11.7: From Democracy to Dictatorship in Chile, 1948-1988

The End of the Popular Front (1948-1952)

After World War II, there was a democratic wave and most of South America became somewhat democratic. However, as the Cold War heated up, the South American democracies fell one by one. For the most part, South American elites and the US government supported anti-Communist dictators who they believed would better protect their interests.

The stability of the Chilean political system during 1932-1964 stemmed from the ability of the hacienda owners to control their inquilinos in countryside at election time. There was no secret ballot, and inquilinos were forced to vote for the candidates chosen by the hacienda owners. Chilean elites also had a tremendous amount of power, because they controlled the military. The officers came from the ranks of the wealthy. Beginning in 1938, elites allowed the Popular Front, which included Socialists and Communists, to govern if these elites were allowed to maintain their dominance in the countryside. This gave elites power in the legislature the power to veto any laws that threatened their interests.

By 1946 the Chilean economy was in a slump, and the Popular Front government focused more economic growth rather than reducing poverty. For the working class, serious problems with health, nutrition, housing, and infant mortality remained. Industrialization failed to diminish dependence on foreign technology or to provide substantial employment. Like more Latin American countries, Chile continued to rely on low value primary product exports which consisted mostly of copper. The Popular Front government sought closer ties with the US and access to loans to further industrialization. For this reason, the government yielded to US pressure by banning the Communist Party and repressing blue-collar workers.

Economic Stagnation and the Presidency of Eduardo Frei (1952-1970)

Chile could not overcome economic underdevelopment, because there was too much poverty. US companies controlled the copper mines and sent profits back. They did not reinvest, and production had been stagnant. Agriculture was another major problem. 1.5% of the farmers controlled 70% of the land, and much of the land was not cultivated. In fact, Chile imported over $100 million in food annually by the 1960s. The governments of 1952-1964 were unable to stimulate growth, because they did not address copper or agriculture.

Overall, the poor economic performance of agriculture delegitimized the hacienda owners who symbolized inefficiency and exploitation. In 1958, the reformist Christian Democratic Party united with the Socialists and passed a law which introduced the secret ballot and legalized the Communist Party. Now inquilinos could vote for any candidate that they wanted. The Socialists selected Salvador Allende as their candidate for the presidential election that year. With promise for peasant unionization and land redistribution, Allende did extremely well with the inquilinos and came within 33,000 to winning the presidency. Chile was not on the radar of the US government in its effort to contain communism. By 1961, the elites lost failed to gain one third of the seats in the legislature and their veto power.

Allende ran and lost for president to the Christian Democratic candidate Eduard Frei in 1964. Expectations for Frei were high, because he promised to redistribute land to 100,000 families and double copper production. However, many of the investments made by Frei were long term investments which would not materialize until after 1970. Copper production did not increase, and the majority of Chileans supported nationalization. Agriculture production declined by 16.3 % and less than 30,000 families received land. However, Frei gave peasants the right to form unions and go strike. During 1964-1967, there was massive mobilization of the peasants by Marxist and Catholic labor organizations.

The Rise and Fall of Salvador Allende

In 1970, Salvador Allende finally won the presidency by only 40,000 votes. Additionally, his coalition of Socialists and Communists did not have control over legislature once Christian Democrats and elites united against him. Similar to Frei, Allende wanted to address copper and agriculture. The government, with unanimous support, nationalized the copper mines without any compensation to the US companies. However, copper production plummeted, because foreign technicians left and the US would not supply machinery or spare parts. Allende sought to once and for all destroy haciendas. The problem was that land was seized by peasants which disrupted production. The amount of land cultivated fell by one fifth and wheat production shrunk by one-third.

For the most part, Allende’s government brought a great deal of instability. Land was expropriated and factories were taken over without the approval of congress. Allende supported policies that would not create a unified block against his government and he did not want to antagonize the factory owners. Nevertheless, many Socialists wanted a complete government takeover of the economy and encouraged workers and peasants to seize property. Only rarely were troops sent in to remove occupying peasants or factory workers. By 1973, prices had gone up despite government efforts to keep them low, because wholesalers and retailers horded goods, truck owners refused to deliver products, and business-led strikes paralyzed the economy. The USA provided $8 million in covert operations to finance this economic breakdown. Congress then called on the military to restore the constitution.

On September 11, 1973 the Allende government was overthrown in a military coup which resulted in the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. This new regime closed down the legislature, banned political parties, and suspended civil rights. The new government called itself a ruling military junta or council but Pinochet headed this junta which had a member of each branch of the military as a representative. Figure 11.7.1 shows this junta members all wearing military uniforms. Pictured in this photo from 1985 from left to right: Rodolfo Stange Oecklers (Head of the national police), Jose Toribio Merino Castro (Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Navy) Agusto Pinochet (President of the Republic of Chile) Fernando Matthei Aubel (Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Air Force), and Cesar Benavides Escobar (Representative of the Army).

It is estimated that over 2,000 people were killed. Pinochet announced that the military rule would last no less than five years. A secret police force, known as the National Directorate of Intelligence, engaged in torture and had a network of informants throughout society. Under Pinochet, exports became more diversified, and there was high economic growth but lower real wages and declining social services. Pinochet slashed public spending on education and healthcare by 27%. The government focused on exports and removed protections on industry. As factories closed down, unemployment and poverty increased dramatically.

Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): Military Junta of Chile in 1985, Photographer Unknown, Ministry of Foreign Relations, CC BY

In 1988, an election was scheduled for the voters to determine if they wanted Pinochet to serve as president for an eight-year term. A united opposition to Pinochet formed. After 1973, most Chilean Socialists became more moderate democratic socialists. Many had fled to Eastern Europe but were unimpressed after they saw how undemocratic these communist societies were. This change allowed for a strong alliance to be formed between the socialists and the Christian Democrats. Additionally, many elites pushed for congressional elections and the legalization of parties. However, the economy was doing well, and Pinochet was confident he could win in a clean election. On election night, 54% of Chileans voted “NO” for eight more years of Pinochet as president. Chile then became a democracy.

Review Questions

• How was there instability in Chile before 1973?
• What were the key features of the Pinochet dictatorship?