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THE BATTLE OF CHILE

THE STRUGGLE OF AN UNARMED PEOPLE

PART TWO:
THE COUP

A PATRICIO GUZMÁN FILM

IN MEMORY OF JORGE MUELLER SILVA

Santiago de Chile.

June 29, 1973.

Unable to remove
President Allende constitutionally,

the U.S. government
and the Chilean opposition

opt for the strategy of a coup.

After its defeat in the presidential
elections in March, 1973,

the opposition sets the wheels firmly
in motion for a planned uprising.

On June 29,

at 09.00 a.m.,

a single regiment attacks
the government palace with six tanks.

Shortly after,

an Argentinian journalist
films his own death.

He also records,
two months before the final coup,

the true face of a sector
of the Chilean army.

For an hour,

the tanks exchange fire

with the presidential guard
who are inside the La Moneda Palace.

22 people die
during these first moments.

Parliament, the Judicial Power,

and the opposition parties are silent.

However,

the rebel troops don't receive support
from the rest of the armed forces.

Perhaps thinking that conditions are not
yet right for a successful rising,

the other officers
don't join in this action.

Meanwhile.

loyal troops begin the first
counter-attack to break the siege.

Watch out! Over there!

Don't shoot, bastards!

At 10.30,

more loyal soldiers are mobilized
towards the city center.

Advancing
on the Panamerican road into the capital

are ten artillery regiment
troop transporters

from the city of San Felipe.

The civilian population must stay calm.

After a brief confrontation,

the rebel tanks begin to withdraw.

The Commander-in-Chief of the Army.
Gen. Carlos Prats,

directs the operations personally.

At 11.00 a.m.,
with fighting still going on,

the President of the Republic
goes into the palace.

Just then, another column
of loyal soldiers arrives,

headed by the Minister of Defense.
José Tohá.

Young Communists of Chile!

Long live the workers' president!

Fight and create popular power!

The situation is being controlled,

but some troops
have not yet surrendered.

Even as they withdraw,
the tanks are still firing.

José Tohá, Minister of Defense,

tries to instil calm
in the face of possible danger.

He is assisted in this task
by Gen. Pickering.

Minister,

if we don't control these people,
there'll be a massacre.

Help me, please.

Get out of here, please! Move away!

If you don't move,
someone might get killed.

Generals Pickering, Sepúlveda and Prats

lead the officers
most determined to suppress the rising.

Other commanders, however,
merely wait expectantly.

Such is the case with Augusto Pinochet.
later Head of the Military Government,

who now joins in with the loyal forces.

At 11.30,

Gen. Carlos Prats
assures the Minister of Defense

that the rebels have surrendered,

and shows
the positions of his own troops.

On the south side of La Moneda
is the Warrant Officers School

and on the north side
is the Buin Regiment.

But Gen. Prats will think it essential

to declare a State of Emergency
to control the situation.

We must request
a State of Emergency at once.

We can't control the situation
otherwise.

Allende, Allende,

the people will defend you!

At noon,
with the defeat of the rising confirmed,

the Christian Democrats

say that they support
the constitutional regime.

The other opposition group,
the National Party,

refuses to comment.

The leaders of the fascist group
"Homeland and Freedom"

take refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy,

revealing themselves
as the authors of the putsch.

Use a heavy hand!

At 6.00 p.m..

the presidential flag is lowered
by the guard who defended the palace.

For two hours, this company,
led by Lieut. Perez,

refused to hand over
the seat of government.

Along with Gen. Prats.
they are the heroes of the day.

The ease with which
the attempted coup was crushed

raises many questions.

The rising showed
that some officers were sympathetic,

and only the fear
of having to face other army units

prevented them
from joining the rebellion.

Consequently,

Allende relies
on the constitutionalists officers,

rejecting any action which may weaken
his government's legality.

We shall make the revolutionary changes

in pluralism, democracy and freedom,

which does not mean

tolerance

of anti-democrats,

tolerance

of subversives,

or tolerance of fascists, comrades!

Close the National Congress!

But you must understand

what the real position
of this government is.

I will not, because it would be absurd,

close

the Congress.

I'm not going to do it.

I said...

I said respect.

But if it's necessary...

If it's necessary,

I shall present

a bill to call a plebiscite

and let the people
resolve this question!

"Mummies", shits,
the street belongs to the left.

The next day,

Allende asks Congress
to declare a State of Emergency.

Meanwhile, from the morning of June 29,

left-wing workers

take control of factories, companies,
mines and agricultural centers

throughout Chile.

Let's create popular power!

Comrades,

the conclusions of the 500 workers
in the packing factory

are the following.

Strengthen the industrial belts.

Strengthen the communal councils.

Strengthen
the neighborhood groups and the COPPs.

Strengthen
all the community organizations.

We must take advantage
of this opportunity

and go on the offensive

in terms of gaining new sectors

and nationalizing new industries.

We, the workers,
are at our battle station,

our workplace,

building the necessary elements

to defend ourselves
against any attack by fascism,

or any further attempts
by the armed forces

to overthrow the government.

We believe
we must strengthen our battle station

which is, firstly,
here in the industries.

At the same time,

all forms of popular power
are strengthened,

especially the industrial belts.

Each belt is a group
of factories and companies

which coordinates
the tasks of workers in the same zone.

In the country's main cities,

31 industrial belts have been set up.

Eight of these are in Santiago.

- Who do you represent?
- The "Macul" belt.

- And you?
- The "Macul" belt.

- And you?
- The "Cerrillos-Maipú" belt.

- And you?
- The "Cerrillos" belt.

- And you?
- The "Vicuña Mackenna" belt.

- And you?
- The "O'Higgins" belt.

- And you?
- The Christian Left.

The Radical Party Union.

The Government.
with the support of the belts,

puts some
strategically important factories

under legal State control.

Comrades,

as we all know,

fascist groups
tried to overthrow the Government

and there are still repercussions
from that.

There is still a latent danger
against a process

which the working class
began and has taken in hand.

It has been resolved that,

given that the packaging
and aluminium company Alusa

has suspended delivery of its products

which constitutes
an obstruction to distribution,

and in view
of the Supreme Decree no. 338

and Law no. 16,464, I resolve,

firstly,

the use of the industrial establishment
is hereby requisitioned,

along with machines and other elements

necessary for the production and/or
distribution of the Alusa factory.

On July 2,

the law on the State of Emergency
proposed by Allende

is submitted to Parliament.

This law would grant
the President special powers,

enabling him to appoint,
transfer and dismiss

whatever military leaders
he thought advisable.

The floor is open to speakers.

The debate is over.

During the three previous governments.

the State of Emergency

had been authorized twice.

Those deputies who reject the proposal,
raise their hands.

The State of Emergency, the chief legal
instrument for extreme situations,

is not authorized.

Result of the vote.

The number of votes in favor, 52.

The number of votes against, 81.

The Executive's proposal is rejected.

The Executive's initiative
doesn't convince Parliament.

The opposition parties
think it unjustified

to grant Allende special powers.

On July 2,

the same day as Congress
rejects the State of Emergency.

navy officers order their troops
to carry out a raid in Valparaíso.

A law on weapons control
passed the previous year

enables the military

to carry out searches for weapons

without a judicial order
or government authorization.

Despite increasing terrorist action
by the extreme right,

this law has never before
been enforced by the military.

Each raid includes
besieging the factory,

the temporary detention of the workers,

and their interrogation.

Thus, without overstepping the law,

some officers start to act
against factory employees and workers.

In this first raid no weapons are found.

Chile is suffering the aggression
of North American imperialism,

of a sector of the oligarchy,

which in October 1970
joined with ITT and the CIA

to overthrow this Government.

They want to repeat

a stupid attempt of that kind.

So the present struggle

has a patriotic and national character.

Chile has got every right
to govern itself

in accordance
with the will of its people.

At the same time,

a series of revolutionary
transformations is in process,

the aim of which is to open the way
to a socialist society.

Faced with the threat of a coup,

the Communist Party
and a sector of the left

agree with President Allende's ideas.

An armed confrontation must be avoided

in what are unfavorable conditions.

Therefore,

this sector decides to get the support
of the officers

who respect the democratic system.

In the political area,

both Allende and this sector
want a minimum agreement

with the Christian Democracy.

This aims to reinforce
the stability of the government

and create a strong front
against civil war.

They've carried out
a campaign these last days.

A campaign in which
they are trying to show

that the Popular Government
is an illegal government.

I want to ask Mr. Victor García Garzena

what is the National Party's opinion

of the rebellion of June 29

which ended in the death
of over 20 innocent people.

I want to know their opinion,

because the paper "La Tribuna",
on the day after that event,

said that it was a show.

While the seditious attack was underway,
the radio station "Agricultura"

was broadcasting declarations such as,

"This is the day
so many Chileans longed for.",

"The armed forces are confronting

"this totalitarian, Marxist government",

and other similar remarks.

That is a political crime.

That is an attack against our people.

The most serious attack against
democracy and the constitutional regime

which they claim to defend.

This gentleman
was already jailed in 1967

by the Christian Democrat government,

for seditious actions
on behalf of the National Party.

Good evening
to all our television viewers.

As you have all seen and heard,

the young student

has described me as being seditious.

But I ask you to look at him
and look at me.

Look at his life and look at mine.

I don't know how the cameras
haven't fallen with shame.

That's the truth.

He has devoted his life to revolution.

He has worked at nothing else
except revolution.

And here am I, a man
who has worked for 35 years,

who was a university
professor for 25 years,

who has always earned his salary.

And the young student says,

"Look at the troublemaker".

So, as it's quite ridiculous,

I'll move on.

The regime can't work without virtues,
without republican virtues.

That's my opinion,
and everyone knows it.

I've always practiced it.

I don't condemn those who are desperate.

I don't condemn people

like the poor truck driver
who picks up a stone.

And neither do I condemn
those people who clamor and who rebel.

I don't support, and I never have,
any rebellion.

I don't support coups
or other escapades.

But today, I fully understand

how an entire country
cannot live at peace

when its most urgent and basic needs,

as we have heard here tonight,

can't be satisfied.

He's just described himself.

He has shown

the seditious face,

the rebellious face

of the National Party.

And here you have the chief threat
to the constitutional regime

and the democracy you say you defend.

Mr. García Garzena has said,
and the viewers heard him,

that he doesn't condemn

the rising of June 29,

perpetrated by a unit
which undoubtedly was traitorous

to the pure tradition
of our armed forces.

He doesn't condemn
the murder of over 22 people.

He doesn't. Just the opposite.

But he hasn't been frank enough here
to say he applauds it,

as it was applauded by his
National Agricultural Society radio,

or as it was applauded
by his paper, "La Tribuna",

which said the next day
that it was a self-coup,

a show put on
by the Popular Unity government.

Repeat that here, sir!

I didn't say I supported the uprising.
Don't distort my words!

Then make yourself clear.

I've done that,
and now I intend to ignore you!

I want to explain
to our television viewers

that our system

isn't one of class hatred
or of any kind of struggle.

It's what's called national integration.

That's what we want.

We want everyone to feel
members of the same homeland.

- Like in Uruguay.
- So that we feel...

- Why are you confusing me?
- Or Bolivia.

- Why mention other countries?
- Or Brazil.

You're like a Bolivian!

Don't despair, Don Victor García.

Don't get hysterical.
Please, let me continue.

These are the problems.

What is the origin of the attacks
against democracy and freedom?

Their aim is to prevent dialogue

and finally take us along
the road to civil war.

The road sought by
Don Victor García Garzena,

that dove of peace
whom we have seen here tonight,

who wants to set up
a fascist dictatorship here,

like that
of José María Bordaberry in Uruguay,

and, deny it if you can,

like those in Brazil and in Bolivia.
Exactly that.

On July 5,

Salvador Allende forms a new cabinet

to tackle the crisis
and create favorable conditions

for a dialogue
with the Christian Democracy.

He tries to incorporate
a personality from that party.

I know perfectly well

that revolutionary processes

shake up and convulse the people.

But I also know that here,

we wanted to do, and are trying to do,

something that other peoples
didn't manage.

A revolution by different channels,

in accordance with our history,

our tradition, and our reality.

I hope that we may be capable
of writing one more page,

to show that Chile
has its own creative will

and its noble decision
to make the homeland ever greater.

Please take

the oaths of loyalty.

Finally, let me clarify that I called

the rector of the Catholic University,
Fernando Castillo,

and I asked him
to form part of the cabinet.

Regrettably,

he had obligations which I respected.

I respected his reasons,
and even though he was most willing,

I couldn't have
Fernando Castillo's collaboration.

But I know the country

can rely on his collaboration
in any circumstances.

I wanted to inform you fully of this,

and also to reiterate
that I am confident

that we shall overcome
the difficult hours

with everyone's help.

Thank you.

Why has this split occurred
when no one really wants it?

In my opinion,

it's because when the Popular Unity
sets out programs,

projects for Chile,

which could really mean

an accumulation
of interest in that objective,

Popular Unity first says,

"Let's see who would supposedly
be opposed to this."

They look for all possible enemies,

find them,
and then set them up as a minority.

But I think that
all those great projects

for the transformation of our society

are projects which,

if sent out properly as a message,

seeking all those
who can come together as a force

which is really working
for Chile's objectives,

are a government's
most basic obligation.

But,
influenced by its more traditional wing,

the Christian Democrats will not,
for now,

talk with the Government.

Even so, Allende,

a sector of the left,
and a sector of Christian Democrats,

will strive for a dialogue

to modify the correlation of forces

in case of a coup.

We must call, comrades,

on the good sense and patriotism

of the sectors
of the Christian Democracy

who think for themselves,
and don't follow

the dictates of the Pentagon, the CIA,
and the Chilean capitalists,

so that they show their opposition

among the people,
in the unions, everywhere,

to the fascist, reactionary offensive.

Because if fascism
manages to win through,

they won't ask the copper worker

if he's a communist,
if he's from MAPU, if he's a socialist,

or a Christian Democrat,
when they repress him.

On July 8,

the marines
carry out a raid in Valparaíso.

That same day,

the Air Force
occupy a cemetery in Santiago

with 3 helicopters.

200 soldiers search the graves
and niches looking for weapons.

In neither case is anything found.

This is just incredible.

Look at what they're doing,
and it's going on every day!

Why would anyone
want to dig up the dead?

The dead don't have bullets or anything.
Why would they kill them?

Imagine digging the poor things up!

All they could do
was throw their bones at them.

So tomorrow, or even tonight,
they'll send their planes.

They'll kill us all,
because we're defenseless.

- Should the people be armed?
- Yes, of course!

The Government
have to do that and very soon.

They have to,
or else it'll be impossible...

We're his strength.

Allende is the president
because we voted for him.

The rich will never be on our side.

Whatever we have now,
it's because of this government.

Because we've never had anything.

How could we not be grateful
to the government?

That's what we have to make
those others understand.

They aren't thinking straight.

They don't understand
all that's being done.

If you're out, moving around all day,

you see what they're doing
for the workers.

What must we do
to defend this government?

- Unite, that's the first thing!
- And if they come with arms?

We should have arms too,
to defend ourselves.

That's what everyone here thinks.

Nobody in this camp has got a weapon.

And you can't do anything
with your hands or with sticks.

If they come with arms,
you can't do anything.

The workers have got
their defense organizations.

There are brigades
which can be mobilized at any moment.

But there are no popular elements
to defend the factories,

nor are there even any popular elements
to mobilize workers

in any formation for combat
or street fighting

against any military sectors
or fascist sectors

which have those elements.

We want a popular militia!

On July 12,

the Socialist party states its position
as regards the threatened coup.

The soldiers, sailors,
airmen and policemen

cannot lend themselves at any time,

or under any circumstance,

to murder workers.

And if it should happen
that some officers rebel,

the officers, warrant officers,
N.C.O.S and soldiers

are not under any obligation

to obey them.

To be even clearer,

not only is it their duty

to refuse to obey orders
which would mean firing on the people,

or to participate in attempted coups
against the workers' government,

they must also actively oppose them.

The bourgeoisie
must understand quite clearly

that it cannot act with impunity.

Every subversive action,

every attack on Chile
and its government,

will invariably
be answered by the workers,

using every method,

with all the resources
which may be necessary.

Our party thinks

that the seizing of companies,

factories, lands,

is a legitimate response

by the working class and the workers,

to the seditious,

mutinous attitude of the right.

We have said

that every step in this reaction
must be thought out.

I'd like to know the party's position

as regards the raids by the military
in our factories

looking for arms.

I take it as an offense
against our class,

because I think that if the workers

were ever to take up arms at any time,

it would be to defend their government.

So could you,

as a lawyer and as a jurist,

tell us when it is legal,

and when it is illegal?

There's a problem here.

We could be acting illegally

in trying to defend
the workers' government,

as workers ourselves,

if we took the precaution
of acquiring a weapon.

I think that the people,
to defend its government,

should use all the means available.

The problem of arms

becomes tied in with that
of the occupation of companies.

For a sector of Popular Unity,
led by the communists.

the indiscriminate
expropriation of factories

only damages
the government's legal image.

But for the other sector,
led by the Socialist Party.

the occupation of industries

is a useful form of mobilization

which helps prepare the coming struggle.

For them,

an armed clash
with the right is inevitable,

and the only way to tackle a coup

is by organizing the masses
and strengthening popular power,

especially in the industrial belts.

Another task for today, comrades,
to control the reactionaries

and to move forward

is the formation of industrial belts

all over the country.

What is needed, comrades,

is that our union leaders

look on this task
as a priority for them.

That comrades
from other companies unite.

That they should tell

the leaders of other unions
of the need to connect

with workers from the next block,
or from further away.

And that way, comrades,

we shall build up that popular force

which is the basis for advancing,

and a rampart for repelling
reactionary attacks.

On July 19,

the Arauco regiment occupy

the Workers' Central
in the city of Osorno.

The next day,

navy personnel
carry out another raid in Concepción.

In neither case are arms found.

On July 12,

the Revolutionary Left Movement, MIR,

from outside Popular Unity.

states its position.

Throughout the entire country,

a single cry is heard
echoing in the factories,

estates, towns, and schools,

in the bastions of the people.

The call to create,

strengthen and increase popular power,

the power of the community commandos,

the power of the workers
and the peasants.

The revolutionaries and the workers

must immediately extend
the seizure of factories and estates,

increase defense preparations,

promote popular power
as local government,

independent of the powers of state.

The warrant officers and policemen

must disobey the orders
of fascist officers,

and in that way...

And in that way,

all forms of struggle
will be legitimate!

Then it really will be true
that the workers,

along with the soldiers,
the sailors, the police,

the warrant officers
and the loyal officers,

will have the right
to build their own army,

the people's army!

On July 19,

the workers
from the Vicuña Mackenna industrial belt

occupy the main road in their area.

Why are you occupying the road?

It's in support of our comrades who
were evicted from the ICMETAL factory.

Will any government representative
be coming?

We hope some authority will come
and solve the problem.

The day before,

workers from the Cerrillos belt
had carried out a similar action.

The protest is directed
against government attempts

to hand back some industries

to facilitate a possible minimum
agreement with the Christian Democracy.

The contradictions among the left

about what strategy
to use against the coup

explode publicly.

At 11.30,

the police chief orders
the road to be cleared.

The police can only advance
to the first barricade.

Beyond that are 4.000 workers
positioned along four miles.

At 11.45,
the Intendant of Santiago arrives.

Julio Estuardo is a functionary
of the Popular Unity

and the highest authority
of the province.

You wait here.

His mission is to end the confrontation.

Please inform the Chief
that on my instructions

nothing is to be moved here
and you are to pull back two blocks.

So pull back the police forces,

preferably beyond Matta Avenue.

Tell the Prefect
that it's on my instructions.

Thank you.

The police have to withdraw.

But the problem of occupied factories
continues to be debated,

with the presence of TUC delegates.

The TUC set up

a commission

to look at the cases of the industries

which are in the hands of the workers.

That commission is studying
those problems today,

through the corresponding institutions,
CORFO

and the Ministry of Economy.

There's one thing
we must have very clear.

There are a lot of industries
which have been taken over.

In Santiago, a huge number of industries
have been taken over,

but not all of them can be nationalized,

for a variety of reasons.

What's more,
when the TUC issued the call

to take over the industries
in the case of any attempted coup,

that meant, in times of crisis,

stopping fascist activity.

But it didn't mean that,
indiscriminately,

all kinds of industries
are going to be nationalized.

There are some problems there too,

with industries
which are totally unfinanced,

and if the State takes them over

it's really just
taking over a dead weight.

And that can't be.

So this is what has been discussed

with our fellow workers in those
industries who would be affected.

What we want
is a decision from TUC, and soon.

It can be good or bad,
but we want a decision,

so that the TUC
doesn't just become an antibody

in the bosom of the workers.

The problem is that there are other
reasons here.

For instance, what about
the companies with Swiss capital?

There's a problem...

There's a problem
of international relations.

What do international relations
have to do

with the problems of the workers?

A lot!

Because the Swiss government

is one of the chief members
of the "Club de Paris",

where Chile's external debt
is discussed and renegotiated.

You all know that
after this government came in,

and nationalized copper, for example,

there was a Yankee boycott

and the country
doesn't have the foreign exchange

or the credits it used to have.

So that is all renegotiated
in the "Club de Paris",

and Chile has to handle itself there

with a great deal of caution.

We're not talking about
international relations here.

We want to nationalize
the industries which interest us.

And without accepting any compromises.

All the things that you're explaining
about international affairs

won't be understood
by the workers in general.

You have to give them
some more local reasons,

and use words
that all of us here can understand.

Can the workers disobey the TUC leaders?

Well, I can answer that too.

Yes, there are answers

which are more local, more Chilean.

Today, as you all know, comrades,

we, the working class,

through this government,
have gained some power,

but we haven't gained all the power.

The reactionaries
want the forces of order,

whether police or army,

to have a confrontation with the workers

which will occur

if the workers
don't obey central management,

but take justice into their own hands

and have a confrontation
with the police and army.

And then,

the right accuses the government

that there's no discipline
and that there's no authority.

And we're just a step away

from the President being impeached,
because that's what they want.

But the thing is,

we can see everything clearly too.

They asked us,
the workers, to get organized,

and to set up the industrial belts
and to get organized on all fronts.

We organized ourselves
on the neighborhood fronts,

on the workers' fronts
and in the trade unions.

We organized ourselves
in the industrial belts.

And we're still hearing
the same old story.

It isn't the time,

there's a legislative power
and a judicial power.

They asked us to organize

from the people up to the highest level,

and that's what we've done.

But the President
still keeps asking us to stay calm,

to keep acting this way
and to keep organizing. Why?

Why is there this fear
that we, the workers,

and all the people,
will call a general strike

and ask the President,
like any executive power,

to decide once and for all
what their battle plan is?

What is the plan they have
for us to fight the right?

And if it's necessary
to have a plebiscite

as those on the right are demanding,

we'll have it from the people up
to the highest level

and I assure you that we'll win
from here to Rancagua.

We've got organization inside the camps,

the industrial belts and the unions.

And the TUC still carries on,
asking us to keep calm,

saying we can't do such-and-such
because this belongs to Queen Elizabeth,

or that belongs to Switzerland.

They just keep making things up.

The truth is,
the people are getting tired.

This is all bureaucracy!

We're fighting bureaucracy
amongst ourselves.

Within our own defenses,
within our own unions,

within our own power like the TUC,

we still have bureaucracy.

Until when?

What I want to know

is if you have confidence or not
in popular power.

Does the TUC not have faith
in those workers

who marched past
comrade Allende on Friday

to shout their support for him?

Does the President not have faith
in our organizations?

Do the deputies up there
not have faith in us?

They sit and do nothing.

And what about the senators?

Instead of fighting for the cause,

instead of doing something
for the workers,

whenever the right wing deputies appear
they all keep quiet.

I think we've had enough!

There's a reason
that we're meeting here tonight.

It's to ask the government

to expropriate
the greatest number of factories.

And we'll let the right
have the ones that are of no use.

If the government
can't take on those dead weights,

the right can do it,
and we'll keep fighting.

You go to the market
and see all the black market stuff.

And they still ask us to stay calm.

Until when? We're sick of all this.

Do you not know the class composition

that exists today in the armed forces?

Don't you know
that the majority of officers

are in favor of the coup?

Because here, comrades,

power isn't achieved

only through good organization.

There is good organization.

But we also need to have some weight

to counter-balance
the real power of the reactionaries.

And that's why
in the Trades Union Council

we're talking
about protection committees.

And what are protection committees?

Protection committees
for production industries

and also protection committees
for the war.

They're things we can't talk about

or give details on,

because we mustn't make that mistake.

But we, the workers, have to be prepared

to go into battle on all fronts.

And the TUC is involved
in that struggle today.

I accept that there are differences,
comrades.

But the problem arises
when there is a desire

for organizations
which follow a direction

parallel to the workers' organization.

That's where problems start.

And so I admit

that here there are many comrades
who ask questions,

not with any ill intention,

but they are things which have to be
discussed in much greater depth.

You can't just unfoundedly catalogue

such-and-such an organization,
or such-and-such a leader,

as having some defect.

I believe that we all make up
the organizations,

and we all have some degree
of responsibility.

And you have your organization

for setting out this kind of problem.

And we are in agreement

that we have to look for answers

to the problems
which we are setting out here today.

But let us not forget

that we've got a government

presided over by comrade Allende,

and we have to obey that leadership.

There is an organism
which is the workers,

and there are organisms
which are the class parties

and they too provide guidance.

On July 19,

the School of Infantry raids a factory
in the town of San Bernardo.

Every sector on the left

recognizes the need to prepare
the armed defense of the government.

But they are unable to agree
on the formulation of a joint plan.

On July 20,
in view of the growing wave of violence,

the Catholic church issues a public call

in favor of peaceful understanding.

This campaign,

led by Cardinal Silva Enríquez,

ends with the countrywide celebration

of "Masses for Peace".

For the representatives of the people,

that they may exercise
the public powers of the State.

That their competence,

aided by the wisdom and prudence
that comes from God,

may lead them always
to serve the homeland,

for the true good of the communities.

- Lord hear us.
- Lord graciously hear us.

For the citizens of our homeland,

so that in the diversity
of opinions and preferences,

God may enlighten our consciences,

soothe passions,

and control partisan resentments,

so that the common good
of the Chileans may prevail.

- Lord, hear us.
- Lord, graciously hear us.

The Church's call for pacification

puts some leaders
of the Christian Democracy

in a difficult position.

For three weeks, they have refused
to have talks with Allende.

If they don't change their position,

they will be opposing
the Church's public position.

A few days later,

Patricio Alwin and Osvaldo Olguin,

the leaders of the Christian Democracy,

arrive at the government palace
to speak with the President.

Aware of the discrepancies,
but convinced of his strategy,

Allende wants to reach
a minimum understanding

to avoid a constitutional break-up.

A possible agreement

between Allende
and the Christian Democrat leadership

causes great unease
in the extreme right.

On July 27,

at 1.30 a.m.,

Commander Arturo Araya Peters.
President Allende's naval aide-de-camp,

is assassinated by a commando.

The violence extends

to an officer
directly linked to the President.

at the very moment

when the Christian Democracy
agrees to speak with Allende.

Commander Arturo Araya

had become the main link

between the government
and the constitutionalists navy officers.

That same day,

the aide-de-camp's remains
are taken to the La Moneda Palace.

They are later transferred
to Valparaíso,

to be buried with military honors.

OFFICERS

Months later,

in exile in Buenos Aires,
and before being assassinated,

Gen. Carlos Prats

says that one of the reasons
for eliminating Commander Araya

was to prevent Allende
from knowing what was happening

in the military circles in Valparaíso.

This is where a sector of the officers

start to plan the coup,

with the advice
of the North American government.

The remains of Commander
Arturo Araya Peters are seen off

by the Commander-in-Chief
of the National Navy,

Admiral Raúl Montero Cornejo,

and by a college contemporary of his,

Sea Captain Guillermo Aldonei Hansen.

And here in the cemetery,

we have two sections
of the Submarine School

and the band of the Armaments School.

All here can remember
the brilliant navy career

of Commander Arturo Araya Peters.

His Excellency the President,
Dr. Salvador Allende,

ministers of state,

heads of the armed forces...

The raids are intensified.

On August 3,

the army surrounds
one of the main factories

in Santiago's Cerrillos belt.

These operations

allow the army to check the terrain

and study the workers' reactions.

They officers accustom the troops
to confronting the civilian population,

and watch the behavior
of their own soldiers.

The next day,

the army occupies
the industrial area of Punta Arenas.

To date,

the army have carried out 27 raids
throughout the country,

without finding any arms.

For the first time in an operation,
tanks are used.

During this week,

the transport operators
call an indefinite stoppage.

The extreme right
wants to provoke economic chaos

and sabotage the talks

between the Head of State
and the Christian Democracy.

The carriers assemble their trucks
at certain strategic points

to make a show of strength
and maintain internal cohesion.

As the "New York Times"
was to reveal later,

the strikers are financed by $5 million

from the Central Intelligence Agency.
CIA.

Each of the operators receives $4 a day.

at the black market exchange rate.

Meanwhile, in the gardens of Congress,

just as happened with the copper strike,

the truckers' wives
are given money and provisions.

On July 31,

the government decrees
the legal resumption of work,

and sends tractors to tow

the paralyzed vehicles to Santiago.

However,
the operators react with violence

and accuse the government
of attacking private property.

These events
are filmed by TV's Channel 13,

which sympathizes with the strike.

AUGUST 7

A few days later,

a portion of Parliament
transform the incident into a scandal.

Congress asks Channel 13
to re-broadcast their film of the events

to help the deputies reach a judgement.

With the approval of some senators,

these images
are retransmitted to the public

presenting them as an official document.

This shows the opposition's
power within the media.

and the freedom of speech
tolerated by the government.

The opposition block
controls Santiago's leading station,

as well as 75% of the radio stations

and 70% of the written press.

In this case,

the seizure of the trucks

fuels a campaign
to discredit the government.

While this is happening in Parliament,

talks between Allende and
the Christian Democracy are deadlocked.

The leaders of that party
set three conditions.

The President must submit
to Congress' authority.

thus renouncing presidential powers
held by other Chilean leaders.

He must back down
on his nationalization policy.

Finally, he must grant
key government posts

to officers who are totally trusted
by the Christian Democracy.

In reply,

Allende is opposed to this capitulation,

and the Christian Democracy
halts the talks.

This being so, the entire opposition

joins the anti-government escalade.

During July and August,

terrorist groups trained
by North American intelligence services,

carry out 250 attacks
with dynamite and fire bombs.

With this authority vacuum,

Allende gets the support
of the leaders of the armed forces,

and gets the military
to agree to share responsibilities.

A country

cannot live

submitted to threats by the heartless.

The streets of Santiago

were strewn yesterday

with publications like this.

We must ask who is paying for them,

where are they printed,

which are the companies
who are contributing

to these attacks

against national life,
against the government,

against the country.

"Eight measures to depose
the government".

That is how shameless they are.

This Cabinet

must put an end

to the fascist stoppage by the carriers,

by deciding

to enforce the law implacably.

It has the support
of the vast majority of Chileans,

who want to avoid,
by all possible means,

a civil war in our homeland.

On August 9, the top military commanders
are incorporated into the government.

Gen. Prats, natural leader
of the loyal officers.

occupies the Ministry of Defense.

Command of the army falls,
meanwhile, on Gen. Pinochet,

also considered a constitutionalist.

This new cabinet
is received with discrepancies

by most of the politicians.

The right reject it.

The Christian Democracy
show a division of opinion.

The left has its doubts.

Only two days later,

the Communist and Socialist parties
support Allende's decision.

Thank you.

The session is over.

On August 11,

the new cabinet takes the first steps
to requisition trucks.

But the initiatives
taken by the commanders

displease most of the officers
who are sympathetic to the stoppage.

This shows
that part of the military apparatus

is also involved
in the anti-government offensive.

The U.S. press later revealed

that William Colby,
ex-director of the CIA,

was questioned by the
House of Representatives in Washington,

in October 1973.

He never denied

that CIA supported the preparation
and financial maintenance of the strike.

On August 12,

the Christian Democrat Party

officially announces
its support for the strike.

In factories,

raw materials are diminishing,

and in the country seeds are scarce.

In these circumstances,

the civil-military cabinet has failed.

But the popular response
to the strike continues.

The government and its supporters

arrange for products
to be brought to distribution centers.

With shops closed,

part of the population
supports the Provisions Council

and strengthens the "popular stores".

Each store is formed
by the neighbors in a sector.

It buys food directly from the State,
and sells it at cost price.

Soon, half of Santiago is benefiting
from direct provisioning.

Direct provisioning!

In some areas,

the Industrial Belts
send workers' pickets

to oversee distribution

and open any closed shops.

At this moment,
popular power is ahead of the police

in maintaining public order
and controlling tradesmen.

That's enough for now.

Please move the kids away.

This isn't a workers' stoppage.
It's a stoppage by the truck owners.

I don't think there's one
worker with a truck on strike.

The ones on strike
have got fleets of trucks.

They're keeping
this useless strike going.

This stoppage is clearly political.

And it is we, the people,
who are being harmed by it.

We're the ones who have to put up
with waiting in these lines.

If all the trucks went back to work,

we wouldn't have all these lines.

But the workers went out on the street.

We went out and fought
and did our duty as workers,

defending our workplaces
and continuing production,

and loading goods with our bare hands

so that the towns
didn't go short of food.

The workers showed that
to our President and the authorities.

Some of the carriers
who support the government

organize convoys to distribute food

in the provinces.

The population also develops
a family supply system,

called "the people's basket".

No compromise
on defending the people's basket!

How do you see
the government's attitude?

The government's attitude

has to be to maneuver.

If you were the government,
you'd have to do the same.

The government
has to walk a tightrope at times.

I believe
that this isn't the government's fault.

For me, as a Marxist socialist
from 1932 to the present,

because I was in the fight
for the Socialist Republic

and I knew comrade Grove

and he made one mistake.

When the people asked him for arms,

he wouldn't give them any.

Of course, it would have been
an uncontrollable massacre.

And then what would have happened?

Even now,

I think we're still far
from having a good front.

We just don't have one.

We've got anti-fascist organizations
and defense committees,

but we're lacking
provincial and national coordination

in order to act on one front.

We can't let what happened in Spain
happen here.

There was a party division,

the anarcho-syndicalists on one side,
the socialists on the other,

and Franco's fascism got into power.

Meanwhile. in Valparaíso,

some sailors
discover the naval conspiracy

and inform several left-wing leaders.

This action is discovered
by the commanders

and the sailors
are jailed and submitted to torture.

On August 22,
in the Chamber of Deputies,

the opposition breaks definitively
with the constitutional regime.

The Deputies argue that the government
"would be violating the Constitution"

and they give the go-ahead
for military intervention.

Supported by a simple majority
and without legal force,

this declaration justifies military
rebellion and legitimizes the coup.

From this point, events occur rapidly.

A group of women

gather outside the house
of Army Commander Gen. Carlos Prats,

natural leader of the officers
who respect the democratic system.

The rally, in which
the wives of six generals take part,

is to show Carlos Prats

that he no longer
has the top military support.

The next day,

the Council of Generals
refuses to back him

and Carlos Prats decides to resign.

- Faggots!
- Lousy faggots!

Generals Pickering and Sepulveda,
the main loyal commanders. also resign.

Augusto Pinochet,

seemingly a professional soldier
who respects the Constitution,

becomes the new Commander-in-Chief.

While the conspiracy progresses.

the civilian opposition
begins the final offensive.

On August 14,
in the Catholic University,

the women from "Feminine Power"

meet to support the transport strike.

That is why

this strike by the carriers,

which was avoided in October 1972,

will, this time, have to be a battle

to the final consequences.

This is how it is seen by all of us

who support the carriers
in their just struggle.

CHILEAN UNIONS DEMAND RESIGNATION

Days later,

the government's enemies
ask for the President's resignation.

Three years of economic war

have let the White House
and the internal opposition

win a large sector of the middle class.

This is where the rebel officers
find the social support

for continuing with their plans.

September 4 is the third anniversary

of Salvador Allende's electoral triumph.

Despite the crisis,

government sympathizers organize
one of the biggest demonstrations

in the country's political history.

From 5.00 p.m.,

more than 800.000 people
file past the President of the Republic.

Three days later, Allende

tells his collaborators
that he wants to hold a plebiscite

to resolve the government's continuity
in a democratic way.

The chosen date
for announcing the plebiscite

is September 11.

We'll cut the dick off
the "mummy" who speculates!

If that won't do,
we'll cut his balls off too.

Workers, let's go into action
and stop the rebellion!

Young Communists of Chile!

Allende, Allende,

the people will defend you!

Allende, Allende,

the people will defend you!

UNITY AND COMBAT AGAINST THE COUP
THE HOMELAND

Keep fighting, President!

- Hurrah for Allende!
- Hurrah!

Popular Unity, keep fighting!

We'll fight and we'll create
popular power!

The Socialist Party of Chile.

Socialist Youth!

The expropriated factories
will never be handed back!

The time for conciliation is over!

It's time to fight!

People, awareness, arms!

- Louder!
- MAPU!

- Shout it louder!
- MAPU!

Allende, don't worry,
the people are with you!

Faced with the people,
mobilized but unarmed,

the internal opposition
and the U.S. State Department

decide to play their last card.

THE MORNING OF SEPTEMBER 11
THE VOICE OF PRESIDENT ALLENDE

Confirmed reports have said

that a sector of the navy

has isolated Valparaíso

and that the city is occupied.

In any case, I am here,

in the government palace

and I'll stay here, defending

the government I represent
by the will of the people.

On September 11,

the navy unleashes the coup
in the port of Valparaíso.

At the same time,

four North American destroyers
move close to the Chilean coast

to take part in "Operation Unitas",

and maintain contact with the mutineers.

At 7.30,

President Allende has arrived
at the palace to give instructions.

The situation is critical.

There is no joint plan
for the armed defense of the government.

During the early morning,

most of the constitutionalist officers
have been neutralized.

At 8.00 a.m.,

two Air Force planes
start to fly over the capital.

At 8.20,

the leaders of the uprising
demand the President's resignation.

and offer him a plane
in which to leave the country.

At 9.15,

the President prepares to fight

and speaks again by radio.

The Air Force has bombed

the masts

of "Radio Portales"
and "Radio Corporación".

This being so,

it only remains for me
to say to the workers,

I am not going to give up.

Placed in an historical transition,

I shall repay
the loyalty of the people with my life.

History is ours,

and it is made by the people.

Long live Chile!

Long live the people!

Long live the workers!

After a few hours of resistance,

the military send Allende an ultimatum.

If he doesn't surrender,
the planes will begin bombing.

At this,

the President gives the palace guard
freedom of action,

and they abandon the building.

President Allende.
who refuses to surrender,

is accompanied by 40 civilians
prepared to face the attack.

Despite the bombardment,

the palace defenders
hold out for three hours.

At the same time, there are skirmishes
in parts of Santiago and the provinces.

At 2.15 p.m..
President Allende dies in La Moneda.

At 9.00 p.m..

the leaders of the uprising
speak to the country.

The armed forces

have acted today

solely from the patriotic inspiration

of saving the country

from the tremendous chaos

in which it was being plunged

by the Marxist government
of Salvador Allende.

The Junta will maintain

judicial power

and consultant ship

of the Public Accounts Control.

The Chambers will remain in recess

until further orders.

That is all.

It may be sad

to have broken a democratic tradition

which on this continent

was of long standing.

But when the State loses its qualities,

there are those

who, by mandate,

have to enforce them,
and take on that task.

We are doing that today.

We are sure that all of Chile

has to understand
the sacrifice that entails.

It isn't a matter
of squashing tendencies

or ideological trends,

or carrying out personal revenge,

but, as I said,
of reestablishing public order,

and returning the country

to observance
of the Republic's Constitution and laws.

After three years

of suffering the Marxist cancer

which led us

to economic, moral and social disaster,

and which could no longer be tolerated

for the sacred interests
of the homeland,

we found ourselves obliged

to take on

the sad and painful mission

which we have undertaken.

We are not afraid.

We know the enormous responsibility
that will rest on our shoulders.

But we are convinced,

we are quite sure

that the vast majority
of the Chilean people

are with us.

They are willing
to fight against Marxism!

They are willing to stamp it out

down to the final consequences!

From September 11,

all the army's resources are used
to repress the popular movement,

with the compliance
of the U.S. government.

The initial armed resistance
by some industrial belts,

towns and agricultural centers

is quickly crushed in an unequal fight.

Thousands of people lose their lives.

and the main sports stadiums
are turned into concentration camps.

Latin America's
longest representative democracy.

has ceased to exist.

Nevertheless,

as of September 11,

the democratic forces
begin to reorganize,

and adopt numerous forms of resistance.

The battle of Chile

is not over.

THEY HAVE THE STRENGTH.

THEY CAN SUBJUGATE US.

BUT THEY CANNOT STOP SOCIAL PROCESSES

WITH CRIME

OR WITH STRENGTH.

HISTORY IS OURS

AND IT IS MADE BY THE PEOPLE.

YOU MUST ALWAYS KNOW

THAT SOONER RATHER THAN LATER

THEY WILL OPEN THE GREAT AVENUES

WHERE MAN CAN WALK FREE

AND BUILD A BETTER SOCIETY.