Fifty years after Augusto Pinochet’s coup destroyed Chile’s democracy, current President Gabriel Boric confronts the same challenge faced by Salvador Allende: how to transform society through democratic means. Boric must forge strong alliances, and fast, because the far right, led by José Antonio Kast, is gaining ground.
MEXICO CITY – Commemorating a coup d’état can be difficult, especially in Latin America, where coups, and the military caudillos that often follow, have been commonplace. The September 11, 1973, putsch that overthrew the democratically elected Chilean President Salvador Allende could be considered one of many. But this tragedy has some unique characteristics, captured in the stream of books, documentaries, and commentaries – some with new revelations – marking the coup’s 50th anniversary and assessing Allende’s presidency, which ended in his untimely death.
MEXICO CITY – Commemorating a coup d’état can be difficult, especially in Latin America, where coups, and the military caudillos that often follow, have been commonplace. The September 11, 1973, putsch that overthrew the democratically elected Chilean President Salvador Allende could be considered one of many. But this tragedy has some unique characteristics, captured in the stream of books, documentaries, and commentaries – some with new revelations – marking the coup’s 50th anniversary and assessing Allende’s presidency, which ended in his untimely death.