Allende (Gossens), Salvador

Allende (Gossens), Salvador (b. 26 July 1908, d. 11 Sept. 1973). President of Chile 1970–3 The son of wealthy parents, he qualified as a doctor in 1932. In 1933 he helped found the Socialist Party of Chile, and he was its general secretary, 1943–70. He ran unsuccessfully for the presidency in 1952, 1958, and 1964. In 1970 he won as leader of an alliance of Socialists and Communists, the first avowed Marxist to win a Latin American presidency in a free election. At the same time, his narrow ‘relative’ majority (winning 36.3 per cent of the popular vote) gave him a dubious mandate for the decisive reforms he was intending. He nationalized the copper mines and a host of other, mostly foreign-owned, businesses without compensation. This not only incurred the wrath of foreign governments, but also brought foreign investment almost to a standstill. He also promoted consumption rather than investment, through the introduction of a pay rise and price freeze. These measures promoted a thriving economic black market, and the economy got increasingly out of control. In addition, an ill-prepared but nevertheless aggressive land reform resulted in the breakup of the hacienda estates and brought chaos to the countryside. The elites and the middle classes, mindful of their private property, therefore supported his overthrow by General Pinochet (backed by the CIA), in which Allende died in the burning presidential palace.