COUP IN CHILE: BACKGROUND, CAUSES, CONSEQUENCES - HISTORY - 2025

The coup in Chile (1973) was a military pronouncement that aimed to overthrow the democratic government headed by the Popular Unity, a coalition of various parties of the Chilean left. The coup took place on September 11, 1973 and was led by the Army Commander-in-Chief, Augusto Pinochet.

The 1970 elections saw the arrival to power of Salvador Allende, the Popular Unity candidate. His program contained many socialist measures, such as an agrarian reform or the nationalization of some key economic sectors for the country.

Bombardeo de La Moneda - Source: Political History site of the Library of the National Congress of Chile under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Chile license

Since even before Allende's proclamation as president, opposition to his government had been very tough. Inside, the upper class, the extreme right, and the Armed Forces soon began to take action against him. Abroad, in the context of the Cold War, the United States supported and financed the maneuvers to overthrow him.

After a previous coup attempt, known as the Tanquetazo, the Armed Forces conspired to rise up on September 11. That day, the Palacio de La Moneda was taken over by the military. Salvador Allende preferred to commit suicide before being captured. The result of the coup was a military dictatorship that lasted until 1990.

Background

The elections held in Chile in 1970 were won by an alliance of several left-wing parties called the Unidad Popular. His candidate for the presidency was Salvador Allende.

It was the first time that a candidacy promoting a socialist system came to power through the ballot box. The so-called "Chilean road to socialism" obtained, at first, the support of the Christian Democrats.

Allende's proclamation

To be inaugurated president, Allende had to obtain a majority of the votes in Congress. Despite its victory in the elections, the Popular Unity did not have enough representatives for it, so it had to enlist the support of some other group.

In this way, both the right, led by Alessandri, and the Christian Democrats, considered adding their votes and electing a different president. Finally, the Christian Democrats decided to continue the Chilean tradition of investing the most voted candidate.

In exchange, the Popular Union agreed to approve a Statute of Guarantees, which was incorporated into the Constitution in 1971.

Schneider assassination

From the very moment of the elections, several groups of the extreme right began to act to try to prevent the proclamation of Allende.

In this way, members of the fascist organization Patria y Libertad, led by General Roberto Viaux and with US support, devised a plan to kidnap René Schneider, then Commander in Chief of the Army.

The objective of this action was for the Armed Forces to intervene and the session of Congress to elect the President to be canceled. In addition, Schneider was a strong defender of maintaining obedience to the Constitution and, therefore, that the military did not interfere in the political life of the country.

The conspirators tried to kidnap Schneider on October 19, 1970, without success. The next day, they made a new attempt and ambushed the car in which the military commander was traveling.

Schneider, instead of giving up when surrounded, tried to defend himself with his weapon. However, he was outnumbered and ended up being shot several times by the kidnappers. Although he arrived at the hospital, he passed away on October 25.

The Popular Government

Already in the presidency, Allende proceeded to normalize diplomatic relations with the socialist countries, including Cuba, which was under the blockade decreed by the United States.

As promised, Allende expanded the Agrarian Reform Law, which led to the expropriation of land. In 1972, this initiative meant the disappearance of the latifundios.

On the other hand, it undertook a process of nationalization of companies and productive sectors. In the case of copper, the proposal even received the support of the right-wing parties. It did not get the same positive response when it began to take back the main companies in the country, which had previously been privatized.

Although, during the first months, the economy performed well, the trend completely changed in 1972. The increase in public spending for social affairs caused the deficit to increase.

U.S

In the middle of the Cold War and after the Cuban Revolution, the United States was not willing to allow another socialist country to appear in the region. The documents declassified by the US government show how the administration of President Richard Nixon financed and promoted campaigns to sabotage the Chilean economy.

In addition, the Americans began to encourage the Chilean Armed Forces to overthrow Allende.

The October strike

Internal and external factors combined in October 1972 to make the call for a national strike by the Truck Owners Association a success.

Among the inmates, the economic crisis that hit the country stood out, as well as the fear that the government would nationalize the sector. On the other hand, the documents made public by the United States show how this country supported that organization to carry out the strike.

The result was that the distribution of food and other merchandise was almost paralyzed, causing serious supply problems.

Opponents of Allende took the opportunity to join the convocation. The country practically came to a complete stop.

The strike ended when Allende remodeled the government to incorporate some of the military. Among them, Carlos Prats, who took charge of the Interior, or Claudio Sepúlveda, in Mining.

1973 Parliamentary Elections

Despite all the economic problems, the Popular Unity achieved a comfortable victory, with 45% of the vote, in the legislative elections held in March 1973.

The opposition parties had vowed to remove Allende if they could win two-thirds of the seats, but they fell far short of that goal.

Allende then tried to negotiate with the Christian Democrats in order to agree on joint solutions to overcome the crisis, but without finding a positive response from his rivals.

At that time, the possibility of a military coup was one of Allende's concerns. The support of the Commander in Chief of the Army, Carlos Prats, was the only thing that prevented him.

The Tanquetazo

The government's fears came true on June 29, 1973. That day, Lieutenant Colonel Roberto Souper staged an attempted coup. To do this, he mobilized an armored regiment, which caused the uprising to be called El Tanquetazo.

Government forces managed to stop the coup and, that same afternoon, a large demonstration of support for Allende was called in front of the Palacio de la Moneda, headquarters of the President of Chile. That same day, the government declared a State of Siege for six months.

According to the declarations of Augusto Pinochet, who did not participate in that attempt, the Tanquetazo had served to verify the resistance that the supporters of the President could present before a coup d'état.

Rise of Augusto Pinochet

One of the events that most helped the coup plotters was the resignation of Carlos Prats as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. This occurred after a large demonstration against him called by wives of generals, on August 21, 1973.

During the course of it, the participants insulted Prats. When Allende and Pinochet, then second in the chain of command, arrived at the place where the demonstration was taking place, they were greeted with more insults.

Prats, affected by what had happened, asked the generals to confirm their loyalty to him. Most did not, so they resigned. After this, he recommended Pinochet as his replacement, an appointment that was confirmed by Allende.

Causes

As has been indicated, among the causes that gave rise to the coup in Chile appear both internal events in the country and the international situation.

The Cold War

Since the end of the Second World War, the two great powers of the time, the US and the USSR, maintained a world rivalry, both ideological and power. The two countries never came to face each other directly, but practically all the conflicts that occurred during the following decades had their indirect participation.

In this context, Allende's socialist government was considered a threat by the United States. These, after the Cuban Revolution, were not willing to see another Soviet ally appear in Latin America.

United States position

For the reason stated above, the United States played an active role in the attempts to overthrow Allende. As Nixon stated, his "main concern in Chile is the possibility that Allende consolidates, and that his image before the world is his success."

Already in the days after the Popular Unity election, the US Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, began to plan how to overthrow Allende, as the documents declassified by the United States revealed.

An equally declassified conversation between Kissinger, President Nixon and CIA Director Richard Helms proves how the US collaborated in destabilizing the Chilean economy.

Nixon gave the order to act, noting that "we will make the Chilean economy scream." From that point on, they developed various strategies to sink the economy.

In addition to the above, the United States also financed and supported groups that advocated armed uprisings to overthrow Allende. As an example, the monetary aid to Garrastazu Medici, Brazilian dictator, so that he could convince the Chilean military to carry out a coup.

Economic crisis

Between the US intervention, the opposition of the oligarchy and the inadequacy of some of the measures taken by the government, the Chilean economy went into crisis in 1972. Public spending had skyrocketed due to increased salaries in the state sector, which caused the deficit to increase.

Inflation also skyrocketed, as the government had to issue currency due to the impossibility of receiving foreign financing. This brought with it the appearance of a black market and the lack in stores of some basic products.

The government tried to stop this situation by creating the so-called Boards of Supply and Prices (JAP). However, complaints soon emerged that these bodies favored supporters of Popular Unity.

Clashes in the streets

Since before the elections, violent incidents on Chilean streets were frequent. These were provoked both by members of the MIR (Revolutionary Left Movement), Allende's supporters, and by the extreme right of Patria y Libertad.

The clashes between the two groups spread and began to become more and more violent, causing injuries and even some deaths.

Furthermore, as of 1973, far-right organizations also began to carry out attacks to try to overthrow the Allende government. The best known attack was the assassination of the president's naval aide, Navy Commander Arturo Araya Peeters.

Vote in Congress

Although, probably, the coup would have occurred anyway, the vote in Congress, with a majority rightist and Christian Democrat, on the unconstitutionality of the government, was used as a legal excuse by the coup leaders.

Development

The organization of the coup had as its nerve center the town of Viña del Mar. The military and civilians who wanted to end the Allende government met there.

Preparations

Although they had great support within the Armed Forces, the presence of Carlos Prats within the government was a great obstacle, since it had the loyalty of the army.

This problem disappeared when Prats submitted his resignation. In his place, Augusto Pinochet was appointed, who, at that time, was a mystery to the coup plotters, who did not know for sure if he would join the uprising.

Another aspect they had to consider was the date. The coup leaders wanted the coup to take place before September 18, when the National Holidays were celebrated in Chile.

Finally, they chose September 11, at 6:30, as the final date for the coup. During the previous days, the leaders tried to find out if Pinochet was going to participate, but the general always responded with ambiguity.

According to some historians, on the 9th Allende announced to Pinochet and other generals that he planned to call a plebiscite. That same afternoon, several soldiers involved in the coup visited Pinochet to find out what position he was going to take. At the end of that meeting, both he and Leigh gave their support to the coup plotters.

September 11 in Valparaíso

At that time, naval maneuvers led by the United States were taking place. The coup leaders took advantage of this coverage to start their plan. In addition, the participation of Americans in various phases of the coup has been verified.

The Chilean navy ships that were going to participate in the pronouncement left during the afternoon of September 10. As noted, the excuse was to participate in the aforementioned maneuvers. At the same time, the officers ordered the army to garrison, stating that disturbances could break out.

Following the planned plan, at 6:30 on September 11, the boats returned to Valparaíso. Soon, the troops were deployed through the city, taking control without meeting resistance.

The city authorities, seeing the situation, contacted the Carabineros and Allende. This, according to the chroniclers, tried to locate Pinochet and Leigh, but without success.

Santiago

Salvador Allende, along with his personal guard, went to the Palacio de la Moneda. There he verified that the building was surrounded by military coup leaders. Many government officials began to arrive at the Palace as well.

While this was happening, Pinochet was in charge of taking control of communications in the country. In addition to silencing almost all radio stations, he organized a communication network with the rest of the coup leaders.

At La Moneda, Allende kept trying to locate Pinochet. At that time, he still thought he was going to remain faithful to the government and, according to historians, he even said "poor Pinochet, he must be in prison."

The person who did remain with the president was the chief of the Carabineros, who appeared at the Palace to offer his services.

It was then that Allende managed to deliver his first message to the country. Allende communicated to the Chilean people what was happening. In the same way, he appealed for prudence, without asking that anyone take up arms in his defense.

First coup proclamation

The coup plotters made their first public statement at around 8:40 a.m. In it, they demand the resignation of Allende to the presidency, which would be occupied by a Government Junta made up of the heads of the Armed Forces: Leigh, Marino, Mendoza and Pinochet.

Likewise, they issued an ultimatum to the government: bomb the Palacio de la Moneda if it was not evicted before 11 o'clock.

Reactions

Almost for the first time since the beginning of the coup, the proclamation of the coup leaders provoked a reaction from Allende's supporters. The CUT tried to organize the workers to resist the military, although Allende, in a new statement, did not call for armed resistance.

Meetings between the president and his ministers took place in the Palace. Many tried to convince him to leave La Moneda, but Allende refused to do so. The coup plotters themselves offered Allende the possibility of leaving the country. The answer was negative.

A few minutes before 10 in the morning, a detachment of tanks approached La Moneda. Some snipers loyal to the president tried to stop the tanks from advancing and cross shots were registered.

Allende's last speech

Allende's last communication to the nation occurred at 10:15. In it, he reaffirms his intention not to surrender and declares himself willing to die resisting.

Attack on La Moneda

A few minutes after Allende's last public speech, La Moneda began to be attacked by tanks stationed in the vicinity.

Allende, again, refuses to surrender and rejects the offer of exile from the country. Little by little, the personnel accompanying him began to leave the building, including his daughters.

Around 12:00 noon, several planes began to bomb La Moneda, causing great damage to the building. For their part, the soldiers threw tear gas canisters inside.

At the same time, the presidential residence of Tomás Moro was also bombed by other planes. During this attack, by mistake, one of the projectiles hit the Air Force Hospital.

Death of Allende

Despite the aerial bombardment and the tear gas bombs thrown, Allende still held out inside. Given this, the coup leaders under Javier Palacios decided to enter the building.

The entry into the Palace took place around two thirty. The few companions of the president advise him to surrender, but he ordered them to lay down their arms and surrender to save their lives. He, for his part, decided to stay in his post.

Although there has been some controversy about what happened next, the Chilean justice has confirmed the account of Allende's doctor, a direct witness to the event, and that the President's family defended.

According to the doctor, Patricio Guijón, the President shouted "Allende won't give up, shitty soldiers!" and, later, he committed suicide by shooting himself with his rifle.

It was Jorge Palacios who informed the coup leaders about Allende's death. His words, as recorded, were: “Mission accomplished. Coin taken, president dead ”.

Consequences

The first measure taken by the Military Junta that emerged from the coup was to declare a curfew throughout Chile. Starting at 3 in the afternoon, the radio stations that were still active were silenced and their workers arrested. The same happened with journalists from some print media.

Outside the cities, the military arrested the leaders of the Agrarian Reform, proceeding to execute quite a few of them.

During the following days, the Junta declared outlaws the Communist Party and the Socialist Party. Likewise, the Senate closed and the other political parties, the National, the Christian Democratic and the Radical, were suspended in their activities.

National Stadium of Chile

The Military Junta ordered all those who had had any kind of political or union activity to go to the police stations. The arrests of anyone who was considered a leftist skyrocketed.

The best-known detention center was the National State of Chile, where around 30,000 people were transferred. There, the military executed those they considered most dangerous, including the famous musician Víctor Jara.

On the other hand, there were arrests and executions at the Technical University of Santiago. In the production centers, workers who were not purged were forced to work to keep up with production.

Massive arrests took place in towns traditionally partisan of the Popular Unity, such as La Legua or La Victoria. Worse luck ran in other towns, such as Villa La Reina, where all the leftist leaders were executed on the spot.

Political refugees

Faced with the repression unleashed and the fear that spread among large sectors of the population, the embassies of those countries considered friendly were filled with refugees.

Those who had had some political activity chose the embassies of Sweden, Australia, Mexico, Cuba or the Soviet Union. Canada, for its part, was the destination of those who had not had a direct relationship with the government.

For their part, the US authorities privately complained about the press coverage. From very early on, the participation of the United States in the coup had been discovered.

Kissinger, in another declassified conversation, told President Nixon the following: “We didn't do it… I mean, we helped them. he created the maximum possible conditions… In the Eisenhower era, we would be considered heroes ”.

Political consequences

Politically, the main consequence of the coup was the establishment of a military dictatorship that lasted until 1990.

After the triumph of the coup, the government was exercised by a Military Junta. Its ideology was conservative, authoritarian, and anti-communist. Among its measures, the repression of the opposition and the elimination of press freedom.

The strong man of this military government was Augusto Pinochet, whose position was above those held by the rest of the members of the Junta. This, for its part, occupied the role of Congress, assuming the legislative and constituent powers.

Economic consequences

In the economic sphere, Chile went through several different stages. In general terms, experts point out that it became a subsidiary country, leaving behind its stage as a producing nation. The Military Junta based its economic policy on neoliberal theories from the United States.

Thus, from 1975, the Chilean economy was in the hands of the so-called Chicago boys, a group of economists trained at the university in that American city and strong supporters of neoliberalism.

With his measures, the Chilean industry entered a deep crisis, although the macroeconomic figures were positive, as happened with the good inflation data.

The Pension Reform was one of the great bets of the dictatorship to change the economic structures. The results were positive for companies and for the State itself, but workers and retirees suffered a great loss in their wages.

Another of his reforms, the labor reform, had the main objective of eliminating the unions, in addition to making the labor market more flexible. This ended up causing an increase in instability for workers, especially those of the middle and lower classes.

Social consequences

Directly related to economic policy, Chilean society after the coup had great inequality. The upper classes maintained or increased their profits, while the middle and lower classes lost purchasing power.

Cultural consequences

For the Chilean coup plotters, culture was never a priority. In addition, they considered that most of the authors were leftists, so they proceeded to suppress any hint of cultural activity, in what was known as the "cultural blackout."

References

1. López, Celia. September 11, 1973: the Coup in Chile. Retrieved from redhistoria.com
2. EFE Agency. Thousands of documents confirm that the US supported the Pinochet coup in 1973. Obtained from elmundo.es
3. National Library of Chile. September 1-11, 1973. Recovered from memoriachilena.gob.cl
4. O'Shaughnessy, Hugh. Chilean coup: 40 years ago I watched Pinochet crush a democratic dream. Retrieved from theguardian.com
5. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. Augusto Pinochet. Retrieved from britannica.com
6. Bonnefoy, Pascale. Documenting US Role in Democracy's Fall and Dictator's Rise in Chile. Retrieved from nytimes.com
7. The Washington Post Company. Pinochet's Chile. Retrieved from washingtonpost.com
8. Van Der Spek, Boris. The battle for Chile - Salvador Allende's last hours in La Moneda. Obtained from chiletoday.cl