September 11, 1973, Chile

The September 11 was a sad day for my country long time before what happened in the U.S.

A morning of September in 1973, the Chilean military decided to stop the "experiment" of marxist president Salvador Allende Gossens. Allende, elected democratically but by small margin and minoritary support, was trying to imposse a "democratic way to socialism".

It is fair to say that Allende was a well meaned man, that tried to do the best for its people. But we should recognize he couldn't control its own partidaries. By the time of the coup, street fighting and political violence was widespread, inflation was reaching 500 yearly, and the economy was chaotic.

Pictures:

Edited by pinguin - 06-Apr-2008 at 00:45

Lets hope the next Chilean coup is a little less brutal than the last one.

Originally posted by ulrich von hutten Like i was then. I can remember the day, when me and my family listened to the radio, and my father, a socialist, started to cry. I was impressed, cause i hadn't seen my dad craying before. My dad told me, to pay attention to the political events on the earth and not to stop, shouting out against dictatorship and oppression.

Originally posted by Constantine XI Just a question. Did this coup set a precedent for Chile, or did Chile already have an established history of political violence and instability?

Edited by pinguin - 07-Apr-2008 at 15:24

Originally posted by ulrich von hutten ... yes, there was a german reporter at a hotel in santiago who discribed the situation in chile's capital then. At that evening, my dad, my elder brother and i went to a rally in our hometown, to show our solidarity to the Chilean people.

Edited by pinguin - 07-Apr-2008 at 16:01

Originally posted by Paul If i had a penny for everyone in Thailand who said the same to me, when I told them there would be another.   Of course Chileans will have another fascist dictatoriship, it's in their blood.

The ironic thing is that supporters of Pinochet often claim it 'saved Chile from a dictatorship'. Apart from the fact that Pinochet in fact imposed a dictatorship and killed the oldest and traditionally most stable democracy in Latin America, it is absolutely untrue that Allende was turning the country into a dictatorship. One has to admit that his economic policies were not always wise, but he didn't take a single measure that made Chile less democratic.

In fact I think a lot of the political unrest and guerilla wars in Latin America in the 1970's and 1980's was actually caused by the 1973 coup in Chile. The oligarchy had made it clear that they would not accept a democratic socialist government, so socialists could just as well try it the armed way.

Of course Chileans will have another fascist dictatoriship, it's in their blood.

I have to diagree with you there. Pinochet is actually an aberration in Chilean history. Apart from the first half of the 19th century and to a lesser degree the 1920s and 30s Chile has never seen much coups or dictatorships. Apart from Costa Rica and perhaps Uruguay Chile has always been the most democratic and stable country of Latin America. It also is one of the wealthiest and (by far) the least corrupt country of the region. If there is one Latin American country where a fallback to gorilla politics is not to be expected it is Chile.

On the downside it appears that Chile also has the most nazis of South America.


Edited by Mixcoatl - 07-Apr-2008 at 18:31

Originally posted by Paul How many dictatorships have there been in North America? If you compare Chileans to other South Americans they are no more bloodthirsty, but if you compare them to North Americans they are pretty barbaric.

Originally posted by Mixcoatl The ironic thing is that supporters of Pinochet often claim it 'saved Chile from a dictatorship'. Apart from the fact that Pinochet in fact imposed a dictatorship and killed the oldest and traditionally most stable democracy in Latin America, it is absolutely untrue that Allende was turning the country into a dictatorship. One has to admit that his economic policies were not always wise, but he didn't take a single measure that made Chile less democratic.

Second that.