Coup d’etat in Chile

On September 11th, 1973 the Chilean Army aborted with criminal force the Socialist experience of the government of Popular Unity headed by president Salvador Allende, what caused his and thousand of Chilean’s death.

This coup d’etat would mean an unprecedented experience and the dark prelude of what the United States will continue doing until today in the rest of Latin America.

To continue; a brief journey by the thousand days of socialist government in Chile and the events related to the coup d’etat in September 11th.

Contents 1 POPULAR UNITY FOR A POPULAR GOVERNEMENT 2 POPULAR GOVERNMENT 3 SEPTEMBER 11TH, 1973 4 THE YANKEE COUP

POPULAR UNITY FOR A POPULAR GOVERNEMENT

It was the central slogan and the basic imperative that united and mobilized all left and progressive sectors in 1969 in Chile. A wide cultural movement joined the campaign giving creativity and enthusiasm. The muralist, theatre, singing brigades arose and the most diverse expressions of art that participated actively in the campaign.

Youth, mostly assumed a progressive position. As Allende said: “Being young and not being revolutionary is even an almost biologic contradiction”.

The production of the government program of popular unity remained expressed in the plan of the forty steps.

On January 22nd 1970, the Popular Unity proclaimed Salvador Allende as unique candidate to the presidency. All the time and the efforts were dedicated to the campaign: meetings, rallies, visits to every house, production of canvas and paintings; it was a permanent work that grew in intensity as September 4th was coming, day of the elections.

To close the campaign in Santiago there was a huge manifestation in La Alameda (Main Avenue)with big marches that converged from the four points of the compass. The Alameda was practically a human sea, from Italia Square to the Central Station and also the surrounding streets, until the night of September 4th 1970 and El Chicho won.

The first fascist attempt to stop Allende’s assumption to the government was the murder of General Rene Schneider; a day before that his majority in the congress was decided. Until that moment he was Commander in Chief of the Army.

On October 22nd the voting day in the Congress was tense. Vote to vote of the members of the parliament made clear the ratification of the elections carried out on September 4th.

The results were: 153 votes in favor to Salvador Allende, 35 against and 7 abstentions. The people celebrated with joy all over the country

Salvador Allende is the first Marxist president in the history of Humanity that gets to the power by the own institutional rules of the bourgeois system.

POPULAR GOVERNMENT

The history of the unprecedented intent began, to advance in the construction of Socialism by the not armed way. The diplomatic relations with all the socialist countries were re-established. A special significance has the re-establishment of the relations with Cuba, what helped to brake the unfair blockade imposed to the island by the United States.

An Agricultural Reform was studied to depth, after the expropriation of the land. The popular government finished with the large estate in 1972. It was started the nationalization of the copper that ended with favourable voting in the Congress, even of the Right Parties, what at the same time indicated how fair the historic vindication was.

It started the creation of the social property area of economy with the expropriation or the purchase by the state of the 100 main companies. Also, the private banking was nationalized, giving a hard knock to the financial oligarchy. This package of structural steps revolutionized the country.

The reaction was brutal: an international economic blockade was started by the United States , with the freezing of the copper sales outside the country, while in Chile the reaction implemented inter sabotages, the hoarding of merchandises, supplies and spare parts. The discredit press campaigns, the callings and pressures of the Right and the empire of the Armed Forces (FF.AA) to carry out a coup d’ etat, were every day more intense.

In the parliamentary elections in march 1973, the Popular Unity got forty five percent of the votes. The prepared stall was destroyed during the electoral campaign by the Right opposition DC-PN that pretended to obtain 2/3 in the chamber to decree Allende’s government illegitimacy.

There was not another option to appeal that the military coup. An attempt was made in June 1973, “El Tanquetazo” that failed. But, it was a demonstration of what they were able to and also the inability of counteracting a coup without weapons to defend the Popular Government.

The attempted coup would be the incentive to continue with the subversion, the terror and all kind of destabilizing stratagem.

In July 29th Allende’s aide-de-camp was murdered; Commander Araya Peters, at the same time the pressures against the uniformed loyal to the government continued.

Some officers’ women, joining the Right movement, staged a manifestation against Carlos Prats; Commander in Chief of the Army, making him resign to the his charge. Augusto Pinochet was named in this position, who assumed in August 22nd.

The Congress, mostly demo-right, approved a vote the established the unconstitutionality of the Popular Government. This gave the participants in the coup the legitimacy for the coup d’etat.

The last popular manifestation of the PU was on September 4th 1973, 3 years of the electoral triumph. It was a solid manifestation of support to the popular sectors with more than one million people. Different columns of workers, students and the people in general marched in front of the Presidential Palace with the slogan : “Support, support the popular Government”. The Right and the DC minimized this manifestation and continued strongly their campaign to destabilized the Popular Government.

SEPTEMBER 11TH, 1973

At first the coup was planned to be carried out in September 15th or 16th ; with the purpose of camouflaging its preparation with the mobilization of the troops of the traditional military parade of September 19th. Although, it was changed afterwards to September 11th. The reaction could not let Allende throw the call to a national plebiscite to dissolve the situation in the Technical University the 11th day. That is why, the ones involved in the action move forward the coup. El “Tanquetazo” had served as experience for the definite coup. It had to be quick and bloody from the beginning. La Moneda had to be bombarded if they didn’t surrender first.

The coup started at dawn, with the insurrection in La Armada. Then, it was unleashed all over the territory and in all directions an unstoppable maelstrom of hard beat of the Army, la Armada, the Aviation and also Carbine troops. They had all planned to give a devastating and overwhelming coup.

There was not escape neither time for the stratagem. They couldn’t let the PU to reorganize and defend. The defence plans of the Popular Government were absolutely exceeded.

THE YANKEE COUP

The order for the attack was given by Richard M. Nixon, followed by Henry A. Kissinger. The preparation for the coup d’etat in Chile and other Latin American countries was given from the Americas School, instituted in 1946 with headquarter in Fort- Amador and later transferred to Fort-Gullik in 1949, in the area of the Panama Canal. Since 1963 it was under the orders of the South Unit of the United States Army.

Officers and sub officers of the Armies of most of the Latin American countries studied in its classrooms. It allowed to form ideological and militarily more than forty five thousand officers from 22 Latin American countries, especially where subversion was highly considered. These were particularly Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia and Paraguay.

Among its students we can find some of the participants in coups: Viola and Videla (Argentina), Somoza (Nicaragua), Pinochet (Chile), Stroessner (Paraguay), Banzer (Bolivia), Melgar Castro (Honduras), Carlos Humberto Romero (El Salvador).