U.S.-BACKED COUP
Chile on Monday marked the 50th anniversary of the coup as people marched by the presidential palace and laid flowers for the victims. “We commemorate a date that is painful and that, without a doubt, is a turning point in our history,” said President Gabriel Boric.
In the 1970s, there were stark signs of a crisis looming large in Chile, from a divided government to soaring prices and frequent protests. The CIA financing and covert operations to destabilize the country cannot be ignored, either. For half a century, a trove of historical studies and declassified archives have shown that the United States went to great lengths to prevent the leftist Allende from coming to power and to topple his government later.
Allende had been the target of America since the 1960s when the Cold War between the United States and the former Soviet Union was at its height. The United States, which regarded Latin America as its “backyard”, was reluctant to see the left-wing leader be elected the Chilean president.
Declassified documents show that between 1962 and 1964, the CIA spent millions of dollars financing the campaign of Allende’s rivals and anti-Allende propaganda. These behind-the-scenes maneuvering worked as Allende lost the 1964 presidential election.
SANGHA KOMMUNE (SSR) 