Was the United States responsible for the fall of Salvador Allende in Chile in 1973
According to Kissinger, the US government had “nothing to do with planning his [Allende’s] overthrow and no involvement with the plotters” . ... Karamissines to preserve Agency assets in Chile, working clandestinely and securely to maintain the capacity for Agency operations against Allende in the future” . In order to assess whether the United States can be held responsible for the fall of Allende in 1973, this essay will first look at US involvement in Chilean affairs, before Allende’ accession to power. That is, during the previous administration and during the electoral campaign of Allende. ... Again, in order to demonstrate the limits of Allende’s power and implementation policy, the Frei years will serve as a measuring standard and then Allende’s own policies will be examined. ... Chile, was the country with the oldest constitutional tradition, where the military was inherently apolitical. How was it that in 1973, General A. ... The United States were not directly involved in the fall of Allende, in the sense that they did not conspire with the military against the democratically elected president. However, it was through their credit squeeze or what has been termed “economic resistance” that the United States eventually encouraged (acquiescence) the military coup. Furthermore, Allende was responsible for his fate as failed to take into account the social and political realities of his country. Chile, and the whole of the Latin American has been traditionally considered (and still is) as America’s backyard and from the early Cold War, G. ... Kissinger, nothing important ever happened in “the South” and the Alliance for Progress was downgraded during the first year of the Nixon Presidency and official US loans to Chile for economic purposes fell form 57,9 million dollars in 1968 to 18 million in 1970. Hence it was surprising when in 1970, Nixon had claimed: “ if Allende should win and with Castro in Cuba, you will have in Latin America a red sandwich. ... ” Furthermore, America had economical interest in Chile (110 investments) and geographically the country was important as it covered a 2,000 mile coast to the Pacific, Cape Horn and Straits in the Straits of Magellan. Essentially, “ in the extreme south of Chile…there are a great number of heavily timbered unoccupied islands that are ideal hideouts for the danger here will be indefinitely greater that during the war”. Furthermore, Chile as opposed to Cuba was a continental country and had the ability to influence directly stability in the Western Hemisphere; it was also bordering Bolivia, Peru and Argentina all three countries plagued with radical movements. Chile in other words fell into the geopolitical interests of the United States. Allende, according to Nixon and Kissinger had to be stopped: “ Cuba in the Caribbean and a Socialist Chile in the Southern corner will make the revolution in Latin America”.