NIU ILAS 100
Sunday March 1, 2015
The novel Born in Blood and Fire: A concise History of Latin
America by John Charles Chasteen (297-302) provides us with the events that
lead to Chile’s transition from Communism to Democracy.
For many years, Chile’s constitutional government was one of
the strongest in Latin America,
Chile also had a stable communist party, it was one of the
oldest and strongest in the hemisphere 1 . In the presidential
election of 1958 Salvador Allende (Communist Candidate) began to appear in the
top half of the popular votes, because of Allende's ties to communism the United
States ( CIA ) began funding candidates to run against him. The United States
was cautious about the rise in power of Allende so they attempted to place
Chile in the Alliance for Progress aid Program. Started by U.S president John F
Kennedy (1961), The Alliance for Progress aid program established economic ties
between the U.S and the various Latin American countries, its main goals were
to establish democratic governments, Educational reforms, land reforms and economic
stability for those Latin American countries. (http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/kennedy-proposes-alliance-for-progress
) , because this programs main beneficiaries were the lower class it lost
support and was viewed negatively among the “elites” in society so it was never implemented in Chile. Because of
the popularity of Allende within the upper class he won the 1970 election, Chile’s
road to socialism began. Salvador Allende and his communist coalition called
the Popular Unity were now in power.
U.S intervention promptly occurred, The CIA continued
funding Chilean candidates that opposed Allende and The Popular Unity. Salvador
Allende later began to support the poor by raising wages, this economic reform
was very unsuccessful since it corrupted the Chilean economy, his policies were
starting to be questioned by the elite’s in the Chilean society this was the
opportunity that the U.S waited for. The upper class and powerful figures in
the Chilean community began to fight against Allende with the U.S.
The sudden
change of Allende's followers became much clearer, constant tensions occurred between
Allende and the upper class this became prevalent on September 11, 1973, a
military coup founded by the United States set their troops on Allende's door
step.
Allende's refusal to leave the country ended in his death
along with thousands of his supporters. This event was the bloodiest take over
in Latin American History, but a win for democracy 1.
Augusto Pinochet, the Chilean Commander and a member of the
military junta, appointed himself the new President. Ending the Marxist ideology that Salvador Allende implemented in the Chilean country. http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/11/newsid_3199000/3199155.stm
Source for image: https://www.flickr.com
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