Original subtitles

THE BATTLE OF CHILE

THE STRUGGLE OF AN UNARMED PEOPLE

A PATRICIO GUZMÁN FILM

IN MEMORY OF JORGE MUELLER SILVA

PART ONE: THE BOURGEOIS INSURRECTION

Six months before the bombing of the La Moneda palace,

the Chilean people are voting to renew Parliament.

The political forces are divided in two blocks.

On one side, the center right opposition

made up by the Christian Democrat and National parties.

On the other, the left wing parties,

grouped together in Popular Unity, and supporting Salvador Allende.

The left, united, will never be defeated!

Synch!

Cut!

Clapper!

Sir, who do you think will win the elections on Sunday?

Well, I'm apolitical.

- Ma'am, who do you think will win? - The opposition has to win.

The opposition? By what percentage?

I've got no idea.

Frei! Jarpa! Labbé!

All three are rubbish!

Frei! Jarpa! Labbé!

All three are rubbish!

Who will you be voting for in the elections?

For Volodia Teitelboin and Eliana Aranibar.

How do you see the future?

We'll continue to progress but we must keep fighting,

much more than we have done.

What can I say about Frei?

When he was in government,

I lived in a shack that was falling down.

It was damp all the time,

and my four children had bronchopneumonia.

I asked everywhere for help and nobody listened to me.

But now, wherever I go, I'm seen to,

and thanks to Allende I've got a lovely house.

I don't have many comforts, but we don't go hungry.

I'm retired.

No government has ever done what this government has.

Who's going to win?

Popular Unity, because the workers have to decide Chile's fate.

What do you think of the Christian Democracy?

I think that the Christian Democracy is a party

which has always defended the interests of its class,

but never the interests of the working class.

Thank you. Over there, Flaco. Film the drinks seller.

Excuse me, comrade.

Comrade,

who's going to win on Sunday?

I couldn't say.

- You couldn't say? - No, sir. I've got no idea.

- Do you read the papers? - Not a lot.

Who'll win on Sunday?

We will, the PU.

- We've got the majority. - We'll get 45%.

Popular Unity is going to win by an overwhelming amount.

It's the workers' government, the people's government.

The people have seen the benefits

that socialism brings for all the citizens.

Thank you, comrade. Cut!

Good afternoon, Sir.

What percentage do you give to Popular Unity?

The truth is,

Popular Unity is going to win

because we started out in 1970

with 36%,

and at the present time, with all that we've seen,

and the people who are with comrade Salvador Allende,

we're guaranteed to get 43% and more.

43% and more.

Good afternoon, ladies.

Who will you vote for?

I'm voting for Volodia Teitelboin

and Eliana Aranibar.

What percentage do you give Popular Unity?

Over 40%.

And the food shortage?

I don't think there is one.

I haven't lost an ounce of weight.

Recording!

Sir, what do you think about the elections?

Popular Unity are going to get less than 20%.

How do you see the future?

Whatever happens, we'll still have lots of problems.

Sir, what do you think about the elections?

- Leave me alone. - Thank you.

What do you think about the elections?

The opposition will win, especially the National Party.

And the future?

Chile has to rise up with freedom and democracy.

Good afternoon, Sir.

What do you think about the elections on Sunday?

I think it's a plebiscite,

and on Sunday Chile is going to decide if it wants Marxism or freedom.

How do you view the future, after the elections?

The only solution is a change of government.

Do you believe in elections?

Yes, of course.

Thank you.

Sir, what do you think about the elections on Sunday?

I think that the Popular Front is going to get a hammering

and it's going to be wiped out.

Do you believe in elections?

Yes, absolutely.

What percentages for Popular Unity and the National Party?

30% and 70%.

- How do you see the future? - The future?

Chile's always had a promising future.

- Thank you. - You're welcome.

Ma'am, what's your position as regards the elections?

Jarpa and Alessandri.

What's your preference?

The National Party.

Do you believe in elections or in other methods?

I think there has to be a firm line.

There must never be any question of playing with the people.

How do you view the future, after the elections?

We have to work hard to rebuild Chile.

Sir, who will you be voting for?

For Jarpa.

And who'll win the elections?

The elections? The opposition will, easily.

And with what percentage?

65% at least.

And what will happen in Chile then?

The government will have to respect the majority.

Do you believe in elections or in other methods?

- Elections. - Thank you.

They should impeach the President!

What?

They should impeach him and throw him out on May 21!

He's destroyed the country, ruined it,

and this is a corrupt, degenerate government!

Degenerate, corrupt, filthy!

All those dirty communists should get out of Chile!

On May 21, we'll have, thank God,

the cleanest, finest government we've ever had!

Democracy will win, and we'll get rid of those rotten Marxist communists!

Who do you prefer among the opposition?

Candidates? Jarpa and Gustavo Alessandri.

- And what percentage? - 100%.

My ideal would be 100%, but really I think it'll be around 70%.

Power to the workers!

Comrade, what's your opinion about the elections?

I say Popular Unity will win.

And to hell with the "mummies" on the right!

We'll win with Popular Unity. Here and everywhere else.

The "mummies" can drop dead!

What do you think about the elections?

We have to fight to get a big majority.

We who can see things very clearly realize that

the only way to get power, given that we've got the government,

is by winning the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate.

What it really means is getting a bit more power,

more power for the class.

But, even so,

it isn't the definitive solution.

We believe that one election more or less

won't solve the problem and avoid the civil war.

The civil war is inevitable and fundamental.

And it's going to happen,

because at present the classes are becoming more and more polarized.

On one side, the bourgeoisie, on the other, the proletariat.

That confrontation will come.

Forward without compromise!

As usual, the armed forces guarantee order during the elections.

The opposition votes, confident of victory.

With a two thirds majority in Parliament,

it could remove President Allende

by impeaching him.

For that,

they need more than 60% of the votes.

For Popular Unity,

this is the first ballot with all the opposition forces

since the presidential victory in 1970.

It's also a chance

to measure their electoral strength

after two years of an economic boycott

imposed by Washington,

and internal opposition.

On Sunday, March 4,

at 8.00 a.m., voting has started.

Good afternoon, ma'am.

We're doing interviews for Channel 13.

We'd like to know your views and who you think will win.

- We're sorry to bother you. - No, it's no bother.

I like Baltra. I voted for him.

- Baltra? - Yes.

What do you think the percentages will be?

- Do you want to come in? - Yes, if we may.

Sir, we're doing interviews for Channel 13.

Could you tell us how you think the percentages will be?

- I don't know, I don't vote. - You don't?

- You've got no preference? - None.

You said you voted for Baltra. At what time?

- You voted for Jarpa? - Yes.

- At what time did you vote? - At 11.00 a.m.

- In what commune? - Nunoa, the National Stadium.

What do you think of the elections today?

I think it's great,

and I think that democracy is going to win.

What do you think will happen in the future in Chile?

Everything will be sorted out and we'll rebuild Chile.

Do you think the President should be removed or not?

I couldn't say, but all this has to be sorted out.

What did you think of Jarpa's meeting here two days ago?

Fantastic! I saw it from here.

Did it really catch your attention?

Of course! The crowds and the enthusiasm,

and all very orderly.

Well, I thought it was great, and we're going to win!

And what about the alliance with Christian Democracy?

I think it's splendid, really good.

You feel happy about that alliance?

Yes, I do, because I think it'll fix everything.

Thank you very much.

At 5.00 a.m.,

the first results start to come in.

The Interior Minister, General Carlos Prats,

ensures the maximum guarantees of honesty for all the sectors.

Nevertheless,

before the count is finished,

some media are announcing

a victory for the opposition.

They don't say that over 40% of the votes

are for the left.

The opposition,

who never doubted their victory,

celebrate the supposed end of Popular Unity.

- What do you think of the elections? - We're winning!

We've got over 60%!

What do you think of the elections?

Fantastic! But we were bound to win!

- Sir, what do you... - Great!

I'm Argentinian and I'm delighted that Frei has won!

It's terrific!

Chile needs a few more Freis.

Over here!

Come on, Flaco, move it!

- How do you feel about it? - It's a great victory!

It's a fantastic success! We're delighted!

How do you see the future?

A plebiscite, and we'll win the elections.

Allende will have to leave Chile immediately.

Would you impeach him?

Yes, of course.

Anyway, so long!

What do you think about today's elections?

It's a triumph for democracy and Chile will always be free!

What will happen now?

God forbid anything does.

All we ask is that Chile is always free!

Are you in favor of impeaching Allende?

Yes.

You don't think that could cause a civil war?

- It doesn't matter. - We've got the majority.

- What do you think of the election? - We finally beat those bastards!

What do you think of the election?

Very good, magnificent.

I'd just like to say that it's really wonderful.

The PU ended up in the garbage, to put it politely!

Who was your favorite?

Frei.

I am Alfonso Carrasco Cerda,

president of the Bank of Chile retirement club.

I believe

that we have defended democracy and freedom in Chile.

Would you like to say anything else?

Yes!

Greetings to all the people who have helped to free our country.

After midnight,

the final results spread confusion among the opposition.

The dreamed-of number of votes

evaporates in disaster.

Popular Unity doesn't only

not lose electoral support...

It increases it.

Rejecting the calculations,

one sector of the opposition talks of fraud

and sends its troublemakers onto the street.

A few days later,

the Election Examination Tribunal,

controlled by the opposition,

is obliged to confirm the official results.

The opposition parties are very far from the two thirds they'd dreamed of

in order to remove Salvador Allende.

Popular Unity increase to 43.4% of the votes,

and increase their numbers in Parliament.

They obtain unprecedented support

after two and a half years in office.

For the opposition,

the swearing-in of the new deputies marks the end of the electoral phase.

Honorable deputies,

do you swear or promise

to protect the Constitution of the State

and defend, in the exercise of your duties,

its true interests?

Yes, we do.

I hereby declare you incorporated.

The aims of the present session being completed,

it is now adjourned.

From now on, the White House and the Chilean opposition

realize that the mechanisms of democracy are of no use to them.

The votes won by the Government coalition

show that the desire for social change has not decreased,

despite the millions of dollars invested by the North American government.

After March.

the strategy of the democratic opposition will be,

paradoxically that of the coup d'état.

HOARDING AND THE BLACK MARKET

Thanks to a complaint lodged by a neighbor,

it was discovered that here in 319 Copiapó Street,

the following stocks were being hoarded.

20 tons of sugar,

400 boxes of toilet rolls,

500 boxes of detergent,

100 boxes of Nescafé, 100 boxes of condensed milk,

50 boxes of salmon,

large amounts of rice.

This will be sold

to the neighbors in this sector,

a large number of whom

are gathered here.

I'd say this sale will last for approximately three days.

The Government strengthens the Councils for Provisions and Prices.

In theory,

these are local organizations to supervise food distribution

and report any speculating by shopkeepers.

When the Councils discover any hoarding.

the Government intervenes and the products are put on sale.

In the warehouse belonging to Mrs. Moreno Díaz,

the following goods were found.

310 packets of tea,

2 boxes of "350",

53 boxes of baby food.

All of it had been eaten

by mice.

I bought

detergent and two little packets of tea,

because I didn't have any more money with me.

I couldn't buy any more.

Well, I've got ten children,

and I have to waste the whole morning looking...

We have to put an end to the black market.

We have to close the shops and jail the owners.

We have to do that to scare those people

so they stop speculating.

I think there are lots of provisions.

Look at how often we've seen in the newspapers here

about all the tons of sugar,

all that stuff that's hoarded.

In March,

there are 3,000 COPPs in all of Chile.

In some cases, they introduce ration cards

in order to improve distribution.

What's the card? Can we see it?

It's my ration card. I've got 14 rations.

I've got 2 stock cubes marked down. No, 4 cubes, when they arrive.

If more come, they give you more.

It's all rationed. Coffee, milk, everything.

Can you get by on that?

Yes, we can get by.

And if we don't, then we try to buy other things instead.

Will we collect the vegetable you bought?

The main aims of the opposition

are to disrupt food supplies,

exhaust the reserve stocks and sabotage harvests,

so as to increase the shortage.

Is there any oil?

I don't know if there's any today,

but I got oil three days ago.

Would you like to say anything to other comrades?

We're making a documentary.

I'll put up with everything that happens so that

at least my children can have a better future.

I approve of this government.

- Would you like to say more? - No, that's all, thank you.

PARLIAMENTARY BOYCOTT

For the opposition.

the example of the COPPs is getting dangerous.

Congress

begins an indictment against Orlando Millas,

the minister who promoted the COPPs.

The opposition is using its simple majority in Congress

to discredit the government.

Here are all the documents which record the accusations.

In this case,

the opposition appoints one of its deputies

to interrogate a neighbor, a member of the COPPS.

What do they actually do?

How does this organization COPP work?

As I think I already said,

COPP is an organization

of people, residents, workers, housewives,

who join together and, by a group decision,

are given the authority

to control, or rather to oversee,

if there are sufficient provisions or not

in their neighborhood.

That's what I'm trying to get you to explain to me.

- Yes. - You understand?

I'm just trying to guide you.

That doesn't mean that I'm trying to get you to say something.

I like to be very honest in my dealings.

If I can just explain, I think that

the function of this organization COPP,

is to fulfill the role of ensuring

that people receive sufficient provisions

for all the family groups living in the neighborhood.

Although the opposition fails to prove anything,

the accusation is maintained.

The procedure will be repeated with other top officials.

The ministers either give in or are expelled.

Through the accusations,

the opposition provokes a conflict of powers

between Parliament and the President of the Republic.

In all the cases, a representative of the left

will demonstrate the legal fragility of the accusations.

Consequently,

the Minister of State is only responsible

for his actions to the President of the Republic.

And he cannot be subordinated, as regards

the appropriateness of his actions,

to the view of the majority in Congress.

That political judgement

is only granted to the President of the Republic.

In the specific case of Mr. Millas,

Minister of the Economy, who is being indicted here,

the process of indictment cannot be used

to pass judgement on the provisions policy promoted by the minister,

on his price control policy,

or on the way in which he is guiding the work of production,

provisioning,

and general distribution of the Chilean economy.

Therefore,

not only is this indictment invalid,

ineffective and illegal,

it is an indictment which adulterates,

disregards and violates

the area which the Constitution grants to the President

as regards his essential prerogatives and authority.

Days later, in the Chamber of Deputies.

the vote is held on expelling Minister Millas.

In a period of three months,

the opposition remove two of Allende's intendants

and seven of his ministers.

That is, one high ranking Popular Unity official every ten days.

And they refuse to let us use

the laws which they had in their hands,

and used against the people.

But then,

when we do it to defend the legitimate government,

and the progress of the workers,

an attitude of resistance appears in those sectors

which have all the guarantees

of the reality being experienced by our country.

And this is a government

which isn't socialist.

It is a popular, democratic, national, revolutionary government,

which must carry out a program

to open, as broadly and as quickly as possible,

the path to socialism and the transformation of our society.

LEGALITY OR ILLEGALITY

GOVERNMENT MUST RESPECT COURT DECISION

Shortly after,

the opposition begins an indictment

against all the ministers in the government.

This means the dismissal of 15 ministers at one time.

However, popular pressure

forces one sector of the opposition to pull back

and the maneuver fails.

It's the right who've always been interfering,

trying to get us to bring down the government.

But that'll never happen.

The workers elected this government and it will continue,

and we'll defend it with our lives if necessary.

If they want us on the street, we'll be there,

and if we have to fight, we'll fight,

as workers, in defense

of our workers' democracy.

On April 17,

the government decides to expropriate legally another 49 industries

which are boycotting production.

In reply, Congress presents a constitutional reform

which invalidates almost all expropriations

already made.

The Christian Democracy and the National Party

say that the Head of State has no right of veto in this.

He has to promulgate the reform

and hand back the factories without argument.

This means that Congress. by simple majority. wants to deprive Allende

of an authority which other Chilean leaders had.

Those men on the right are getting huge salaries

and all they're doing is wrecking the country.

Wrecking the country and getting well paid to do it!

And we got a big surprise

when we saw that our factory, our workplace,

had been completely dismantled,

because those gentlemen

had stolen all the machinery.

We don't want to have anything to do with the bosses.

They've been dragging their feet for a long time,

to such an extent that the companies ended up being expropriated.

It's been proved that the industrialists here

had started an open boycott on production.

And we're against that.

I want this to be sorted out.

The government should expropriate the industry

because we can't work with the bosses.

What did they call this factory?

They called it "the jail",

because of the feudal mentality that our bosses had.

And fellow workers in other industries

called it "the Santa Elena jail" because of the pressure.

On May 23. Eduardo Frei.

Christian Democrat and ex-President of Chile,

is elected Head of the Senate.

One of his main tasks will be to aggravate the conflict of powers.

If Allende rejects the reform, and doesn't return the industries,

he'll be accused of overstepping the constitution.

If he accepts, Parliament will then have effective control of the State.

Allende considers this position to be illegal.

and appeals to the Constitutional Tribunal.

We understand

that at this moment

what is fundamental

is to reinforce government policy

and conquer the instruments,

ensuring that there is institutional permeability,

so that the opposition understand

that they can't deny what is vital to a government

to be able to defend Chile,

in the face of an economic reality

which is the result, not of errors made by us,

without denying the ones we've made,

but of international and national factors

which weigh heavy,

especially when a government, like ours,

is confronted with imperialism,

and with a landowning, banking and feudal oligarchy.

Those deputies who reject the proposal, raise their hands.

Parliament will now seek a definitive blockade of the government.

In the months of April, May and June,

Congress declares a boycott on any initiative by Popular Unity.

Result of the voting.

In favor, 52 votes.

Against, 81.

The Executive's proposal is rejected.

The law to punish economic crimes is rejected.

The law to create a Ministry for the Family is rejected.

The law on readjustments and salaries for workers is deferred.

and then got out of the way.

The law on workers' participation in factories is rejected.

The law to create a Maritime Ministry is rejected.

The law to set up self-managing firms is rejected.

In the course of several months.

another 20 projected laws lose their financing.

Nationalism!

Present!

Nationalism!

Forward!

Homeland and Freedom!

Nationalism!

Present!

This is a shock squadron

from the fascist group, "Homeland and Freedom".

- Chile! - One!

- Chile! - Great!

- Chile! - Free!

Forward Chile!

Institutional conflict alone

is not enough to justify a coup d'état.

It is also necessary to provoke violence and social chaos.

That is the main aim of this organization.

"Homeland and Freedom" constitutes a tiny part

of the right-wing mass movement,

but its fascist ideology is found in some opposition parties

and the armed forces.

Its leaders and ideologists

include former employees of the U.S. information services in Chile.

Its patrons are the big employers' associations,

the National Agriculture Society and Manufacturing Development.

But their biggest helper is the North American State Department.

In 1974,

some ex-officials of that Department

reveal that at that time

the CIA had 40 first-class agents in Chile,

many of them instructors for "Homeland and Freedom".

STUDENT DISTURBANCES

In April,

the opposition find a pretext for continuing the social agitation.

The Government has presented

a bill on Education Reform

to democratize the old educational structure.

Feeling itself threatened,

the opposition mobilizes its troublemakers.

For the first time in Chile,

a large number of students

let themselves be used by the more privileged classes.

The opposition parties. professionals, and retailers' associations

support the street disturbances.

We won't be on the defensive anymore.

We won't be the puppets

of reaction anymore.

Because from here on, comrades, we have to make the questions into reality.

And we have to tackle conflictive problems.

And we have to attack whoever gets in our way.

And we're not going on the streets to fight with right-wing kids.

The police and the soldiers can see to them,

and put them out of action.

We have to see how to confront the State.

It's a bourgeois State which we have to overthrow.

Yesterday we saw various groups

making demands for different things, and using

class comrades, the Chilean reaction,

in what were really subversive situations.

In other words, what comrades think

about the distribution situation,

about the law on agrarian reform,

about the nationalization of monopolies.

Those are fundamental questions

which we, as workers, should consider,

and which we wish to resolve with a plebiscite,

and not be dragged along by the reactionaries,

with effective mobilization of the workers.

We can't accept this escalation day after day.

We've been observing this situation,

and we said in October

that they were going to prepare another one.

They're repeating themselves, they don't even have

the initiative to change what they did in October.

And we, the workers,

must go out now and stop these people for once and for all,

and demand a plebiscite on fundamental issues.

How are we going to resolve the transport problem?

Every time they have to attack the government,

they bring transport to a standstill, don't they?

Because they control the drivers.

Most of the drivers have no class awareness.

They aren't in any union.

All they worry about is their percentage, how much they'll earn.

They don't go to union meetings.

So there aren't many unions doing well in transport.

Even the ones doing well are doing badly.

Given the threat of a national commercial stoppage next week,

there should be immediate nationalization

of distribution monopolies.

Given the threat of a boycott on production and economy,

the government must issue an expropriation order

against those companies

which form part of the group of 90 still not in the hands of the workers.

The working class should be integrated immediately

into the planning of the economy.

There is no doubt that at this moment

the resolutions must

deal with the problems in the transport section.

We, the workers in the Public Works Department,

have, at this moment, got everyone ready to march,

and parade past Congress.

Any objections to that?

- To Parliament! - To Parliament!

We ask our comrades in the Public Works Department

if they can obtain means of transport, trucks, vans,

in order to transport groups of workers who will be leaving the factories.

There are trucks and buses, comrade.

The left, united, will never be defeated!

On April 27,

the Trades Union Council

calls a mass meeting in support of the government.

They try, by means of the workers' presence,

to prevent the streets of Santiago

from being taken by opposition agitators.

Power to the workers!

We want popular power!

The left, united, will never be defeated!

People! Consciousness! Arms!

We want popular power!

Demonstrators passing the offices of the Christian Democrat Party

are suddenly attacked.

Shots fired from the windows kill one worker

and seriously injure another six.

The people who provoked us are responsible for this.

- And the dead and wounded? - Who are they? Where are they?

One person was shot dead and six wounded. We saw it all.

Are we supposed to let people come and walk over us?

Who protected us?

You're justifying that death.

And you're speaking in the Christian Democrat offices!

You can't push me around in the Christian Democrat offices!

Senator, why did you hit a journalist?

Fascists!

Where did they fire from? At what time?

That isn't clear. It's being investigated.

Anyway, it's the magistrate who's in charge here.

In this case,

the police and everything to do with public order

is subject to the magistrate and the court.

That's what the code on penal procedure says.

The influence of the violent groups

is obvious in the Christian Democrat Party.

Senator Juan Hamilton, from the party's conservative wing.

refuses to make a statement.

- A moment's silence, comrades! - Everyone keep calm!

Everyone move back a bit, please, move back!

Comrade José Ricardo Ahumada!

Present!

Comrade José Ricardo Ahumada!

Present!

Comrade José Ricardo Ahumada!

Present!

- With your example... - We shall overcome!

Please, comrades, don't push! Don't push!

Popular Unity against the criminal "mummies"!

Comrade José Ricardo Ahumada!

Present!

30,000 people turn up on April 30

to say farewell to the dead worker.

Reckoning that conditions still aren't right,

the opposition end this period of street disorder.

The attempts to punish those responsible for Ahumada's death are unsuccessful.

Justice acts with obvious slowness.

The Supreme Court

ensures that the sentence is never enforced.

OFFENSIVE BY THE EMPLOYERS' ORGANIZATIONS

Once again, our organization is gathered together,

summoned by the national leaders,

to study price increases and establish our new tariffs.

Our first speaker

is the president of Chile's National Confederation of Taxis and Buses,

Ernesto Cisterna Solía.

- An eye for an eye! - A tooth for a tooth!

I think that this assembly should say to the minister

that we are tired of seeing such ineffectiveness and such inability

in solving our problems.

During the three years of Popular Unity,

the American Institute for Free Trade Unionism.

financed indirectly by the CIA,

directs its work towards the Chilean organizations.

In April, 108 managers,

mainly from the transport sector,

receive training in the United States.

We mustn't confuse awareness with patience.

We don't want politics with the tariffs or with the organization,

but we need to survive.

We have to defend our interests,

and to do that we must fight as one man,

with our National Board of Owners,

and go out on the street

in such a way that they see us

and feel the strength of our organization,

with bravery, with fervor, but above all else,

as Chileans, and with dignity.

We can't keep on patching and mending and wearing ourselves out.

The vehicles have got old,

and the bent backs of many of the owners have grown old too!

Generations of them!

It's a matter of putting food on the table, of surviving,

of holding out,

of being able to save this sector,

because with that we are saving the jobs of millions of people

who have faith and confidence in this working man,

in this ill-treated transporter.

He's the person who's building Chile!

He's the revolutionary!

Who can deny

that the moment has come for the entire Chilean transport sector

without distinction,

fighting on a single platform,

to propose this national stoppage!

In May, one third of collective transport

is immobilized by a lack of spare part from North America.

In 1973,

importations from the United States drop to 15% of the total.

To protest against this state of affairs, but also to aggravate it,

the owners of private buses call an indefinite strike.

The state company, with only 600 vehicles,

has to do the work normally done by Santiago's 5,000 private buses.

To help ease the effects of the strike.

workers bring factory trucks onto the streets.

What do you think of the strike?

We all have to fight so that

the government

can have confidence

thanks to the workers.

- We must fight the strike. - How do we do that?

By staying united.

- How far did you walk? - About 70 blocks,

with my two kids.

What do you say?

I think that this is the moment

when the people have to demonstrate

the capacity for struggle

which they have developed in the course of this whole process.

And it doesn't matter what kind of sacrifice we have to make,

as long as we can keep working and producing.

Anyone else want to speak?

The "mummies" are waging this campaign against us.

We're living on very poor wages,

but the workers must have faith in this and be aware.

What do you say?

I'm a student, and I think

they're trying to paralyze the country by any means they can.

In case of a possible total transport stoppage,

the left-wing carriers join together

and create the Patriotic Recovery Movement.

Because of their support of President Allende,

they are attacked for being blacklegs.

I will respond to the loyalty of the people

with the loyalty of a militant socialist,

and as president of Chile

I will resolutely carry through the program of Popular Unity.

We need

better and greater control

in the distribution of produce.

Listen carefully.

This is for those who believe

that I hesitate at times.

We must strengthen

popular power,

centers for mothers,

neighborhood groups,

the Councils for Provisions and Prices,

the community commandos.

They must be strengthened!

The industrial belts must be strengthened,

not as parallel forces to the government,

but as popular forces united with the forces of your government,

the popular government.

On May 28, retired officers of the high command

send a public letter to President Allende,

stating that the armed forces

will consider themselves autonomous

should the government violate the constitution.

Shortly before,

the high command had spoken out against the proposed educational reforms.

On that occasion,

Rear Admiral Ismael Huerta declared,

"We cannot accept that future soldiers

"arrive at the barracks converted into Marxists."

Since 1950,

more than 4,000 officers have been on training courses in the U.S.

and in the Panama Canal area.

Over the two and a half years of Allende's government,

the Pentagon has given them

45 million dollars in military aid.

That is,

more than a third of all the aid received in the last 20 years.

COPPER STRIKE

For the first time,

the opposition wins over a sector of the proletariat.

In the "El Teniente" mine,

a group of workers go on strike for economic reasons.

Traditionally well paid,

the copper miners are the aristocracy of Chile's workers.

For the opposition.

the aim of the conflict is to paralyze the mine.

20% of Chile's earnings are produced here.

Fellow workers,

as well as Channel 13 television,

we have French Television with us.

Comrades, hold up your employment cards.

Let's show them that we're all workers here.

"El Teniente", united, will never be defeated!

First, let's solve the problems of the "El Teniente" workers,

and then, if there's money left,

we can solve the other problems in the country.

But the people we represent come first,

then the rest of the country.

That's all, thank you.

We want a solution!

We requested permission from the union leaders

to use this stage.

As workers

for Popular Unity,

we disagree

with the methods you're using.

We have said at all times

that above all other things,

the most important is workers' unity.

We defend it here,

and within the party alliance of Popular Unity.

You will be wondering why we're here.

We support a return to work,

but not in factions.

Comrades,

we support a return to work.

Comrades.

We can't accept

that you continue to use the policy of division.

No politics here!

Strike!

That same day. and at the same time,

more than half of the 8,000 miners continue working.

Most of them work overtime to ensure

that the basic work in the mine is done.

Caletones has a staff of almost 2,000 workers,

between office staff and laborers.

And today, we've got 750 workers working.

So the industrial part is almost normal.

And that means that tomorrow, or Monday,

there will be total normality.

What should be pointed out here

is that there is a sector which is fighting against a wall.

Their thesis is completely out of all jurisdiction.

Even history shows that the workers here

fought tirelessly against the Yankee

until we took the industry from him,

nationalized it, and now it's Chile's.

It belongs to the Chileans, not to any individual.

But it's our responsibility to run it.

The workers are assuming an almost total awareness.

It is only those in opposition

who insist on believing

that there are left-wing bosses here.

No, there aren't.

The Christian Democracy has got trade union representation here,

and a representative on the Board of Directors.

So we're asking the left-wing media, especially Channel 7,

who have given very little importance to those still working,

to come and see for themselves

so that they'll stop lying.

You've started very well, for a simple reason.

You've all come here to film, and that's important.

But the press, Channel 13, "El Mercurio", all those papers,

are just looking at Rancagua city.

They think that's "El Teniente", and that's bad.

Those of us who are working at present

need this situation to be sorted out,

not for the personal benefit of the workers,

but for the benefit of all Chileans.

You can take any worker here and ask him.

Ask any of them.

Do you think you're dividing the "El Teniente" workers?

No, none of us want to divide them.

It's the enemy who's dividing us.

- The enemy? - The right.

They want us to fight among ourselves.

The other day, the strike leader said

that if blood had to flow, blood would flow.

They want confrontation.

We have never, at any moment, wanted to divide the workers.

The fact of the matter is, I'm 43 now,

and I've spent a long time, 27 years, in the mines.

I've seen all the governments we had before,

and they all acted very harshly with the working classes.

As that comrade said, I think this government has been soft.

It's soft because it's a workers' government.

But if we'd had a government of another tendency,

at this moment a few of us would be dead,

and there wouldn't be many left-wing comrades here.

They'd all be right-wing.

We received threats, they blocked the roads,

we couldn't get down the other day, but we turned up for work.

We came down on foot, went cross-country,

but at least we managed to keep working.

There were even comrades who worked three shifts

because you have to keep the mine going.

We had agreed to keep on working,

because there are certain machines which can't be allowed to stop.

This job's got a lot of responsibility.

We've got a lot of comrades

who still don't know why they're stopped.

They don't know. That's a fact.

They're fighting with the police

because some guy sets himself up as leader

and he puts on a show for them

and they follow him like he was Christ.

I think we have to make our fellow workers more aware,

and that's what our leaders have to start doing now.

That's the reason behind everything.

How can you prepare people?

Well, just by doing what we're doing now,

acting as we are in this stoppage.

I think I'm behaving well. I'm responsible for what I do.

I'm independent, I don't have any political party.

My interest is in working for the progress of Chile,

not for my pocket.

I'm aware that if I have a good wage

then it's only fair that other workers

should have a good wage too.

Today, over 300 workers have turned up.

On the 03.00-11.00 shift, we had over 300.

It's getting back to normal.

The number of workers turning up at their job goes up to 61% on May 7.

The mine's trains are working day and night.

Strike!

The strikers. encouraged by the opposition,

reject two settlement proposals

and demand a doubling of salary readjustments.

Why are you striking?

We're demanding the 41%

that the company owes us.

How many days has it been?

It's been 21 days now.

What's going to happen?

It'll have to be settled today or tomorrow.

Is this to do with unions or with politics?

It's never had anything to do with politics.

There's never been a politician

or a minister

or a deputy involved in this.

We're just workers defending our rights.

And I think we have to win because we elected our President

so that he'd defend workers' rights,

not so that he'd come and criticize us

when we ask for something.

- You support the President? - Yes, I do.

The strike is damaging the government.

Of course it's damaging it,

but I think that in all these 21 days of striking,

they should at least have settled the strike.

Into the square!

The strike leaders need to have victims

so they can accuse the government of repression.

For that reason, the police get orders to act with the greatest caution.

As the police retreat despite the stone throwing.

there is confusion.

While some want to continue the fight,

others think it better to seize the mining company's offices.

Let's seize the company!

I spoke to the governor because I don't want any death.

- Who represents the workers? - We do!

The leaders are over there!

And I also...

I also requested...

I also requested, comrades,

that with the same responsibility as that of the "El Teniente" workers,

we are asking the police forces here

that they should maintain the same composure.

I asked them

that they should maintain

the same composure, comrades.

And now,

I want...

I want to say here this morning

that in the meeting

which we had with the President of the Republic

on the 19th

I spoke to them as an older brother

or a comrade would have done,

and I told them clearly how serious it was

to stop the production of copper now,

when we need more earnings,

when we don't have the financing we need,

when we may not be able

to fulfill some essential commitments.

At this moment,

especially when the price of copper

has reached a satisfactory level,

at this precise moment,

"El Teniente" is paralyzed,

just when it had achieved an extraordinary output.

I spoke to them like a comrade,

with tenderness, with respect, with affection.

Nevertheless,

economic criteria were stronger,

and so "El Teniente" is at a standstill,

and that means

the loss of millions of dollars for the country.

There could have been a solution

that certainly would have cost less than a day's production.

But that would have set a fatal precedent.

A readjustment on top of a readjustment.

Today, I ask them from here to understand

that being a copper worker in this country is a privilege,

from a patriotic and revolutionary point of view.

They are the workers who must preserve the essence of our country.

We depend on copper

to be able to buy spare parts, raw materials,

inputs, foodstuffs and medicines.

I ask them from here, as revolutionary comrades,

to reconsider their attitude.

We will propose solutions which will mean more income

on the basis of producing more copper and greater productivity.

I uphold our revolutionary awareness,

and I tell them that I have faith in the Chilean worker

who cannot forget imperialist aggression and internal conspiracy!

The copper worker and the agricultural worker

have to unite to defend the future of Chile,

threatened from without and hounded from within!

In the "Chuquicamata" mine, on May 16,

the workers reject a stoppage in solidarity with "El Teniente".

The same happens

in the "El Salvador" mine.

The opposition fail in their attempt

to spread the strike to other copper mines.

On June 6,

the strikers send a commission to Santiago.

Congress, which had justified oppression of workers in other times,

opens its gardens

to give the miners money and supplies.

Parliament issues a statement. which has no legal basis,

saying the miners are right.

And meanwhile, donations continue to arrive.

For the wealthy sector.

helping the striking miners has become an obligation.

I am firmly convinced

that this conflict

will have international repercussions,

because here

what is at stake

is the firmness of the workers in defending their conquests.

And on the other side

is the position of the Supreme Government,

which, until this moment, had turned a deaf ear

to solving this problem.

And the only culprits

of the prolongation of these 37 days of strike

have got names.

It is a product of the incapacity

of the ministers responsible for mining and labor,

and of the copper bureaucrats.

For the first time,

a labor leader is received in the Catholic University.

When 65% of the miners at "El Teniente"

and 10% of the clerical staff are back at work,

the leader Guillermo Medina

comes to receive the support of the children of the well-to-do.

Workers and students, forward together!

Down with incompetent government!

The Catholic University students

become the main agitators of the stoppage.

While the strike eases in "El Teniente",

the opposition politicize the conflict.

In Santiago, the organization "Feminine Power"

starts to gather funds for the miners' wives.

A large section of the middle class,

consciously or unconsciously.

starts to join the ranks of fascism.

- Nationalists! - Present!

- Nationalists! - Forward!

- National Front! - Homeland and Freedom!

- Chile! - One!

- Chile! - Great!

- Chile! - Free!

At the same time, in the mining city of Rancagua,

shopkeepers. professionals and carriers

call a stoppage in solidarity with the strikers.

On June 10,

the opposition occupy the city's radio station by force.

As Rancagua is too small to cause any stir in the now lessening conflict,

they decide to move to the capital.

On June 15, 3,000 strikers arrive at the head office

of the Christian Democrat Party in Santiago.

They make up approximately 25% of the mine employees.

Christian Democrat Youth!

The opposition calls out its troublemakers.

The government responds with a police presence

and the mobilization of its militants.

Workers collaborate with the police to impose order.

The agitators provoke the police.

The left-wing workers dismantle the barricades.

Come on, we have to clean up the streets, comrades!

At midday,

the Popular Unity supporters gather in front of the La Moneda palace.

The street battle will go on until night.

VIOLENT CITY

Allende, Allende,

the people will defend you!

I'm here because I've got class consciousness.

I'm here with my class comrades defending the workers' government,

to the death, if necessary.

Let's create popular power!

I've been here since 10.00 a.m.,

firstly because of my convictions.

I'm the father of 12 children.

I know this government's fight isn't for me.

I don't have many days of struggle and sacrifice left.

It's for my children.

What we're defending is constitutional power.

We're against fascism.

We support the popular government.

We think that what's going on now is a just struggle.

We're here to defend the position of all workers.

We don't want that, because of a privileged group,

like the "El Teniente" miners,

this government should have problems.

We'll defend this government's position to the last consequences.

Comrade, why are you here?

I'm Chilean,

and I have to defend Allende's government.

It's the people's government.

We can't put up with fascism anymore.

It has to be stopped now, for once and for all.

It's what the people want.

Wherever you go, people want the same.

We've had enough of those idlers getting paid for nothing in Congress!

That's the opinion of all the workers,

of all the people in the villages.

And we have to be tough on speculators!

They have to approve the law on economic crimes

so we can jail the thieves and hoarders!

Do you want to say anything else?

I've said enough.

- Popular Unity! - We shall overcome!

The next day,

the last strikers are loitering outside the Christian Democrat offices.

Many are returning to Rancagua tonight.

A symbolic group goes to the Catholic University.

In "El Teniente", 93% of the staff have gone back to work.

On June 21. the Trades Union Council

organizes a demonstration of force against fascism.

Let's create popular power!

"PU", and no compromise!

Popular Unity against the criminal "mummies"!

Let's create a popular militia!

Power to the workers!

If you don't jump, you're a "mummy".

Via the "Voice of the Homeland" transmitters,

we have the first worker of the nation,

the President of the Republic,

comrade Salvador Allende.

While half a million demonstrators gather in the center of Santiago,

nearby. watched by the police,

the last strikers watch the event

from the roof of the Catholic University.

I maintain

that never

in our history

was there an event

of the magnitude

and content of this one.

One has had to innovate in all methods

to be able

to have even approximately

a dimension

of the extraordinary,

spirited and enormous multitude

which is filling the streets,

Moneda, Agustinas,

Amunategui,

Ahumada, Morandé,

Huérfanos,

Teatinos,

most of the Alameda,

and the column which set out from Tajamar

has still not been able to arrive,

likewise the column from Vicuña Mackenna.

Never in the history of Chile

were the people more combative and more present!

We can feel history here!

We are reinforcing

our right to build

a future

of justice and freedom,

to make our way towards socialism!

A week later, the copper strike is over.

On June 28,

the 500 miners occupying the Catholic University

withdraw in small groups.

In all, the conflict has lasted 76 days,

and has cost the state millions of dollars.

With this strike over,

Allende's adversaries have tried almost everything

to topple his government.

They have one last resort.

The next day, June 29, at 9.10 a.m.,

the Number Two armored regiment

attacks the La Moneda palace with 6 tanks.

Parliament, the Judicial Power,

and the opposition parties are silent.

The rest of the armed forces do not back up the action.

A little later,

Leonardo Henricksen, an Argentinian cameraman.

films his last shot.

He doesn't just record his own death.

He also records, two months before the final coup,

the true face of a sector of the Chilean army.

Watch out!

Watch out! Over there!

END OF PART ONE