"A sudden, violent, and illegal seizure of power from a government," is the formal definition of a coup. I know very little about history in general, let alone Chilean history, so I took this opportunity to educate myself about the coup d'etat of Chile during the Cold War.
In the 1960s Eduardo Frei was president of Chile and had a backing by the Johnson administration. Chile at the time was quickly evolving in terms of their labor force. Labor Unions were taking ground in demands of higher wages, quickly leading a Communist influence in the younger generation of Chile. 1970 brought to power Salvador Allende Gossens, from the Socialist Party. This didn't sit well with President Nixon and he tapped the CIA agents in Chile to get the military to rise against Allende, which wasn't necessary since Allende made the inflation worse and the people were not happy. The CIA added to the storm with anti-propaganda against Allende. By 1973 it was so band that the Chilean Congress and Judiciary backed the military when they stormed Allende's palace, killing him in the coup. The US has no physical evidence they were behind it, however historians believe that Henry Kissinger, one of Nixon's advisors, influenced the death of Chilean military advisor General Rene Schnieder, who was against the overthrow of Allende.
This whole ordeal lead to the rise of Pinochet which I won't go into because I know other people have already posted about him. The history of Chile from the 1960's to now is pretty crazy and I found myself reading up on it (in class) and getting lost in it. The crimes against humanity come from the thousands of political voices who "randomly disappeared" under Pinochet's regime. Reminded me a tad of the situation in WWII on a much smaller scale. I'm hoping we get a chance to learn more about the history and change the country has undergone, especially with such a fast turn in economical situations.
Source:
http://www.coldwar.org/articles/70s/CoupinChile1973.asp
In the 1960s Eduardo Frei was president of Chile and had a backing by the Johnson administration. Chile at the time was quickly evolving in terms of their labor force. Labor Unions were taking ground in demands of higher wages, quickly leading a Communist influence in the younger generation of Chile. 1970 brought to power Salvador Allende Gossens, from the Socialist Party. This didn't sit well with President Nixon and he tapped the CIA agents in Chile to get the military to rise against Allende, which wasn't necessary since Allende made the inflation worse and the people were not happy. The CIA added to the storm with anti-propaganda against Allende. By 1973 it was so band that the Chilean Congress and Judiciary backed the military when they stormed Allende's palace, killing him in the coup. The US has no physical evidence they were behind it, however historians believe that Henry Kissinger, one of Nixon's advisors, influenced the death of Chilean military advisor General Rene Schnieder, who was against the overthrow of Allende.
This whole ordeal lead to the rise of Pinochet which I won't go into because I know other people have already posted about him. The history of Chile from the 1960's to now is pretty crazy and I found myself reading up on it (in class) and getting lost in it. The crimes against humanity come from the thousands of political voices who "randomly disappeared" under Pinochet's regime. Reminded me a tad of the situation in WWII on a much smaller scale. I'm hoping we get a chance to learn more about the history and change the country has undergone, especially with such a fast turn in economical situations.
Source:
http://www.coldwar.org/articles/70s/CoupinChile1973.asp