On September 11, 1973, Chile experienced one of the darkest episodes in its history. General Augusto Pinochet carried out a coup d’etat together with the Army against the Government of the leftist Salvador Allende, who, upon finding himself cornered by the troops, decided to commit suicide that same day. A violent event that would cause thousands of deaths and torture, and would plunge the southern country into a bloody dictatorship until 1989.
50 years after the events experienced in Chile during the coup d’etat commanded by Augusto Pinochet, this event is still remembered as one of the most bitter chapters for democracy in Latin America. One day, September 11, 1973in which the bulk of the Chilean Armed Forces decided to revolt against the democratically elected Government of Salvador Allende and establish a dictatorial regime that would repress Chile until 1989 through arbitrary murders, torture of political dissidents and unlimited repression.
To understand how Chile got to this situation, we have to go back to 1970, when in a historic—and almost surprising—way, the leftist leader Salvador Allende managed to win the elections of that year with a relative majority.
A government without precedent at a global level
His victory was unprecedented on a global level, as he became the first openly Marxist politician to come to power through democratic means and free elections. A fact that made him a reference for the global left. Something that he caused, in the middle of the Cold War, to be seen as a threat by the United States and, specifically, by the Administration of former President Richard Nixon.
Allende formed a progressive Government that prioritized increasing the role of the State over the economy and improving the rights of workers, both in the countryside and in the city.
More than a revolutionary, he was a reformist who even had the support of Christian democracy and the center-right at the beginning, since they shared with him the need for change in Chile. However, this support was diluted among the upper-middle class because the Chilean economy progressively worsened during his years in office.
This economic crisis began to be especially evident in 1972, when high inflation and shortages began to hit Chileans. A panorama that is explained by a series of errors committed by the Government, such as the excessive printing of banknotes – something that led to superinflation. However, they also had to do with the decisions made from Washington. Henry Kissinger, US Secretary of State at the time, came to recognize years later that it was a “priority” for the United States that the Chilean economy suffered as many problems as possible and that they contributed to it.
The American objective sought to stop what was experienced in Cuba. An example like that of Salvador Allende could be counterproductive for Washington’s interests in Latin America, by representing a “kinder” path to democratic socialism.
The United States tried to stop at all costs the rise of progressive leaders and movements in the region through the promotion of military dictatorships and geopolitical strategies such as Plan Condor. And Chile, probably, is the greatest example of this commitment: since the beginning of the Allende Government far-right opposition groups were financed and a possible military coup was encouraged.
These groups of radicals destabilized the Executive with constant terrorist attacks on infrastructure and increased social tension to the extreme. It was a kind of plot that could favor a change of Government – or even regime – by force.
Pinochet, a soldier trusted by Allende who betrayed the Chilean president
The key moment would come on August 21, 1973, when General Carlos Prats, who had defended the institutionality, was forced to resign due to pressure from the military. His replacement as chief of staff would be his second-in-command, a general who had a reputation for being apolitical and a theoretically clean record: Augusto Pinochet.
Unlike what would happen later, his figure was trusted by Allende because he seemed distant from the climate of rebellion existing among some military establishments. However, when the time came, Pinochet joined the rebellion and led it.
This is how on September 11, 1973, the military took positions throughout the country and efficiently controlled the media and surrounded the Palacio de la Moneda, the presidential headquarters where Allende was. The president tried to resist in the compound along with his other colleagues and took advantage of that moment to broadcast his last speech on Radio Magallanes, which was not yet under Pinochet’s power. Some farewell words that went down in history.
Workers of my country: I have faith in Chile and its destiny. Other men will overcome this gray and bitter moment, where betrayal tries to prevail. Continue knowing that, much sooner rather than later, the great avenues will once again be opened for the free man to pass through to build a better society. Long live Chile! Long live the town! Long live the workers!
A few minutes later the military troops entered the Palacio de la Moneda and before being arrested, Allende decided to commit suicide by shooting himself. But his death and the end of his government did not stop the military, who continued with the repression during the following days until they had total control and took over the country and the State forces.
The Chilean armed forces outlawed all political parties and began arresting anyone suspected of being a left-wing militant. In Santiago these people were taken to the National Stadium, where they endured constant torture for weeks and many of them were murdered. Those days of terror took the lives of hundreds of young people, some of them leaders in Chilean culture, such as the singer Victor Jara.
A regime led by Pinochet was founded on the bases of this torture. This dictatorship survived for 17 years thanks to the combination of strong repression against political dissidents and a series of neoliberal structural reforms in economic matters. In those years, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Chile estimates that 28,459 people were victims of torture and that 3,227 were murdered or disappeared.
Democracy would not return to Chile until 1990., when surprisingly, an opposition coalition won a referendum in which the continuity of Pinochet was asked and Patricio Aylwin took over as president. However, the shadow of the dictator would continue for decades and persists to this day.
Pinochet could never be tried for his crimes, and although he was persecuted by Justice thanks to an investigation by Spanish judge Baltasar Garzon, he could never be taken to prison. The dictatorship still has a large number of Chileans who flatter it and the reforms carried out during the regime are still present in Chile, such as the neoliberal health system or the pension system. All this without taking into account that, 33 years after the arrival of democracy, the Chilean Constitution continues to be inherited from the dictator’s military regime.
Source: France 24
