{"id":5882,"date":"2015-10-29T13:59:03","date_gmt":"2015-10-29T17:59:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/guidedhistory\/?page_id=5882"},"modified":"2015-12-14T11:23:14","modified_gmt":"2015-12-14T16:23:14","slug":"morgan-barry-hi341","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/guidedhistory\/historians-craft\/morgan-barry-hi341\/","title":{"rendered":"La V\u00eda Chilena: Revolution and Counterrevolution in Chile, 1970-1973"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"800px-Stamp_Salvador_Allende\"<\/a><\/strong><\/em>\"1101701019_400\"<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Left: East German stamp proclaiming solidarity with Allende; unknown source, accessed from Wikimedia Commons.\u00a0Right:\u00a0<\/em>Magazine cover on Allende’s election;\u00a0accessed from\u00a0<\/em>Time\u00a0<\/em>Magazine‘s website.<\/i><\/h6>\n

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INTRODUCTION<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0The purpose of this study guide on the Chilean revolution and counterrevolutionary movements in the 1970s was to explore a lesser known but no less important example of revolution in the 20th century. The revolution in Chile saw the\u00a0first democratic election of a Marxist leader in the Western Hemisphere, an\u00a0election which inspired hope for some and spelled disaster for others. This leader, President Salvador Allende, promised socialism “La v\u00eda chilena” (the Chilean way): “political, social, and economic transformation legally [done], through established Chilean institutions; and he would achieve the transition without violence, without the dictatorship of the proletariat, and without the millions of deaths experienced elsewhere when the road to socialism was traversed by force,” (Davis iv). A complicated and frequently\u00a0chaotic battle ensued as Allende, his party\u00a0Unidad Popular<\/em>, and their supporters attempted to enact socialist policies to take back the land and resources held in the hands of the few. A strong opposition fomented among Chileans across classes, in the military, and abroad as the United States, embattled in the Cold War, sought to maintain its hegemonic influence in Latin America and the Western Hemisphere. The Chilean revolutionary experiment met its end on September 11th, 1973, when counterrevolutionary forces coalesced in a military coup that toppled the longest standing democracy on the South American continent. Allende died with his revolution, as did many others after Augosto Pinochet’s military dictatorship seized\u00a0power.<\/p>\n

The sources gathered here, from both the past and present, demonstrate no neutral feelings about\u00a0Compa\u00f1ero Presidente<\/em>\u00a0Allende and his revolution. Observers and analysts, like the participants in the events themselves, tend to either lionize or\u00a0demonize Allende, Nixon, Kissinger, and the rest. The guide begins with selected primary sources capturing\u00a0various perspectives of\u00a0the revolution, both internal and external. These include interviews with workers and women in Chile, with land-takers and land owners, memos from Kissinger on Chile and his later commentary in a memoir,\u00a0and\u00a0words\u00a0from Allende himself. The second part of the guide\u00a0contains secondary sources from historians, political scholars, and a documentarian. These sources exemplify\u00a0the controversy that still surrounds the Chilean revolution today as different authors emphasize different causes for the downfall of the revolution and the Allende regime.<\/p>\n

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Chileans supporting Allende’s candidacy, 1964.\u00a0<\/em><\/h6>\n
Photograph by James N. Wallace, accessed from Wikimedia Commons.<\/em><\/h6>\n

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PRIMARY SOURCES<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

THE CHILE READER-\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hutchison, Elizabeth Quay, Thomas Miller\u00a0Klubock, and Nara B. Milanich, eds. “The Chilean Road to Socialism: Reform and Revolution.” Latin America Readers: Chile Reader: History, Culture, Politics.<\/em> Durham, NC: Duke University Press Books, 2013. p.343-428. Accessed November 10, 2015. ProQuest ebrary.<\/p>\n

This\u00a0book (in the chapter cited here) contains a plethora of relevant primary sources about the Chilean revolution and counterrevolution from many different perspectives of involvement. The sources in this chapter\u00a0offer insight into the factors\u00a0that lead to Allende’s election and the causes for his revolution’s failure.\u00a0The first sources in this chapter characterize the period of reform in the 1960s that preceded Allende’s election. Then there are sources describing Allende’s and the socialists’ goals for democratic revolution in Chile. Following this, there are the sources that demonstrate the factors working against Allende’s revolution and the causes for counterrevolution. In addition to external causes for counterrevolution, this chapter importantly offers insight into the internal dimension\u00a0as well: “The tensions between the phased and controlled revolution from above and the more spontaneous and locally informed revolution from below were never resolved, constituting a fatal flaw in the Chilean revolutionary process,” (348). In this way, the editors offer a balanced resource on a controversial topic. I have listed selected documents from The Chile Reader\u00a0<\/i>below.<\/p>\n

Property and Production: A Pamphlet Promoting Christian Democracy’s Agrarian Reform.<\/em> Translated by Ryan Judge. 1966. In The Chile Reader: History, Culture, Politics<\/em>. Edited by Elizabeth Quay Hutchinson, Thomas Miller Klublock, and Nara B. Milanich, 356-61. Durham, NC: Duke University Press Books, 2013. Accessed November 1, 2015. ProQuest ebrary.<\/p>\n

In the 1960s, the Christian Democrats held power under the president Eduardo Frei and enacted a number of reform policies to improve standards of living and inequality in Chile. This is a pamphlet from the Christian Democrat Party discussing agrarian reform during this time. The authors of the pamphlet contrast the productive capacity of Chile through figures on unused land and jobless poor with the current unequal situation. They give many figures on the inequity of land ownership in Chile and discuss urbanization and overcrowding as a growing problem in Chile. The authors portray land reform as a means to improve living conditions of the peasant classes and improve the welfare of the entire nation without hurting the land owning classes. The address of landowners is notable because the supporters of the Christian Democrat Party were primarily from the middle and upper classes.<\/p>\n

The Election of 1970.<\/em> In The Chile Reader: History, Culture, Politics<\/em>. Edited by Elizabeth Quay Hutchinson, Thomas Miller Klublock, and Nara B. Milanich, 376-79. Durham, NC: Duke University Press Books, 2013. Accessed November 1, 2015. ProQuest ebrary.<\/p>\n

This chapter contains three images (pictured below) from the election of 1970, demonstrating how contentious the election was and how politicized the electorate in Chile had become. The first image shows young people painting murals in support of Allende. The center and left campaigns engaged people through art, music, and street rallies during the election of 1970. The second photo demonstrates the fears the right and its supporters held concerning Allende and the possible election of a Marxist. The man in the photo wears a sign that says, \u201cI would rather die than live with the Russians,\u201d expressing the common fear held by conservatives that Allende\u2019s election would mean the end of democracy and freedom and the coming of Communism. The third image of newspapers speculating the outcome of the election shows how uncertain and how close the election was in Chile.<\/p>\n

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Kissinger, Henry A. Memorandum, “Memorandum for the President,” November 5, 1970. In The Chile Reader: History, Culture, Politics<\/em>. Edited by Elizabeth Quay Hutchinson, Thomas Miller Klublock, and Nara B. Milanich, 381-383. Durham, NC: Duke University Press Books, 2013. Accessed November 1, 2015. ProQuest ebrary.<\/p>\n

In this memo from former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger (then National Security Advisor) to President Richard Nixon, he discusses the relevance of the 1970 election in Chile to the United States. He claims that the election of Allende in Chile will affect the U.S. position against the Soviet Union, in the Western Hemisphere, and in the world. He asserts that Allende has a \u201cprofound anti-U.S. bias\u201d and will seek to eliminate U.S. influence in Latin America and strengthen the influence of communist states there. Importantly, he notes that Allende was democratically elected and therefore the legitimate leader of Chile in the eyes of the nation and the world. To that end, he says, \u201cWe are strongly on the record in support of self-determination and respect for free elections; you are firmly on record for non-intervention in the internal affairs of this hemisphere\u2026. It would therefore be very costly for us to act in ways that appear to violate those principles,\u201d (382). However, should Chile act as a \u201cmodel\u201d for the rest of Latin America and the world, the effect would be \u201cinsidious,\u201d (383).<\/p>\n

Kissinger, Henry A. Memorandum, “National Security Decision Memorandum 93,” November 9, 1970. In The Chile Reader: History, Culture, Politics<\/em>. Edited by Elizabeth Quay Hutchinson, Thomas Miller Klublock, and Nara B. Milanich, 383-85. Durham, NC: Duke University Press Books, 2013. Accessed November 1, 2015. ProQuest ebrary.<\/p>\n

This is a second memo form Kissinger to the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, and to the head of the CIA on a meeting to decide what to do about Chile just after\u00a0the election of Salvador Allende. According to Kissinger\u2019s memo, President Nixon ordered that U.S. assume a \u201ccorrect but cool\u201d diplomatic posture towards Chile and that the U.S. will pressure the Allende government to limit its capability to carry out policies \u201ccontrary to U.S. and hemisphere interests,\u201d (383). The U.S. should furthermore, \u201cmaintain close relations with friendly military leaders in the hemisphere,\u201d (384). He also notes plans to end monetary aid and capital financing to Chile, an economic policy that came to be known as the \u201cinvisible blockade\u201d which gravely affected the Chilean economy during the Allende years.<\/p>\n

Ail\u00edo, Don Heriberto, Do\u00f1a Marta Antinao, Violeta Maffei de Landarretche, and Luciano Landarretche. “The Mapuche Land Takeover at Rucal\u00e1n: Interviews with Peasants and Landowners.” By Florencia Mallon, 1977. In The Chile Reader: History, Culture, Politics<\/em>. Edited by Elizabeth Quay Hutchinson, Thomas Miller Klublock, and Nara B. Milanich, 386-92. Durham, NC: Duke University Press Books, 2013. Accessed November 1, 2015. ProQuest ebrary.<\/p>\n

These documents on the \u201crevolution from below\u201d reflect an important dimension of the Chilean revolution. Chile\u2019s revolution is especially notable because revolutionaries worked within the existing governmental institutions and took power democratically. In these documents, we see the undemocratic elements of the socialist revolution as there were leftist groups using force to bring forth revolution in the country. It is important not to ignore this element as it lead to later problems for the Allende government: \u201cThe tensions between the phased and controlled revolution from above and the more spontaneous and locally informed revolution from below were never resolved, constituting a fatal flaw in the Chilean revolutionary process,\u201d (348). The speakers in this interview recount both the peasant takeover of the Rucal\u00e1n holding and the attempt to reclaim the land by the owners. While the peasants saw the takeover as reclaiming the land that had been illegally taken from their native ancestors by invaders, the landowners considered Rucal\u00e1n their property taken by violent delinquents.<\/p>\n

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Workers march celebrating the nationalization of the Yarur cotton mill. <\/em><\/h6>\n
Photograph by Peter Winn, accessed from\u00a0<\/em>The Chile Reader.<\/h6>\n

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“Revolution in the Factory: Interviews with Workers at the Yarur Cotton Mill.” By Peter Winn, 1986. In The Chile Reader: History, Culture, Politics<\/em>. Edited by Elizabeth Quay Hutchinson, Thomas Miller Klublock, and Nara B. Milanich, 393-99. Durham, NC: Duke University Press Books, 2013. Accessed November 1, 2015. ProQuest ebrary.<\/p>\n

This source too demonstrates the conflict between the workers\u2019 and Allende\u2019s visions for revolution. This account tells the story of the strike and takeover of the Yarur Cotton Mill. The stories told by the various participants exhibits Allende\u2019s determination to play by the rules and to work within the existing frameworks to achieve socialist goals and the workers\u2019 impatience with achieving these goals by governmental means. It furthermore expresses how difficult the workers were to control and how hard it was to deny them the liberaci\u00f3n<\/em> they passionately sought. This source furthermore contributes to the theory that hypermoblization of revolutionary forces destabilized the democratic revolutionary effort by the Allende administration.<\/p>\n

Saenz, Carmen. “Women Lead the Opposition to Allende: Interview with Carmen Saenz.” By Lisa Baldez and Margaret Power, 1998. Translated by Ryan Judge. In The Chile Reader: History, Culture, Politics<\/em>. Edited by Elizabeth Quay Hutchinson, Thomas Miller Klublock, and Nara B. Milanich, 406-09. Durham, NC: Duke University Press Books, 2013. Accessed November 1, 2015. ProQuest ebrary.<\/p>\n

This is an interview with a Chilean woman who lead a conservative feminist group (Poder Feminino<\/em>) during the Allende years describing the events of the women\u2019s \u201cMarch of the Empty Pots\u201d (December 1971). She expresses that she supported the military coup and neo-fascist group called Patr\u00eda y Libertad<\/em> (Fatherland and Liberty) which was strongly opposed to the Allende government. According to the footnotes of the provider of the source, she misrepresents facts about the economy that she says caused her disdain for the president. She claims that for her it was a matter of fixing the economy that the introduction of socialism had broken. She cites unbelievable inflation, yet at the time of the protest, inflation had not yet begun to seriously affect the economy.<\/p>\n

Allende Gossens, Salvador. \u201cLas \u00daltimas Palabras de Salvador Allende.\u201d Radio broadcast, September 11, 1973. Translated by Trevor Martenson. In The Chile Reader: History, Culture, Politics<\/em>. Edited by Elizabeth Quay Hutchinson, Thomas Miller Klublock, and Nara B. Milanich, 406-09. Durham, NC: Duke University Press Books, 2013. Accessed November 1, 2015. ProQuest ebrary.<\/p>\n

When the military attacked the presidential palace, Salvador Allende gave a final speech broadcasted over the radio just before his death. In this speech Allende addresses the people of Chile, expressing his gratitude for the loyalty of the people and his dismay at the betrayal by the military of Chileans everywhere. An audio recording of the speech with translated subtitles can be found below.<\/p>\n