Thread by @ProgIntl

On this day in 1973, Salvador Allende’s democratically-elected socialist government was overthrown in a military coup led by the US-backed fascist Augusto Pinochet.

Allende was elected Chile’s first socialist president in 1970 as the candidate of Popular Unity, a socialist-communist coalition. He quickly went to work reorganising the society he inherited, characterised by poverty and confined by the greed of international corporations.

During his three years in power, the Allende government nationalised Chile’s foreign-owned copper industry, which was responsible for 75% of exports. Rather than compensate the former owners, Allende sought payment for the unfairly extracted resource. He did not stop with copper.

In its first year, the government nationalised 91 industries, redistributed 5.5m acres of land, granted wage rises to the working class and built quality homes for the poor.

Allende hoped to build a sovereign, developed, democratic, and humane nation — and one whose foreign policy was built on principles of friendship.

This was intolerable to the forces of empire. Fearing that Allende would set a good example for other nations to follow, US President Richard Nixon ordered the Central Intelligence Agency to “make the economy scream”.

“We have to do everything we can to hurt [Allende] and bring him down,” the US secretary of war, Marvin Laird, said.

The US government shut down all investments into Chile. It organised protests, funding a mass strike of the truckers’ union which exacerbated the country’s difficult economic situation. And it deployed its sprawling propaganda machine to blame Allende for the fallout.

Popular support for Allende’s government weakened. But it was not broken. On 4 September 1973, Allende spoke to a 1-million-strong rally. “Allende, Allende, el pueblo te defiende,” the people shouted — Allende, Allende, the people will defend you!

Four days later, as bombs fell on Santiago, Allende gave his last speech: “At this definitive moment, the last moment when I can address you, I wish you to take advantage of the lesson: foreign capital, imperialism, together with the reaction, created the climate in which the…

... Armed Forces broke their tradition, victims of the same social sector who today are hoping, with foreign assistance, to re-conquer the power to continue defending their profits and their privileges… Long live Chile! Long live the people! Long live the workers!”