Original subtitles

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.