September 11, 2003
Another 9/11 in 1973 Chile
by Liza Sabater
NY Times: Chile's Wound, 30 Years Later, Is Still Inflamed
I am not going to say how old I was in 1973, but I remember reading the headlines of the newspapers and being aware that:
(1) Wow! I can read the newspaper, cool.
(2) That looks really, really horrible.
My father was an arm chair socialist and to him, Salvador Allende was a glimmer of hope for all of Amrica Latina, especially Puerto Rico. Here was a socialist who was fully elected to one of the most important countries in the region. At last, democracy was coming to its marxist fulfillment.
Then the coup happened in Chile.
Many happenings during my youth led me into creating my own BA in Latin American Studies. I wanted to understand history from the inside out. Maybe it was naivit, maybe it was my pinko professors or maybe it was a little of both. For years I have heard about how Allende was disliked in Chile for one reason or another and still, to this day, I have a hard time believing it. Just as I have a hard time believing that Pinochet lasted so long as "president-for-life". Of course, Castro does not elicit the same response. I'll get into that some other time.
This article's focus is on Allende's misguided push for a social "revolution" and its ultimate consequences. I wonder how much longer can our government push its agenda around the world without paying the ultimate price.
Posted by Liza Sabater in Politics
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Say it loud, say it proud!
Check on my links a pointer to NSA documents that demonstrate how the USA actively sought to destabilize the economy of Chile, as preparation for their coup.
In America Latina the issue was not so much about communism, but about the unbreachable class differences that have crippled, economically and politically, those countries.
The death of Allende was a pain felt all over America Latina.
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Comment by: Richard Silverstein at September 19, 2003 03:30 PM
I too thought that the article was really insightful and a great critique of the strengths & weaknesses of Allende's regime. I too was alive in 1973 & possibly older than you (in college). This was a dark, dark event and everything that's come out since about it makes it appear even darker. There was a great documentary film about Henry Kissinger's evil role in the coup (which he of course vehemently denies, hmmm!) which you might've seen a few months ago.
On another subject, since you're quite adept at the technical aspects of TP, I was wondering if you'd take a look at a post http://richards1052.typepad.com/tikun_olam/2003/09/tp_affinity_gro.html I put up yesterday about a TP feature idea which I call TP affinity groups. The concept is perhaps not cleary focussed yet & could use more clarity. But I think it's a really promising way for TPers who blog on similar subjects to cross link to each other (not through trackback) and increase site traffic and blog visibility.
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Comment by: Richard Silverstein at September 19, 2003 03:32 PM
I forgot to add above that I'd love to hear any thoughts or reactions you might have to the idea.
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Comment by: Camilo at September 12, 2003 01:30 AM