For Chile, September 11, 1973, remains one of the most consequential dates in its modern history. History is often shaped by a single consequential event, one that can alter the political trajectory of a country for generations.
What followed was a period marked by mass arrests and detentions, torture, political executions, disappearances and exile. However, his ascension to power through socialistic model of governance turned out to be a short-lived affair. At the same time, Washington viewed the emergence of a Socialist government in Chile with deep concern. The United States undertook covert efforts to weaken Allende and support opposition forces, adding an international dimension to an already profound domestic crisis. General August Pinochet Ugarte, President of Chile’s four man junta which ousted the late President Allende, speaks on television following the coup, in Santiago. Photo monitored from CBS-TV screen. Photo: The Hindu Archives The Prime Minister, Shrimati Indira Gandhi with Mrs. Hortensia Allende, wife of Late Dr. Ms. Photo: The Hindu Archives Jorge Tapia, formerly the Justice Minister in the Cabinet of late, deposed President Salvador Allende of Chile, is shown at a detention camp on an island off the coast of Chile. This photo is from television newsfilm made by the American Broadcasting Co. (ABC). Photo: The Hindu Archives
On that day, Chile’s armed forces overthrew President Salvador Allende, bringing an abrupt end to the country’s democratic government and ushering in the 17-year military dictatorship of Army General Augusto Pinochet. Allende was elected President in 1970 after he clinched 36.6% votes in the nation’s elections, narrowly ahead of conservative candidate Jorge Alessandri. Salvadore Allende, President of Chile when the latter called on her in New Delhi on April 09, 1974. Photo: PIB Isbelle Allende, daughter of the late President Salvador Allende of Chile, at International Conference of Solidarity with the Chilean People in Helsinki, Finland on September 30, 1973.
Because no candidate had won an outright majority, the Chilean Congress ultimately confirmed Allende as President.
Flowers surround a picture of former Chilean President Salvador Allende in front of “La Moneda” Presidential Palace during a rally marking the anniversary of the coup d’etat in Chile in Santiago September 11, 2014. Allende said she was “supposed to die” in the military coup that toppled her faher’s marxist regime on September 11.
