for the seizures. The dispute that would arise is that the companies had so severely undervalued their properties to avoid taxation (under the current and previous administration) that using this number to set company value ultimately came back to haunt them.
- It gained control over 90 percent of all credit institutions.
- It increased the wage and salary share of national income from 55 percent to over 66 percent.
- It generated increases of total output of 8.5 percent the first year and 5 percent the second.
- It succeeded in lowering the unemployment rate from 8.3 percent in December 1970 to 3.0 percent in December 1972.
- Worker participation in the leadership of industries increased to record level – this led to a 20 percent increase in production between 1971 and 1972.
- For workers, literacy rates increased, medical care improved, food was more accessible (or a while) and access to cultural activities increased.
The direct participation of large portions of society that had been forgotten invigorated portions of society. Universities teamed with new scholars and international ones who came to see this new model and learn together.
‘Make the Economy Scream’
Even before the election, National Security Advisor (and war criminal) Henry Kissinger remarked: “I don’t see why we need to stand by and watch a country go communist because of the irresponsibility of its own people.” Days after Allende’s election, US President Richard Nixon directed CIA Director Richard Helms to ‘make the economy scream’ according to Helms’ notes of the conversation.
The CIA pressed Chilean actors, including President Frei, to take action to prevent Allende’s assumption of power. Because Allende did not secure a majority of votes, his election needed to be certified by the Congress. Frei refused to subvert the political system and congressional interference fell apart as an option. Next, interest in a military coup was explored. CIA’s ‘Track 2’ plan was to kidnap the head of the armed forces, General René Schneider, and hid him to create an atmosphere of instability and blame the Marxists. Instead, on October 22nd, the General fought back and was shot. He died days later.
Still, Allende assumed the Presidency.
With the expanded programs of the Allende government and the increased pressure from opposition forces, the Chilean economy encountered some serious problems:
- Foreign exchange reserves, which were $333 million in December 1970, fell below zero by December 1972. Much of this was tied into the nationalization programs, as well as increased wages and to subsidize the purchase of food and raw materials.
- The U.S.-led "invisible blockade" cut off the supply of credits (which averaged $220 million annually during the Frei years) which led to increased problems purchasing necessary raw materials and spare parts, including markets to purchase them. Missing spare parts, the Allende government turned to Soviet-block countries for farming and mining equipment but found, especially in the later, the materials received were not as effective.
- Truck owners, shopkeepers, and professionals launched a general strike in October 1972 in an attempt to paralyze the economy. Public and private research has shown that these activities were funded by sources from the CIA to international corporations that either had their companies nationalized or just had an interest in seeing this method of government fail.
- The strikes effectively took control of food distribution, leading to higher prices and shortages. Public-relations tactics, like women marching in the streets banging pots and pans embarrassed the administration, even though many of the ‘marchers’ were military wives or hired maids and servants!
- Terrorist activities by right-wing groups, most notably the Patria y Libertad (PyL). These groups committed sabotage against government-sanctioned groups and activities. Eventually, they turned to murder.
- Inflation hit 163% in 1972 and was higher in 1973. (If you have never been in a county suffering from hyper-inflation, you have no idea of the daily fear of surviving: feeding your family, paying your bills, getting gasoline for your car, needing medical treatment, etc.)
In the March 1973 elections, the UP coalition took 44% of the vote: quite a statement despite the interference and economic instability documented above! Still, without a congressional majority, the other parties united to block funding for social programs.
Por la Razón o la Fuerza (By Reason or Force): Monstruos de Felonías
The first coup was attempted on June 29th, 1973. Six tanks fired on the presidential palace (Palacio de La Moneda) and the Ministry of Defense. Troops from the Second Armored Regiment, aligned with the PyL and members of several political parties, hope to set off an uprising. Instead, 22 civilians were killed.
In a radio address, President Allende urged workers to take control of their factories and defend their government. (This, no doubt, a lesson learned Guatemala in 1954!)
Several right-wing work stoppages occurred in July and terrorist attacks increased. Terrorists blew up high-voltage electrical towers causing blackouts in a number of provinces. The PyL murdered Commander Arturo Araya Peeters, Allende’s naval aide-de-camp. (According to forensic reports in 2005, the person who pulled the trigger on the kill was never brought to justice.)
In one volume of his vomit-inducing memoirs of his atrocities under the Nixon-Ford Administrations, War Criminal Kissinger writes this:
What the reader is entitled to know, however, is briefly how in a democratic society, we maintained supervision over covert activities to ensure that they remained consonant with our national ethic and purposes.
The White House Years, Boston & Toronto: Little Brown & Company, 1979, pp.659-660.
Just two pages earlier, he writes with typical ironic Kissinger fashion:
It is ironical that some of those who were vociferous in condemning what they called “intervention” in Chile have been most insistent on governmental pressure against Allende’s successors. The restriction on American aid to Chile have been far more severe against the post-Allende government that during Allende’s term of office.
The White House Years, p. 658. Note that this statement was written during the Carter administration when aid was restricted due to overwhelming human rights concerns.
Ultimately, to Kissinger, Allende had it coming.
Painful as it may be to admit for those who seek some extraneous reason for Marxist-managed economic disasters, it was not the American (sic) economic pressure but Allende’s own policies that brought him down.
The White House Years, p. 682.
If you want to explore other fictions in government activities, you can find Nathaniel Davis’ The The Last Two Years of Salvador Allende published in 1985. Davis was US Ambassador to Chile from 1971 until November 1973. I first read this book in Miami in 1986 (has this garbage ever been published in Spanish – I hope not!) and likened his reporting to Sgt. Schultz on the television series Hogan’s Heroes: “I know nothing. I see nothing.” The CIA operatives operating out of the US Embassy in Chile is well documented.
Over the last twenty years, details about the last week of the administration have emerged from internal and external documents and other sources. Orlando Millas, former Minister of Economy, Development and Tourism in the Allende government, has written in his memoirs about a planned announcement for Tuesday, September 11th in the afternoon of a plebiscite on the government to thwart the impeding coup. Allende planned to tell the military commanders-in-chief on Sunday (two days before). Earlier that day, meeting with Millas and another Communist party official, the officials were concerned that alerting the military in advance would motivate them to move before the announcement. Millas wrote that the President responded that this scenario would only happen if his military leaders were “monstruos de felonías” (criminal or felonious monsters). Little did he realize the accuracy of this statement.
Murder can happen many different ways
In the morning of September 11th, the Chilean armed forces made their move. Allende rushed to La Moneda. By 10:15am, the palace was surrounded by tanks and infantry with snipers perched around the building and the plaza in case supporters showed up. Making a radio address on the stations still favorable to the government, Allende made his last statements to the nation that democratically elected him three years before:
Placed in the historical transition, I will pay with my life for the loyalty of the people, and I tell you to be certain that the seed that we delivered to the conscience of thousands of Chileans will not be able to be definitively blinded... You continue to know that. Much sooner rather than later, the great avenues will open, where the free man will pass through to build a better society. Long live Chile, long live the people, long live the workers!
Tanks opened fire and fires broke out in the palace. By 11:45am, Hunter-Hawker fighter-bombers began attack. It still took over two hours for Allende to decide to surrender. When troops broke in, Allende was found dead of an apparent suicide. There remains no evidence that the military junta had plans to peacefully accept Allende’s surrender, send Allende into exile or arrest him for whatever crimes they might invent. Allende was never going to leave the palace alive. Whatever option you choose to believe: Whether he denied the military the satisfaction of firing the bullet by doing it himself or his death was staged, it is doubtless that his life was going to end that day. His daughter Isabel (not the legendary author who was the President’s cousin) told the BBC:
The report conclusions are consistent with what we already believed. When faced with extreme circumstances, he made the decision of taking his own life, instead of being humiliated.
Terrorist Dictatorship
I first visited the Palacio de La Moneda on an oddly warm but clear late spring day in November 1985. Back then, Santiago suffered heavily from pollution (from years of deregulation of environmental controls) that made certain times of the day difficult for breathing. Summers were quite stifling. But that morning was nothing like that.
I walked the plaza — this was years before they constructed the Plaza de la Ciudadanía — and took a few long-angled shots with my camera. I looked around at the tall office buildings — most of them new — and imagined the old buildings full of white-collar workers who got the signal that day to not take the train or bus to work. Instead, choice corner offices were commandeered to be sniper’s nests for military assassins. I looked to the site where the old Hotel Carrerra was located. Legend had it that the CIA assistant director Vernon Walters was here to oversee the operation. (Doubtful, considering the unreliability of the air attack and possible fires breaking out.)
I walked by the palace itself, seeing a few remnants of bullet holes. I did not take any close-up pictures of the guards at the entrance or any windows.
This was the first time in my life that I had been in a country run by a military dictatorship. (I was 19 at the time.) By this point, the details of the brutality were internationally known. Even the most extreme anti-Marxist in my home country of Mexico could not stomach the extreme reaction orchestrated by US-supported actors. And even the most brazen college student did not step out of line: no smiling, clowning or provocative actions. The coins I used featured the national slogan "Por la razón o la fuerza" and the date of the coup inscribed along its perimeter. (I still have a few on my desk in my office.)
Just days earlier, a Day of National Protest had been held. Read more about these here:
nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu/...
6 people had been killed and 567 arrested in a September protest. And being on the street alone was not a well-thought out plan. I took out my street map and walked to a local bodega to buy a cold drink and ask for directions to a clothing store. I didn’t need either: I just wanted to be noticed for being a student-tourist with no agenda. As I returned to the youth hostel (which was about a half-mile from the National Stadium – go watch Missing) we were staying at, I found that we were next door to a clandestine meeting of Amnesty International (or least individuals affiliated with the organization)!
I returned again to Chile for the 1989 Presidential election. I was not (yet) a graduate student but I accompanied several from my school to see the re-emergence of democracy and a directly-elected President. Santiago was bursting with energy 24-hours a day. (My then four-month pregnant wife had to sit out some of the excursions in the summer heat — including my invitation to watch an Aylwin rally from the stage — in our hotel room). Blessed with a some great friendships and contacts, I was able to meet representatives from all three major campaigns, although the cloak-and-dagger activities of the Hernán Büchi group bordered on the ridiculous.
People smiled at each other. They hugged and danced with strangers at rallies or even just spontaneous gatherings on a street corner with a bullhorn and a few campaign signs. They asked us where we were from because they wanted the whole world to witness.
People never forgot. I have done several sabbaticals in Chile for research in the 1990s and early 2000s and found, despite the exhaustion of recognizing the spectre of the Pinochet junta that haunts this nation, there is a way forward. (Although the junta did not murder on the scale of Nazi Germany, I am sure that the recovery from the repression was similar.)
The atrocities borne out of this day fifty years are well documented and available for the world to view. The voices that were once oppressed are not forgotten. Isabel Allende has been an international spokesperson for healing: Even in her 2022 novel Violeta, she humanizes the atrocities. She reminds us that people lost their lives in a despicable way. She reminds us of the break in the fabric of society must never be forgotten. They must never be. In 2022, followers of Gabriel Boric did not forget the work done by Salvador Allende. His cabinet, full of students I had interacted with 20 years earlier at several Chilean universities took inspiration from Allende and his followers who ultimately sought to make this beautiful, complex country a better place.
What to Read Next?
How about a reading list? Having taught this era of Chilean history many times (both here in the USA and internationally), I have many recommendations.
My favorites in English:
For American scholars, Dr. Paul Sigmund was the best. His work was as good as it gets for research and analysis. And he was a wonderful human being as well and is greatly missed. His The Overthrow of Allende and the Politics of Chile, 1964-76 (University of Pittsburgh Press, 1980) is at the top of my list.
I have always been a fan of sociologist James Petras (at least before he embraced anti-Zionism): he was there many times in the 1960s and 1970s and reported on his findings appeared regularly in Monthly Review and other journals. Two favorites: 1971, Politics And Social Forces In Chilean Development and 1975’s The United States and Chile: imperialism and the overthrow of the Allende government (with Morris Morley) are recommended. Both were published by Monthly Review Press.
Jonathan Haslam’s The Nixon Administration and the Death of Allende’s Chile (Verso, 2005) is one of the first political books drawing then-newly available resources.The easiest way to start was with the first book in English I read: Robert J. Alexander’s The Tragedy of Chile (Westport, 1978). It is long out of print but some resources libraries still have it.
Watch
If it is available to you, watch the legendary Costa-Gavras film Missing with Jack Lemmon and Sissy Spacek from 1982. If this moves you, recognize this is a light, sanitized version of the story. Jack Lemmon walking through the National Stadium is utterly mind-blowing — how can something like that happen in 1973!
Speaking of great authors and September 11th:
The legendary Richard N. Adams, anthropologist, scholar, and university professor, died on this date in 2018. He wrote the first comprehensive book (in English) on Guatemala: Crucifixion by Power: Essays on Guatemalan National Social Structure, 1944–1966 (UT Press, 1968). Long out of print as well but, despite limited archival material available at the time, one of the best.