Time Line of Key Events---- 1970 Nov 3rd Dr. Salvador Allende, of the popular unity party, won
the presidential race ---- 1973 11 of September: military coup d'etat ---- 1974 Cuartel Terranova/ Villa Grimaldi prison opened ---- 1974 The first arpillera group formed ---- 1976 Cuartel Terranova/ Villa Grimaldi prison closed ---- 1977 January 13 the Paulina Waugh Art Gallery in Santiago was firebombed by agents of DINA ---- 1980 New Constitution enacted ---- 1983 Formation of Folk Group ---- 1986 Rodrigo Rojas murdered by the military ---- 1988 October 5th Plebiscite; the country votes “No” to Pinochet ---- 1989 Democratic election held ---- 1990 Pinochet steps down. Patricio Alwyn elected president ---- 1991 The National Commission on Truth and Reconciliation released the Rettig Report ---- 1998 Pinochet arrested in London but declared unfit for trial ---- 2000 Chilean Supreme court rescinded Pinochets immunity ---- 2006 Former prisoner Michelle Bachelet elected president. Her father is one of the disappeared |
Allende Administration 1970-1973 |
In 1970 socialist leader Dr. Salvador Allende won the presidential election with 36% of the vote (Blake). It was a narrow margin, but a constitutional victory none the less. The leftist administration wasted little time putting their socialist policies into place. Allende introcuced a Chilean path to socialism based on a forty point platform. His first point was a promise that the state would provide half a liter of milk per day to every child in Chile (Cooper 13). They continued with land reform that had been started by the previous Christian Democrat party in addition to nationalizing the banks and the copper mines. While those on the right were outraged by the socialized changes, most members of the socialist and communist parties did not think Allende was going far enough fast enough. Frustrated at the slow progress, members of the MIR began organizing land and factory seizures which outraged those on the right even more (Blake). Allende condemned the illegal land claims because above all he wanted the social reformations to follow the democratic framework and respect the Chilean constitution.
The ideological differences caused a large divide in the nation. As Politzer described in her novel the people began to fear and distrust each other. “(The) newly elected government, populist and socialist, awoke fear and misgivings among those not yet prepared for the political and social readjustments that would address the claims of the most oppressed groups of the population” (Agosin vii). The right-wing parties ploted with representatives from the United States to discredit and eventually overthrow the Allende administration. Arguably one of the most succesful tactics the right used was to get housewives involved in the struggle. The opposition realized that they could gain more support by harnessing the power of women as a political tool. The anti-Allende groups convinced women that the changes to the education and healthcare systems were part of a plan to take the power of parenting away from the mother (Baldez 110). Women from the upper and middle class worked together to discredit the Allende administration. They orchestrated protests and strikes. One of their most effective protests was the “banging of the pots.” The irony was that the women banging pots to protest the rationing of food were the upper class women who had a pantry full at home (Baldez 12). |
The Military Coup d' Etat September 11, 1973
The coup d’état began with a naval assault in Valparaiso (Constable 1993). It was followed by attacks from all branches of the military around Chile. The opposition knew they had to be fast and bloody to be effective. Allende and his closest allies tried to defend the country from inside of La Moneda however many sources say there was not much the unarmed popular front could do. The attack on La moneda included 22 airstrikes. Allende refused the offer to go into exile and decided to instead die in his office. In his final public speech he advised Chileans that democracy would return one day and that his sacrifice would not have been in vain (MR Zine 2006). Shortly after he took his own life. You can listen to the speech by clicking the video to the below or through this link.
The Last Speech
Recording of the original speech delivered in Spanish; English translation in right hand column.
As the bombing continued outside of La Moneda Allende delivered his last speech on Radio Magallanes. The Speech was delivered at 9:10 a.m. on the only station the military had not taken over or destroyed. Shortly after delivering the speech Allende took his own life with a rifle given to him by Fidel Castro. (A translation of the speech is provided to the right.) Until the summer of 2011 many questioned whether he did indeed take his own life or if he had een murdered by the military. A conclusive study which included exhuming his grave has proved that he did take his own life.
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My friends,
Surely this will be the last opportunity for me to address you. The Air Force has bombed the towers of Radio Portales and Radio Corporación. My words do not have bitterness but disappointment. May they be a moral punishment for those who have betrayed their oath: soldiers of Chile, titular commanders in chief, Admiral Merino, who has designated himself Commander of the Navy, and Mr. Mendoza, the despicable general who only yesterday pledged his fidelity and loyalty to the Government, and who also has appointed himself Chief of the Carabineros [national police]. Given these facts, the only thing left for me is to say to workers: I am not going to resign! Placed in a historic transition, I will pay for loyalty to the people with my life. And I say to them that I am certain that the seed which we have planted in the good conscience of thousands and thousands of Chileans will not be shriveled forever. They have strength and will be able to dominate us, but social processes can be arrested neither by crime nor force. History is ours, and people make history. Workers of my country: I want to thank you for the loyalty that you always had, the confidence that you deposited in a man who was only an interpreter of great yearnings for justice, who gave his word that he would respect the Constitution and the law and did just that. At this definitive moment, the last moment when I can address you, I wish you to take advantage of the lesson: foreign capital, imperialism, together with the reaction, created the climate in which the Armed Forces broke their tradition, the tradition taught by General Schneider and reaffirmed by Commander Araya, victims of the same social sector which will today be in their homes hoping, with foreign assistance, to retake power to continue defending their profits and their privileges. I address, above all, the modest woman of our land, the campesina who believed in us, the worker who labored more, the mother who knew our concern for children. I address professionals of Chile, patriotic professionals, those who days ago continued working against the sedition sponsored by professional associations, class-based associations that also defended the advantages which a capitalist society grants to a few. I address the youth, those who sang and gave us their joy and their spirit of struggle. I address the man of Chile, the worker, the farmer, the intellectual, those who will be persecuted, because in our country fascism has been already present for many hours -- in terrorist attacks, blowing up the bridges, cutting the railroad tracks, destroying the oil and gas pipelines, in the face of the silence of those who had the obligation to protect them. They were committed. History will judge them. Surely Radio Magallanes will be silenced, and the calm metal instrument of my voice will no longer reach you. It does not matter. You will continue hearing it. I will always be next to you. At least my memory will be that of a man of dignity who was loyal to [inaudible] the workers. The people must defend themselves, but they must not sacrifice themselves. The people must not let themselves be destroyed or riddled with bullets, but they cannot be humiliated either. Workers of my country, I have faith in Chile and its destiny. Other men will overcome this dark and bitter moment when treason seeks to prevail. Go forward knowing that, sooner rather than later, the great avenues will open again where free men will walk to build a better society. Long live Chile! Long live the people! Long live the workers! These are my last words, and I am certain that my sacrifice will not be in vain, I am certain that, at the very least, it will be a moral lesson that will punish felony, cowardice, and treason. |
By 6pm that evening Pinochet and the military had taken complete control of Chile. Prisoners were already being rounded up and taken to the national stadium. (Cooper 2002). Every radio station played military marching music. The military declared a state of siege which allowed them to dismiss all government officials and replace them with military appointees (Baldez 2002). Very little was being communicated to the public and so many were confused and afraid. Marc Cooper, an American citizen who served as Allende's translator for two years, recalled the mass confusion in his memoir. As the radio announced a long list of people who must report immediately to the police he pondered how people were supposed to report to the police if anyone who goes outside during the curfew would be shot. Within six months of the coup the military had arrested 80,000 people while an additional 160,000 lost their jobs for political reasons (Roberts 94).
The Pinochet Years (Counter-Revolution and Dictatorship) 1973-1990
Pinochet's fascist military regime was one of the most oppressive in all of Latin American history. The military immediately declared a state of siege which allowed them to dismiss all government officials and replace them with military appointees (Baldez). All political parties were indefinitely suspended and ultimately disbanded. Military officials occupied the streets, universities and factories. All forms of media and literature were rigorously censored or banned. Over the seventeen years an estimated 300,000 people were detained and tortured without access to legal aid. Many of them were never formally charged or permitted to appear before a judge to defend themselves.