The telegram presented illustrates CIA support towards Eduardo Frei in the 1964 elections in Chile. The United States provides a one million dollar subsidy for the Frei campaign as political action towards the defeat of Salvador Allende. The goal of this US campaign in Chile was to provide Frei with the support necessary within Chile from other democratic pirates in order to ensure victory against Allende.  

World relations soon started to become critical during the events of the Cold War as the United States saw it best fit that the spread of communism did not slowly take over Latin America. This came down to the premise that the United States believed that many Latin American countries “Showed signs of instability and weaknesses” and because of this notion that they were displaying that it would create an opening for communist forces and would allow them to be able to exploit them and eventually have influence over them (Wood and Alexander, 244). The events of the Chilean elections of 1964 demonstrate the United States’ intervention to secure democratic runner Eduardo Frei’s position over opponent socialist Salvador Allende. 

The CIA plays an integral part during the elections as various forms of propaganda are on display which ranged from print advertisements to radio and news programs. The propaganda had one main objective which was meant to showcase what life would be like for Chilean citizens if they were to vote for Salvador Allende. They would paint images in the heads of Chilean citizens that in voting for Allende one would eventually have to adhere to a communist way of life. They constructed that a communist society would also remove gender constructs that Chile had built and that voting for Frei it would maintain what Chile had built (Wood and Alexander, 250). So one can see that the United States uses nationalism as a form of swaying Chilean citizens to vote for Frei. In addition to the propaganda made in support of Frei, there was also an equal amount of propaganda in favor of demonstrating how frightening rule under Allende could be. 

Despite the propaganda demonstrating how voting for Allende would lead to a communist way of life for those under chile, it did not seem to show how voting for Frei would lead to better living conditions. For the Chilean citizens, since both men and women could vote there were campaigns that targeted them individually to ensure maximum sway in favor of the democratic party which is important to note and does not simply go target males to vote for Frei. Women had as much of a say in the political campaigns and having their vote would be just as crucial in this election. 

It is evident that even though the United States was mitigating the spread of communism against the Soviet Union they were also vigilant toward Latin American countries ensuring that communist influence did not take over. In viewing this, it is apparent that if a Latin American leader was not an ally to the United States in this case Allende, they would be met with constant opposition to solidify their removal from power. To conclude Latin American leaders were limited in what they could do as they were either seen as an asset or a liability to the United States’ interest during the Cold war. 

Primary Source

https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/news/20040925/docs.htm

Works Cited

Wood, James A., and Anna Rose Alexander. “The Cold War.” Chapter. In Problems in Modern Latin American History: Sources and Interpretations. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2019.