Salvador Allende - who is this? He was President of Chile from 1970 to 1973. At the same time, he enjoyed extraordinary popularity in the USSR and the countries of the Soviet bloc. What attracted the attention of people Salvador Allende? A brief biography of this extraordinary man and politician is given below.
Origin
Where was Salvador Allende born? His biography began in Santiago on June 26, 1908 in a family of hereditary intellectuals and politicians. His great-grandfather in the early 19th century was an associate of O'Higgins, the leader of the uprising in Chile against Spanish colonial rule. Salvador's grandfather Ramon Allende was a medical scientist, dean of the medical faculty of the University of Chile, and also a military doctor who participated in the Second Pacific War with Bolivia and Peru, and the organizer of army military medicine. Salvador's father was a leftist lawyer.
Childhood and adolescence
Where did Salvador Allende study and grow up? His biography continued in various Chileanprovinces, where El Salvador's father moved several times with his wife and four children in search of a better place to practice law. Finally, he got a position as a notary in the port city of Valparaiso. Here Allende Salvador graduated from medical school. Already in his youth, he showed a penchant for political activity, heading the student federation at the school. In the early 30s of the last century, he went to Santiago and entered the medical faculty of the university.
The Socialist Republic of Chile in 1932
This state existed for only a couple of weeks in the summer of 1932 and arose in an environment of complete collapse of economic life in the country due to the Great Depression. Power in Chile was seized by a group of left-wing radical military men led by Marmaduke Grove (he was a friend of Salvador Allende's father, and Grove's brother was married to his sister), who was proclaimed head of the revolutionary government of the Socialist Republic of Chile. The new government in its program announced the path of the country's transition to socialism: nationalization of strategic enterprises and banks, collective ownership of small enterprises, transfer of land to peasants, amnesty for political prisoners, of which there were many in the country after a series of previous popular uprisings.
Salvador Allende urged university students to support the revolution. But its century turned out to be short-lived, the revolutionary government was overthrown, its members were arrested, like many of those who supported the revolution. A recent medical student, Allende Salvador, was also arrested (just beforethe beginning of the revolution, he received a medical degree), who was kept in the barracks of the Carabinieri Corps (an analogue of the internal troops), and then brought to court.
At this time, his father was dying in Valparaiso, and Salvador was brought under escort to his home so that father and son could say goodbye. As he later recalled, at this tragic moment, a determination arose in his mind to fight to the end for the victory of social justice.
Fortunately for Allende, the rebels who overthrew the revolutionary government themselves soon lost power, then several more coups took place, until finally the interim President Figueroa announced an amnesty for political prisoners. Marmaduke Grove, exiled to Easter Island, returned to political activity, and Allende Salvador was released.
Establishment of the Socialist Party
In the spring of 1933, a number of socialist organizations that took an active part in the revolutionary events of 1932 united and created the Socialist Party of Chile, whose leader was Marmaduke Grove (he headed the party for two decades until his death in 1954), and one of the most active members are Allende Salvador. Soon he creates an organization of the Socialist Party in Valparaiso. In 1937, Allende was elected to the National Congress from the province of Valparaiso.
In 1938, Allende was responsible for the election campaign of the Popular Front, which nominated the radical Pedro Aguirre Cerda as its presidential candidate. People's sloganfront was "Bread, shelter and work!". After Cerda's electoral victory, Allende Salvador became Minister of He alth in the radical-dominated reformist Popular Front government. In office, he has helped pass a wide range of progressive social reforms, including safety laws to protect factory workers, higher pensions for widows, maternity protection laws, and free school meals.
Political activity in the 40-60s
After the death of President Aguirre Cerda in 1941, Allende was re-elected as a member of parliament, and in 1942 became Secretary General of the Socialist Party. From 1945 to 1969, Allende was elected senator from various Chilean provinces, and in 1966 became president of the Senate of Chile. During the 1950s, he helped pass legislation that established the Chilean National He alth Care System, the first program in the Americas to guarantee universal he alth care.
Since the beginning of the 50s, Allende has unsuccessfully fought for the presidency three times. All three times he was a candidate for the Popular Action Front, created by the socialists and communists.
1970 election
In that year's presidential elections, Salvador Allende Gossens, the candidate of the new Popular Unity electoral bloc (consisting of socialists, communists and some centre-left parties), won. His victory did not seem very convincing - he won only 36.2 percent of the vote, thenas his closest rival, one of the former Chilean presidents, Jorge Alessandri, received 34.9 percent. But the third contender, participating in the elections from the Christian Democratic Party, for whom the rest of the voters voted, had a program close to "People's Unity". So we can assume that the Chilean society is in favor of change. According to the Chilean constitution, the National Congress approved the candidate with the most votes, i.e. Allende, as president.
Presidency transformations
After gaining power, Allende began to pursue the "Chilean path to socialism." In three years, the government of "People's Unity" nationalized, that is, transferred to the hands of the state, the country's main natural resources: copper and iron ore deposits, coal deposits, s altpeter, etc. A public sector of the economy was created, which included the lion's share of the Chilean industry. The banking sector and foreign trade were under state control. The Allende government restored relations with Cuba and granted amnesty to political prisoners.
The state received in its hands a significant financial resource, which previously floated away in the form of profit in the hands of the owners of enterprises. This made it possible to significantly raise the standard of living of the population. The minimum real wage for production workers was increased by 56% during the first quarter of 1971, while during the same period the real minimum wage for white-collar workers was increased by 23%. ATAs a result, the purchasing power of the population increased by 28% between November 1970 and July-October 1971. The inflation rate fell from 36.1% in 1970 to 22.1% in 1971, while the average real wage rose by 22.3% during 1971. Despite the fact that the acceleration of inflation in 1972-1973. undermined part of the original wage increase, it has continued to rise (on average) in real terms over the years.
The Allende government expropriated all land holdings that exceeded eighty "basic" hectares, so that within eighteen months all Chilean latifundia (extensive agricultural estates) were abolished.
Minimum pensions have been increased by amounts equal to double or triple the rate of inflation. Between 1970 and 1972 such pensions increased by a total of 550%.
In the first year of Allende's term, short-term economic results were very favorable, with a 12% increase in industrial production and an 8.6% increase in GDP, accompanied by a large decline in inflation (from 34.9% to 22.1%) and unemployment (up to 3.8%).
Allende's vision of democracy
The President, a socialist and probably an idealist by nature, did not believe that the former owners of the nationalized assets would take any steps to return them. What did Salvador Allende count on when starting his transformations? Quotes from his speeches show that he believed in the effectiveness of democracy. So, he said: "Chilean democracy isthe conquest of all people. It is neither the creation nor the gift of the exploiting classes, and it will protect those who, with the sacrifices accumulated over many generations, introduced it…. ". That is, Allende believed that state institutions, according to the principles of democracy, would fulfill the will of the majority of the people (that is, the poor part of it) as opposed to the interests of the possessing minority. History has shown that he was wrong.
Who overthrew Salvador Allende?
Openly and secretly against the policy of the government of "People's Unity" were the US authorities in alliance with the largest American corporations. They immediately launched a campaign to economic strangle the new Chilean government. Restrictions were immediately placed on its lending and loans, and not only loans from the United States itself, but also from all international financial institutions in which the United States then and today plays a dominant role, were frozen.
Chilean industry found itself in a real blockade on the supply of raw materials and spare parts. The United States threw its strategic reserves of copper onto the market, collapsing the price of this metal, the sale of which provided the main foreign exchange income to the Chilean treasury. Buyers of Chilean copper were under unprecedented pressure to impose an embargo on its purchase, including even the volumes that were already in ports under unloading. The Chilean leadership received a categorical refusal to all its requests to restructure the country's external debt accumulated by previous governments.
As a result, by 1972 the levelinflation in Chile reached 140%. Average real GDP contracted between 1971 and 1973. at an annualized rate of 5.6% (“negative growth”); and the government's budget deficit has grown while foreign exchange reserves have declined.
Soon, the United States engaged in direct secret coordination of the political forces opposing Allende, providing them with both finance and advice. Groups of CIA agents entered the country and began to organize subversive activities. The American military mission in Chile openly incited Chilean officers to disobey the government.
Basic foodstuffs disappeared from store shelves (they were hidden by the owners), which led to the growth of the black market in rice, beans, sugar and flour. Parliament, courts, state control bodies sabotaged government activities. The media misinformed the population, spread rumors hostile to the president, incited panic and opposition to the measures of the new government. The military collaborating with the government was obstructed, for example, army commander Carlos Prats, who was forced to resign under pressure from the media. At the same time, the chief of staff of the Chilean army, Augusto Pinochet, actively persuaded him to resign, who in words supported the rule of law in the country, but in fact cherished the plan of a military coup. And Prats, before leaving, recommended him to the president as his successor. Allende Salvador and Pinochet will soon become inseparable symbols of future bloody Chilean events for several decades.
So, who overthrew Salvador Allende? This was done by the reactionary Chilean military with the support of the US authorities.
1973 coup
In the summer of 1973, the situation in the country deteriorated sharply. At the end of June, the first attempted military coup took place, which was then averted. During this attempt, Allende encouraged workers to occupy factories, factories, estates, and public buildings. Councils of workers' and peasants' deputies were formed in some parts of the country and took power into their own hands.
In response, a strike of trucking companies began. The supply of food to the cities has practically stopped in the country. The government requisitioned some of the cars from the owners. After that, terrorist actions began throughout the country, explosions on power lines and oil pipelines. At the same time, General Pinochet was secretly conducting a real purge in the army and navy of officers and soldiers who supported the "People's Unity". They were secretly taken to the port of Valparaiso, where they were kept in the holds of warships and tortured.
At the end of August, the parliament openly opposed the president, declaring the country's government illegal. In early September 1973, the president put forward the idea of resolving the constitutional crisis through a plebiscite. A speech outlining such a decision was to be delivered on September 11 by Allende Salvador himself. The coup that the Chilean military, led by Pinochet, staged that day, crossed out this plan.
Allende Salvador: death and immortality
Shortly before the rebels captured La Moneda (Presidential Palace), with gunshots and explosions clearly heard in the background, Allende gave a farewell speech on the radio, talking about himself inpast tense, about his love for Chile and about his deep faith in the future of the country. He said:
"Workers of my country, I believe in Chile and her destiny. Other people will overcome this dark and bitter moment when treason seeks to win. Keep in mind that soon the great paths will be opened again for free people to walk to build a better society. Long live Chile! Long live the people! Long live the workers!".
Shortly after that, the rebels announced that Allende had committed suicide, although the circumstances of his death are still being discussed by experts. Before his death, he was photographed several times with an AK-47 assault rifle received as a gift from Fidel Castro. This is how Salvador Allende, whose photo is shown above, remained forever in the memory of the Chilean people. A President who did not bow his head to the rebels.
