Pinochet oversees Allende’s downfall
The regime of Chile’s Marxist president comes crashing down
Surely this will be the last opportunity “S for me to address you,” said the thin, crackly voice on the radio. “The air force has bombed the antennas of Radio Portales and Radio Corporación... Given these facts, the only thing left for me is to say to the workers: I’m not going to resign! At this historic juncture, I will pay for the loyalty of the people with my life… Long live Chile! Long live the people! Long live the workers!”
So ran the last broadcast words of Chile’s president, Salvador Allende, recorded as troops were blasting their way into his palace in the centre of its capital city, Santiago. The date was 11 September 1973, and after an extraordinarily turbulent three-year presidency, Allende’s Marxist experiment was almost over.
9ith inʚation at Yell over Rer cent and the middle classes in virtual open revolt, the army’s commander-in-chief, General Augusto Pinochet, had run out of patience. At dawn that morning, the navy seized the port of Valparaiso. Meanwhile, military units were streaming into central Santiago. By mid-morning, it was obvious even to Allende that the game was up. The military sent a message ordering him to resign, but he refused. He Yould rather die in the Ralace, he said defiantly. Very well, Pinochet said.
By 1.30pm, the palace walls were shaking under the imRact of army fire. Although the defenders clung to their positions, Allende had had enough. Twenty minutes later, after ordering his guards to surrender, he went along the line, shaking hands in farewell. Then, carrying an AK-47 given him by his friend Fidel Castro, he went alone to a chamDer on the second ʚoor, steadied the riʚe DetYeen his legs and shot himself.
Pinochet wasted little time. By nightfall, Chile was in the hands of the army. Tens of thousands of dissidents were imprisoned and murdered, many of them after being tortured in the national stadium. It was not until March
that 2inochet finally steRRed doYn.