On 11 September 1973, the military moved to oust Allende in a coup d’état supported by the CIA, which initially denied the allegations. In 2000, the CIA admitted its role in the 1970 kidnapping of General René Schneider who had refused to use the army to stop Allende’s inauguration. Declassified documents released in 2023 showed that US president Richard Nixon, his national security advisor Henry Kissinger, and the United States government, which had branded Allende as a “dangerous” communist, were aware of the military’s plans to overthrow Allende’s democratically elected government in the days before the coup d’état. As troops surrounded La Moneda Palace, Allende gave his last speech vowing not to resign. Later that day, Allende died by suicide in his office; the exact circumstances of his death are still disputed.
I watched a documentary on Arte a few months ago, since I never really knew much about Allende and the circumstances of the coup d’état.
Two aspects I found personally interesting:
A reactionary and conservative opposition — backed by powerful elites and foreign influence — was blocking all progress and reforms initiated by the democratically elected Allende government.
Allende’s response to the sabotage and obstruction by the conservative and right-wing opposition was to continue seeking dialogue, uphold the constitution, and try to avoid a constitutional crisis at all costs.
A lot of similarities and parallels can be seen today in how conservative and right-wing parties operate — using the same playbook we saw back then in Chile. A strategy all too familiar, and somehow still (and once again) disturbingly effective.
Salvador Allende, President of Chile and leader of the Socialist Party of Chile
From Wikipedia:
I watched a documentary on Arte a few months ago, since I never really knew much about Allende and the circumstances of the coup d’état.
Two aspects I found personally interesting:
A reactionary and conservative opposition — backed by powerful elites and foreign influence — was blocking all progress and reforms initiated by the democratically elected Allende government.
Allende’s response to the sabotage and obstruction by the conservative and right-wing opposition was to continue seeking dialogue, uphold the constitution, and try to avoid a constitutional crisis at all costs.
A lot of similarities and parallels can be seen today in how conservative and right-wing parties operate — using the same playbook we saw back then in Chile. A strategy all too familiar, and somehow still (and once again) disturbingly effective.
The reason behind the coup? Money, in the form of copper. Chile’s main export was copper and Allende nationalized the mines.
I feel like this should be big news, not that the rest of the world cares about what happens in the south americas