International Encyclopedia of Revolution and Protest

Extract

Salvador Allende Gossens was president of Chile from 1970 until the putsch led by General Augusto Pinochet on September 11, 1973. Allende died that day in the “Palacio de la Moneda,” which was bombed by the rebels. From an early age, Allende recognized the contradictions of the times. During his adolescence he studied anarchist thought and was a friend of Juan Demarchi, a carpenter of Italian origin who instructed him in the Chilean social question. He participated in the Socialist Republic of Marmaduque Grove in 1932 and acted as a co-founder of the Socialist Party of Chile in 1933. A medical student of middle-class origins, he was a member of groups with left tendencies during his college years. He began his political career by participating in the parliamentary election of 1937 and being chosen deputy by Valparaiso. He then served as minister of health in the cabinet of Pedro Aguirre Cerdá between 1939 and 1942. From that point he became the unquestionable leader of the socialist party. In 1952, 1958, and 1962 he presented himself for the presidential elections. On the first occasion he was temporarily expelled from the party due to the fact that he accepted communist support after the party was outlawed. He won on his fourth attempt. In 1958, with socialist and communist support, he was elected second after Jorge Alessandri. In 1964 Eduardo Frei Montalva advocated a program ... log in or subscribe to read full text