https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/chile/2020-09-15/extreme-option-overthrow-allende
As communism began to spread across Latin America, the U.S. attempted many ways to contain the spread of communism. One country in particular, is Chile. In Chile, there was the 1964 election in which Democrat Eduardo Frei went up against Socialist Salvador Allende. Allende gained a lot of support which led to there being a campaign called the scare campaign whose purpose was to convince Chileans that voting for Allende meant voting for a dictatorship while voting for Frei meant that democracy would continue in Chile. The U.S. had made attempts to stop communism in Latin America.
As the 1964 election in Chile was progressing, the threat of communism reaching Chile became a huge concern for the U.S.. Throughout the campaign the CIA became involved in the campaign against Allende. This campaign included “anticommunist propaganda filled the airwaves and newspapers of Chile”(Problems 247). This campaign led to Chile becoming a state of hysteria in which many viewed the election as “a showdown between Frei, the valiant hero fighting to preserve Chile’s democratic traditions, and Allende, the nefarious representative of the international Marxist conspiracy. (Problems 248). To many Chileans it was a battle between good and evil. It is interesting to note that the involvement from the U.S. was so heavy that the CIA funded propaganda group produced “24 daily newscasts in Santiago and the provinces, 26 weekly ‘commentary’ programs, and distributed 3,000 posters daily.”(Problems 248). One of the most powerful works of propaganda were the ones that targeted gender. For men they were targeted through fear of the husband losing his job along with “family as his descendants would be distressed by the suggestion that his children would be taken from him if Allende won.”(Problems 250) and for women it was the fear of having her children taken away as “so much of a Chilean woman’s life centered on her children, the emotional thrust of the ads equated an Allende presidency with the destruction of the family had a particularly strong and negative impact on women.(Problems 250). The propaganda was so successful that it led to Frei winning the 1964 election.
After Frei was elected president of Chile, the threat of Allende was still lingering. In the photo above we can see the support that the U.S. feared. In the 1970 election, Allende was able to win. This result led to Allende becoming the “first committed socialist to be democratically elected in Latin America”(Dawson 236). In response to Allende winning the election, “middle-class and elite Chileans, the military, and the U.S. government united to destabilize the regime.”(Dawson 236). Their attempts to destabilize the regime were unsuccessful which led to military action being taken. The U.S. backed up general Augusto Pinochet who overthrew the government in 1973. With Augusto in charge this led to him banning all political activity and being a dictator. For the U.S. this was better than having Allende in charge as for them it was better to “stay with loyal friends than experiment with change and new people in a dangerous world.(Problems 247). The fear of communism spreading led to the U.S. taking drastic actions across Latin America.
Works Cited:
Dawson, Alexander. Latin America since Independence a History with Primary Sources. 3rd ed., ROUTLEDGE, 2022.
Wood, James A. and Anna Rose Alexander, editors. Problems in Modern Latin American History: Sources and Interpretations. 5th ed. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2019.