Salvador Allende Ousted (1973)

Tue Sep 11, 1973

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On this day in 1973, democratically elected socialist Chilean president Salvador Allende was ousted in a fascist, U.S.-backed coup led by Augusto Pinochet. He died the same day of a gunshot wound to the head, later ruled a suicide.

Allende was a Chilean socialist politician and physician, President of Chile from 1970 until 1973, and head of the Popular Unity political coalition government; he was Latin America’s first ever Marxist to be elected president in a liberal democracy.

As president, Allende sought to nationalize major industries, expand education and improve the living standards of the working class. He clashed with the right-wing parties that controlled Congress and with the judiciary.

On September 11th, 1973, the military moved to oust Allende in a coup d’état assisted by the Henry Kissinger and the CIA. As troops surrounded La Moneda Palace, he gave his last speech vowing not to resign. Later that day, Allende died of a gunshot wound, which the new government claimed was self-inflicted. Although this conclusion was supported by later investigations, speculations of Allende being murdered continue to this day.

Following Allende’s death, General Augusto Pinochet refused to return authority to a civilian government, and Chile would be ruled by a military junta until 1990. This junta dissolved the Congress of Chile, suspended the Constitution, and began a persecution of alleged dissidents, in which at least 3,095 civilians disappeared or were killed.