More languages
More actions
Salvador Allende | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Salvador Guillermo Allende Gossens 26 June 1908 Santiago, Chile |
| Died | 11 September 1973 (age 65) Santiago, Chile |
| Nationality | Chilean |
| Political orientation | Marxism Democratic socialism Anti-imperialism |
| Political party | Socialist |
| Spouse | Hortensia Bussi |
Salvador Guillermo Allende Gossens (26 June 1908 – 11 September 1973) was a Chilean physician and socialist politician, who served as the 28th president of Chile from 3 November 1970 until his death on 11 September 1973. He previously served as minister of health from 1939 to 1942 and as a senator in various periods. Allende was the first Marxist to be elected president in a liberal democracy in Latin America.[1]
Allende believed a peaceful route to socialism via bourgeois democracy was possible due to Chile's unique material conditions. Although he managed to take power, his insistence on staying within the bounds of bourgeois systems, allowing reactionary propaganda and trusting the military to defend the constitution ensured his defeat. To Marxists, Allende's presidency is a key case study in why democratic socialism is not a viable path to overthrowing capitalism.[2][3]
Early life[edit | edit source]
Allende was born on 26 June 1908 in Santiago, the Chilean capital. He was the fourth child of lawyer Salvador Allende Castro and Laura Gossens Uribe. His paternal grandfather, Ramon Allende Padin, was a renowned doctor and politician of the Radical Party. Allende's father fought on the side of José Manuel Balmaceda in the Chilean Civil War of 1891, whilst Allende's mother's family were Belgian immigrants who fought on the opposing side.[4]
Allende spent his early childhood in the Tacna, a Peruvian town that was then occupied by Chile as the result of the War of the Pacific. As appeals court lawyer, his father was involved in the occupation administration and Allende experienced political division from a young age being in close proximity to the army and attending a mixed Peruvian and Chilean school. In 1918 the family moved to Iquique where Allende witnessed workers' demonstrations before moving again in 1919 to Valvidia in the south near the old colonial border with the Mapuche.[5]
In 1921 the family returned to Valparaíso, a major port and the second largest city in Chile, where Allende finished his education and established political roots. In Valparaíso from a privileged class position he was able to witness the disparity between the bourgeois and proletarian sectors of the city. Allende on the one hand received his first socialist literature from Italian anarchist shoemaker Juan De Marchi whilst on the other hand he also met major political figures such as family friend and future president Arturo Alessandri.[6]
Allende finished school in 1924 with excellent grades and a stunning athletic record and decided to become a doctor like his grandfather though, he did consider following his father into law. But first, Allende decided to do a year of military service, joining the cavalry where he strengthened his riding and marksmanship, before ending his service in Tacna where he gained a reputation as a womaniser. Although Allende learned from his military experience, he definitively turned towards medicine afterwards and began studying at the University of Chile in early 1926.[7]
Not long after Allende started university, Chile fell under the dictatorship of Carlos Ibáñez del Campo and soon after Allende began his political activism. In 1927 he was elected president of the medical students' association and joined a radical group of students studying Marxist texts. He was elected vice president of the Federation of Students in 1929 and in 1931, as the Great Depression hit Chile, Allende took part in the student protests against the dictatorship, with Allende being briefly arrested.[8]
Allende disagreed with his fellow radicals who wanted to copy foreign revolutions and he was kicked out of the group, with Allende developing a lifelong aversion to dogmatism and sectarianism, and not long after being kicked out of the university in early 1932. Allende supported the brief Socialist Republic of Chile of 1932, led by his friend, Marmaduke Grove, and when it failed Allende was arrested along with his elder brother Alfredo, only being allowed to leave briefly to visit his father on his deathbed. After being released he supported Grove in the 1932 elections before being readmitted to the university to finish his studies in 1933.[9]
Early career[edit | edit source]
Allende finished university with a dissertation contributing to the improvement of mental illness in Chile titled Mental Hygiene and Crime. After graduating, Allende struggled to find work due to his political activism, winning four selection processes where the job was withdrawn at the last minute. He eventually got a job as an assistant in the morgue of the Van Buren Hospital in Valparaíso. At the same time he actively participated in the 1933 founding of the Socialist Party of Chile, though he was absent from the foundational congress.[10]
Presidency[edit | edit source]
After his election in 1970, Allende emphasized that the right remained in control of the economy and military. He proposed a six-year plan for the nationalization of mines and factories. In December 1970, he proposed a constitutional amendment to nationalize the copper industry and offered compensation to the U.S. companies Anaconda and Kennecott, which controlled 80% of Chile's copper.[11]
As president, Allende sought to nationalize major industries, expand education and improve the living standards of the working class. He clashed with the right-wing parties that controlled Congress and with the judiciary.[12]
Overthrow and death[edit | edit source]
On 11 September 1973, the military under general Augusto Pinochet moved to oust Allende in a coup d'état supported by the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). As troops surrounded La Moneda Palace, Allende gave his last speech vowing not to resign. In the following hours the Chilean military stormed the palace securing the victory of the military and when the dust cleared Allende was dead.[12]
Murder or suicide[edit | edit source]
The manner of Allende's death has long been a point of historical contention. The official story, posited by the military, is that Allende died by suicide after hours of fighting on the front lines against the military assault whilst other theories have suggested that Allende was murdered by the military. Allende's family and witnesses in the palace have long accepted the official narrative of events but many have questioned the murky narrative, most notably Fidel Castro.[13]
Eventually, in 2011, a Chilean court opened a probe into Allende's death, and his body was exhumed to allow for an autopsy. This investigation came to the unanimous conclusion that Allende had committed suicide using the AK-47 gifted to him by Castro. Although some remain sceptical, the suicide explanation has become the widely accepted narrative, and focus has shifted to viewing the suicide as Allende's final act of defiance rather than facing the humiliation that the fascist military would have inflicted upon him.[12][13]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Don Mabry (2003-11-13). Chile: Allende's Rise and Fall Historical Text Archive. Archived from the original on 2005/04/08.
- ↑ Kenny Coyle (2023-08-08). "Chile’s ‘1000 Days of Revolution’: A Marxist analysis of the Allende years" People's World. Archived from the original on 2026-04-14.
- ↑ M. Hickey (1974). Chile. The peaceful road to slaughter. Encyclopedia of Anti-Revisionism On-Line.
- ↑ Clark 2013, p. 12-14.
- ↑ Clark 2013, p. 13-15.
- ↑ Clark 2013, p. 15.
- ↑ Clark 2013, p. 16-20.
- ↑ Clark 2013, p. 21-23.
- ↑ Clark 2013, p. 24-28.
- ↑ Clark 2013, p. 27-30.
- ↑ Jeremy Kuzmarov (2022-09-21). "Murder on Embassy Row—46 Years On: Remembering the Assassination of Orlando Letelier and Ronni Moffitt" CovertAction Magazine. Archived from the original on 2024-07-23.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 "Chile: The Failed Socialist Revolution" (2019-09-14). Politsturm. Archived from the original on 2021-08-27. Retrieved 2022-06-12.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Chilean president Salvador Allende committed suicide, autopsy confirms" (2011-07-20). The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2026-08-21.
Sources[edit | edit source]
- Clark, Victor Figueroa (2013). Salvador Allende : Revolutionary Democrat. Pluto Press. ISBN 978-0-7453-3307-6