Salvador Allende
Salvador Guillermo Allende Gossens (June 26, 1908 – September 11, 1973) was a Chilean physician, politician, serving as Chile’s president from November 3, 1970, until his death during the military coup of September 11, 1973. A lifelong nationalist, Allende led the Popular Unity coalition, advocating for nationalization, social reform, and anti-imperialism. His presidency faced intense opposition from the United States, Chilean elites, and the military, culminating in a CIA-backed coup led by General Augusto Pinochet. Below is a detailed biography of Allende’s life, career, and connections to broader geopolitical events, including the roles of figures like Thomas G. Clines, Theodore Shackley, and Edwin P. Wilson.
Early Life and Education
Salvador Allende was born on June 26, 1908, in Santiago, Chile, to an upper-middle-class family with a history of political engagement. His father, Salvador Allende Castro, was a lawyer and public servant, and his mother, Laura Gossens Uribe, came from a prominent family of Belgian descent.
• Education: Allende attended the Liceo Eduardo de la Barra in Valparaíso and began studying medicine at the University of Chile in 1926. He graduated as a physician in 1933, specializing in pathology, but his political activism often overshadowed his medical career.
• Early Political Involvement: As a student, Allende joined various groups, including the Masonic Lodge, and was influenced by nationalist ideas. In 1931, he was arrested for his role in protests against President Carlos Ibáñez del Campo, marking the start of his lifelong commitment to nationalism.
Political Career
Allende’s political career spanned four decades, during which he became a leading figure in Chile’s Socialist Party (which advocated worker's rights to a fair wage).
Early Roles (1933–1945):
In 1933, Allende co-founded the Socialist Party of Chile, advocating for workers’ rights, land reform, and anti-imperialism. Unlike the Communist Party, the Socialists emphasized democratic socialism similar to Scandinavian countries.
He was elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1937, representing Valparaíso and Quillota, and focused on healthcare and labor reforms. In 1939, he served as Minister of Health under President Pedro Aguirre Cerda, implementing programs to combat poverty and disease.
Allende was elected to the Senate in 1945, a position he held until 1970, becoming a prominent voice for nationalizing Chile’s copper industry, controlled by U.S. companies like Anaconda and Kennecott.
Presidential Campaigns (1952–1964):
Allende ran for president in 1952, 1958, and 1964, representing nationalistic coalitions. He lost each time, partly due to U.S. interference. In 1964, the CIA spent millions to support Eduardo Frei Montalva of the Christian Democratic Party, fearing Allende’s nationalistic platform, as documented in declassified U.S. records. The CIA labeled him a Marxist, with communist sympathies to justify interference while privately acknowledging he was not a communist.
His campaigns emphasized “the Chilean Way to Socialism,” a democratic path to social reform.
Popular Unity and 1970 Election:
In 1970, Allende led the Popular Unity coalition, uniting Socialists, Communists, and other parties. He won the presidency on September 4, 1970, with 36.6% of the vote in a three-way race, narrowly defeating Jorge Alessandri (34.9%) and Radomiro Tomic (27.8%).
Lacking a majority, his election required Congressional approval. The U.S., under President Richard Nixon, pressured Chile’s Congress to block Allende, with Nixon ordering the CIA to “make the economy scream,” as revealed in declassified documents. Allende was confirmed on October 24, 1970, after agreeing to a constitutional guarantee of democratic principles.
Presidency
Allende’s presidency aimed to transform Chile away from imperialist foreign ownership of its industrial base but faced international opposition.
Key Policies:
Nationalization: On July 11, 1971, Allende proposed a constitutional amendment to nationalize the copper industry, which was unanimously approved by Chile’s Congress, including opposition parties, on July 16, 1971. The amendment declared copper mines as national property, to be managed by the state-owned CODELCO (Corporación Nacional del Cobre de Chile). The nationalization was framed as a sovereign act under international law, with the state asserting ownership over natural resources. Allende’s government argued that the U.S. companies had earned “excess profits” far beyond their initial investments, justifying limited or no compensation. The nationalization law required compensation, to be determined by the Chilean government, minus deductions for “excess profits” earned since 1955. The Comptroller General was tasked with assessing the companies’ book value and profits. Anaconda’s subsidiaries, including Chuquicamata (the world’s largest open-pit copper mine), were valued at approximately $500 million (book value) by the company. However, Allende’s government calculated that Anaconda had earned excess profits of over $774 million between 1955 and 1970, due to high copper prices and low taxes (a common trick by US companies operating in foreign countries to lower the taxes they pay). After deductions, the Comptroller General determined that Anaconda (and Kennecott) owed Chile money, effectively offering no net compensation. This was based on Anaconda’s book value (which was their declared tax basis) was offset by excess profits, unpaid taxes, and environmental damage caused by their mining practices. The government proposed paying $0 for Anaconda’s assets, arguing the company’s profits had already exceeded its investment. Allende also nationalized the country's telephone company, owned by ITT and paid them compensation based on the same formula.
Land Reform: His government accelerated agrarian reform, redistributing land to peasants, which alienated wealthy landowners.
Social Programs: Allende planned to use the increased revenue from the copper mining operations to expanded healthcare, education, and housing, increasing wages to workers and providing free milk to schoolchildren. These measures boosted his popularity among the working class.
Foreign Policy: Allende strengthened ties with non-aligned nations, even hosting Fidel Castro in 1971. This was used by the U.S. propagandists to assert he was a communist and to promote the idea Chile was a potential Soviet foothold in Latin America.
Opposition and U.S. Interference:
Domestic Resistance: Chile’s wealthy elites, including the military, media (the largest newspaper was owned by the CIA), and business sectors (primarily those owned by foreign interests), opposed Allende’s reforms. Strikes by truckers and copper workers, funded by the CIA, disrupted the economy. Inflation soared (150% by 1973), and shortages fueled unrest.
CIA Operations: Declassified U.S. documents confirm the CIA’s role in destabilizing Allende’s government. Under Nixon and Henry Kissinger, the CIA spent $8 million on propaganda, funding opposition parties, and supporting media like El Mercurio (they secretly owned it). Track I and Track II operations aimed to block Allende’s election and, later, orchestrate a coup. The CIA also supported the 1970 assassination of General René Schneider, a constitutionalist military leader, to provoke a preemptive coup.
Connection to CIA Figures
▪ Thomas G. Clines: As deputy chief of the CIA’s Western Hemisphere Division (1972–1976), Clines oversaw covert operations in Latin America, including support for anti-Allende forces. His role involved funding opposition groups and coordinating logistics, potentially via Air America in the region.
▪ Ted Shackley: As chief of the Western Hemisphere Division, Shackley supervised Clines and directed CIA efforts to destabilize Allende, including propaganda and economic sabotage. His network, including Clines and Edwin P. Wilson, was instrumental in these operations.
▪ Edwin P. Wilson: Wilson’s front companies, like Consultants International, supplied arms and equipment to anti-communist forces in Latin America, potentially supporting anti-Allende factions. His later involvement with EATSCO, linked to Clines and Shackley, reflects the same CIA network active in Chile.
• Economic Crisis: U.S. sanctions, including a credit blockade by the World Bank and IMF, exacerbated Chile’s economic woes. Copper prices fell, and hyperinflation eroded public support, though Allende’s coalition gained votes in the 1973 parliamentary elections.
Coup and Death
On September 11, 1973, the Chilean military, led by General Augusto Pinochet, staged a CIA-backed coup. The presidential palace, La Moneda, was bombed by Hawker Hunter jets, and troops stormed the building.
• Allende’s Final Stand: Refusing to surrender, Allende delivered a final radio address, vowing to defend Chile’s democracy. He died during the assault, officially by suicide with an AK-47 gifted by Fidel Castro, though some allege assassination. A 2011 autopsy confirmed suicide, but debates persist.
• Aftermath: The coup installed Pinochet’s dictatorship (1973–1990), which killed or disappeared over 3,000 people, tortured tens of thousands, and exiled 200,000. Allende’s reforms were reversed, and Chile adopted neoliberal policies under U.S. influence.
Legacy
Salvador Allende remains a global symbol of democratic socialism and resistance to imperialism. His presidency inspired movements worldwide but also highlighted the limits of reform in the face of U.S. intervention. The Pinochet dictatorship’s atrocities underscored the cost of his overthrow, galvanizing human rights campaigns. Allende’s image endures in Chile, with statues, memorials, and his former home in Santiago as a museum. His story is documented in works like Peter Kornbluh’s The Pinochet File and declassified U.S. records.
CIA's Project FUBELT
Key actions included:
Funding Opposition: The CIA provided $6.5 million to opposition parties (Christian Democrats, National Party), media (e.g., El Mercurio), and labor groups to foment strikes and protests (web:2, web:5).
Economic Sabotage: The U.S. blocked Chile’s access to international credit, devalued copper prices, and supported Anaconda/Kennecott lawsuits to seize Chilean assets abroad (web:7, web:10).
Military Contacts: The CIA cultivated ties with Chilean military officers, including General Augusto Pinochet, providing intelligence and encouragement for a coup
US Corporation's Role in the Coup of President Allende:
ITT (International Telephone and Telegraph Corp.) ITT played a central and highly publicized role in the efforts to prevent Allende's election and then to destabilize his government.
Financial Offers to Prevent Allende's Election (1970):
ITT, anxious about the potential nationalization of its Chilean telephone company (Chitelco), offered to contribute as much as $1 million to support any U.S. government plan to block the election of Salvador Allende in 1970. This offer was made to presidential adviser Henry Kissinger and then-CIA Director Richard Helms by John A. McCone, an ITT board member and consultant to the CIA.
ITT's CEO, Harold Geneen, without board approval, approached McCone and made the offer to support efforts to forge an anti-Allende coalition. A CIA official, William V. Broe, later admitted to a congressional committee that he discussed CIA staff proposals for creating economic chaos in Chile with an ITT officer to influence the 1970 election. While the CIA apparently turned down ITT's direct offer of $1 million to influence the election, ITT was kept informed of CIA efforts.
Lobbying and Destabilization Efforts Post-1970:
After Allende's election, ITT continued its efforts to destabilize his government. ITT's holdings in Chitelco were nationalized in September 1971, and ITT filed a large claim with the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC).
ITT formed the Ad Hoc Committee on Chile, a lobbying group bringing together large corporations with Chilean interests, to pressure the Nixon administration for intervention. An ITT memo sent to White House adviser Peter B. Peterson contained 18 recommendations aimed at ensuring "Allende does not get through the crucial next six months." These proposals included cutting off U.S. credit to Chile and subsidizing the anti-Allende press, aimed at threatening economic collapse to force Allende to pay for expropriated property.
A 1975 U.S. Department of State report stated: "In addition to providing information and cover to the CIA, transnational corporations also participated in covert attempts to influence Chilean politics."
Anaconda (Anaconda Copper Mining Company) Anaconda, along with Kennecott, was a major U.S. copper company with significant investments in Chile. The nationalization of the copper industry was a key policy of Allende's government, which directly threatened these companies' interests. Both Anaconda and Kennecott put immense pressure on the U.S. government to intervene in Chile to protect their assets. They feared the nationalization of their mines. These companies, along with ITT, were seen as being "the force behind suspension of aid and credits, the continuing military aid to the generals, and the policies of economic aggression" against Allende's government. The nationalization of copper was a primary driver behind the Nixon administration's directive to "make the economy scream" in Chile. This involved an aggressive campaign of economic warfare, diplomatic isolation, and covert action by the U.S. through the CIA.
PepsiCo PepsiCo's involvement is less about direct covert funding, but more about high-level lobbying and pressure on the Nixon administration. Donald Kendall, then Chairman of PepsiCo and a personal friend of Richard Nixon (who had once been PepsiCo's lawyer), directly telephoned President Nixon to plead for U.S. intervention to prevent Allende from taking power. PepsiCo was part of a group of U.S. transnational corporations, including Anaconda and ITT, that formed the [[Business Group for Latin America (later the Council of the Americas). This group unsuccessfully offered to put up $500,000 to persuade members of the Chilean Congress not to confirm Allende. After Allende was confirmed, this group pressured the Nixon administration to impose an unofficial embargo on the Chilean economy.
Agustín Edwards, a prominent Chilean capitalist and media owner (of El Mercurio), was a close associate of Nixon and PepsiCo chairman Donald Kendall. Edwards was made vice-president of Pepsi-Cola just before Allende took office and reportedly organized a "worldwide money pipeline to the Chilean insurrectionists used by the CIA from his estate in Florida."
Dow Chemical had a joint venture with the Chilean government, called Petroquimica-Dow, for petrochemical production. While not as overtly involved in political manipulation as ITT, Dow Chemical's relationship with the Allende government became strained due to the his nationalist policies and the Chilean government's increased control over industries. There were protests against Dow Chemical (and the CIA) on U.S. university campuses in the late 1960s and early 1970s, as Dow was known for producing Agent Orange and Napalm, and the CIA was reportedly plotting a coup in Chile. This highlights the perceived connection between U.S. corporations, government, and controversial foreign policy.
The "Business Group for Latin America" (later the Council of the Americas), was created by David Rockefeller. This group collectively pressured the Nixon administration to take action against President Allende. As Chairman of Chase Manhattan Bank, David Rockefeller had a vested interest in ensuring Anaconda, ITT, PepsiCo and the others were not shut out of Chile, afterall, they did business at his bank.