Chilean Coup D État Case Study

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Recommended: The Cold War's influence on Latin America

2014
Examining the Underlying Foundation of the 1973 Chilean Coup d’état
Unlike the majority of Latin American countries, Chile is renowned for its democratic stability. The only non-democratic movement in this country’s history took place on September 11, 1970 when the Chilean military, led by BLANK overthrew Salvador Allende. Many theories have been proposed as to what led to this event, with many scholars focusing on the United States’ influence in the region as the culpable party.
The United States did not create the political and economic instability that led to the 1973 Chilean coup d’état, instead, the U.S. covertly exacerbated long-standing problems in Allende’s government until the Chilean military felt it was necessary to step in and take control of the country. Allende’s failed economic policies and attacks on democratic institutions created resentment amongst the military and Chilean society, which were exploited by the CIA and the United States government for their own agenda. The aim of this discourse is to present the most pressing issues during Allende’s time as president in order to explore the idea that Chile’s domestic economic and political instability were the main reason for the coup, and international influence facilitated the process.
In order to explain why the Chilean military accepted the US’s help and overthrew Allende’s government, it is necessary to understand the effects of Cold War tensions in Latin America. Both the United States and the Soviet Union were looking for control in Latin America, and Allende’s rise in politics was seen as influential by both powers due to his socialist views. Both powers attempted to persuade Chilean politics to their benefit and this rivalry came to a breaking po...

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...OULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED The idea that Chile would have remained at economic peace if the United States had not intervened is preposterous, the country was already heading to turmoil and. Yuri Pavlov, Soviet ambassador in Chile at the time, explains it best. “It was well understood in Moscow that although the CIA has a lot to do with the coup d’etat, it was not the main reason” (228 Haslam), one cannot ignore existing domestic turmoil which was a direct consequence of Popular Unity(find what policy) policies.

Allende’s policies are to blame, Chilean politics were polarized, and more importantly—Chilean military, not those from the Unites States overthrew Allende. At the same time, it is preposterous to claim that the U.S. was not involved in this coup. This coup should not be considered only in terms of U.S. involvement, there were domestic issues in play as well.

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