But the brutality of the new regime, headed by General Augusto Pinochet, didn’t stop with the coup. During this time, Allende also ran for president unsuccessfully in 1952, 1958 and 1964, before finally winning in 1970. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Allende’s election represented a victory for workers and for the working class — the non-elite, popular … After election to the Chamber of … Allende, representing a coalition of Marxist parties, came to power in 1970 after narrowly beating his closest opponent with 36.3 percent of the vote. This month marks fifty years since Popular Unity’s Salvador Allende was elected president of Chile. Salvador Allende Gossens, a Marxist activist, became the founding member of Chile’s Socialist Party in 1933. Salvador Allende. Allende was elected to the Chilean Senate four times from 1945 to 1969. Allende’s inability to control his own radical left-wing supporters further incurred the hostility of the middle class. For his successful 1970 campaign Allende ran as the candidate of Popular Unity, a bloc of Socialists, Communists, Radicals, and some dissident Christian Democrats, leading in a three-sided race with 36.3 percent of the vote. They acted as … In 1933, Allende helped organize the Socialist Party of Chile (PSC). Allende was a member of the Socialist Party of Chile. As part of a criminal investigation into alleged murders committed by Pinochet’s regime, Allende’s body was again exhumed in May 2011, and a scientific autopsy was performed. He … His regime was supported by working-class constituencies, but was opposed in covert actions by U.S. President Richard Nixon. He was a senator from 1945 until 1969 and was President of the Chilean Senate from 1966 until 1969. These recordings date from the late-60s to the mid-90s and chronicle the progressive history of the Bay Area, the United States, and international solidarity movements. By 1972 Chile was suffering from stagnant production, decreased exports and private-sector investment, exhausted financial reserves, widespread strikes, rising inflation, food shortages, and domestic unrest. Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz was a 17th century nun, self-taught scholar and acclaimed writer of the Latin American colonial period and the Hispanic Baroque. Salvador Allende Gossens was born in Valparaiso, Chile on 26 June 1908, the son of wealthy parents. As responsible of the PSI foreign policy he supported, also financially, some socialist parties banned by the dictatorships of their respective countries, including the Spanish Socialist Workers Party, the Panhellenic Socialist Movement and the Chilean Socialist Party of Salvador Allende, of whom Craxi was a personal friend. Military officials claimed that he had committed suicide, while others believed that he had been killed and that an apparent suicide had been staged. The US-backed 1973 coup against Chile’s democratically elected socialist president Salvador Allende resulted in Allende’s death and the torture and murder of thousands of leftists throughout the country. He expropriated the U.S.-owned copper companies in Chile without compensation, an act which set him seriously at odds with the U.S. government and weakened foreign investors’ confidence in his government. His government, however, was overthrown on September 11, 1973, by a military coup led by Augusto Pinochet. The president's inability to control his own radical left wing brought further hostility from the middle class, though he remained popular among workers and peasants. The Socialist Party of Chile (Spanish: Partido Socialista de Chile, or PS) is a political party within the centre-left Nueva Mayoría. In the Senate, Allende consistently defended the interests of the working class and attacked capitalism and imperialism, siding with the Cuban Revolution. Allende won the first of his four elections to the Senate in 1945. While popular with Chileans, Allende's social programs were undermined by both national conservative forces and the Nixon administration. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Salvador-Allende, Spartacus Educational - Biography of Salvador Allende, Salvador Allende - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). He qualified as a medical doctor in 1932 but from his student days he was also active in politics, helping to found ChileÕs Socialist Party in the same year as his graduation. He was elected to Congress as a Deputy in 1937, but his rise to political prominence came with his appoint… During this time, he helped implement such social reforms as higher pensions, a free school lunch program and safety laws for factory workers. In 2014, a new party in Chile called Revolución Democrática inaugurated its central office. Portia de Rossi, wife of Ellen DeGeneres, is known for playing the cold and calculating Nelle Porter on Ally McBeal and Lindsay Bluth-Funke on Arrested Development. In an attempt to redistribute incomes, he authorized large wage increases and froze prices. Interview by Tom Raeside. The Chilean Socialist Party was founded in 1933 by Salvador Allende, amongst others. In Salvador Allende …the founding (1933) of Chile’s Socialist Party. He participated in the founding (1933) of Chile’s Socialist Party. The quote chosen for this mural was from a speech by the iconic Chilean president Salvador Allende: “Since my youth I have fought against prejudice and obsolete political systems. …proposing as its presidential candidate. The Freedom Archives contains over 10,000 hours of audio and video tapes. Almost a thousand days before, Salvador Allende and the Popular Unity coalition had taken office promising a “Chilean Road to Socialism” based on democratic principles. Henry the Navigator, a 15th century Portuguese prince, helped usher in both the Age of Discovery and the Atlantic slave trade. He participated in the founding (1933) of Chile’s Socialist Party. Every step of the way, they showed that a “popular front” based on the unity of working-class forces with “progressive” capitalists could pave the road for a bloody defeat. Pablo Neruda was a Nobel Prize–winning Chilean poet who was once called "the greatest poet of the 20th century in any language.". Politics. Allende retained the support of many workers and peasants; his electoral coalition won 44 percent of the vote in the March 1973 congressional elections. Allende was born in 1908 in Valparaíso. He was one of the founders of the Socialist Party of Chile and in 1938 became a minister of health. During the siege, a large number of civilians were killed or wounded and many were imprisoned. UP also initially included the moderate Party of the Radical Left, but in 1972 it joined the opposition (inside the Confederation of Democracy). Finally, in September 1970, he won a presidential race. Allende was elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1937, and eventually served as minister of health. Early on, he declared his commitment to Marxism and his desire to promote a socialist Chile. She writes about the events and anecdotes of the president’s inner circle, but also about her years of exile and the Resistance Committee that she formed with Tati Allende in Cuba. They would avoid direct conflict with small- and medium-sized capitalists in order to first take hold of the “commanding heights” of the economy. Henry IV granted religious freedom to Protestants by issuing the Edict of Nantes during his reign as king of France, from 1589 to 1610. Salvador Allende was a politician who co-founded Chile's Socialist Party and ran for the Chilean presidency several times before winning the 1970 election. Salvador Allende became Chile's first socialist president in 1970 before committing suicide during a 1973 military coup. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. The results confirmed that he had committed suicide. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Get exclusive access to content from our 1768 First Edition with your subscription. He was four times candidate for the Presidency—unsuccessfully in 1952, 1958, 1964, and finally successfully in 1970. He was married to Marie Antoinette and was executed for treason by guillotine in 1793. Nevertheless, it was confirmed on October 24, 1970, after he had guaranteed support to 10 libertarian constitutional amendments demanded by the Christian Democrats. Allende, born into an upper-middle-class family, received his medical degree in 1932 from the University of Chile, where he was a Marxist activist. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. https://www.biography.com/political-figure/salvador-allende. This solidified opposition from U.S. President Richard Nixon's administration, which increased support to Allende's political opponents and led efforts to cut off international lines of credit to Chile. The Socialist Party in Zambia herewith condemns the on-going coup attempt against the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela. During a concerted attack on the presidential palace, Allende died, and the manner of his death became a subject of controversy. Louis XVII was recognized by royalists as the King of France from 1793, when he was 8, until his death in 1795. UP's leader, Salvador Allende, was a Marxist who co-founded Chile's Socialist Party. He qualified as a doctor in 1932 and helped found the Socialist Party of Chile a year later, serving as its general secretary from 1943 to 1970. Popular Unity — a coalition including Allende’s own Socialist Party as well as the Communist and smaller leftist parties — envisioned Allende’s presidency as a preparatory stage. The son of Salvador Allende Castro and Doña Laura Gossens Uribe, he was part of an upper-middle-class family that had a long tradition in progressive politics. On September 11, 1973, General Augusto Pinochet led a military coup d'état to overthrow Allende, who refused to surrender and barricaded himself in the presidential palace. Allende led the Popular Unity coalition, which was composed of the two largest parties, the Communist Party and the Socialist Party, as well as smaller leftist parties. After election to the Chamber of Deputies in 1937, he served (1939–42) as minister of health in the liberal leftist coalition of President Pedro Aguirre Cerda. Allende, born into an upper-middle-class family, received his medical degree in 1932 from the University of Chile, where he was a Marxist activist. Read More If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us! His slight plurality in the election resulted in his confirmation as president by the National Congress of Chile. Salvador Allende was a politician who co-founded Chile's Socialist Party and ran for the Chilean presidency several times before winning the 1970 election. The coup d'etat by General Augusto Pinochet in Chile on September 11, 1973 transformed the history of socialism. In the legislative elections on 16 December 2001, as part of the C… Having failed over the years to kill the leadership and destroy the gains of the Bolivarian Revolution, the United States is now desperately turning to rogues in the army to do their dirty job. Allende attended high school at the Liceo Eduardo de la Barra in Valparaíso and medical school at the University of Chile, graduating with a medical degree in 1933. In 1990 his body was exhumed from an unmarked grave and given a formal public burial in Santiago. He had the support of the Socialist Party, many of whose militants supported Carlos Ibáñez and the Communist Party, which was illegal and acted clandestinely. Unemployment was high and an estimated half of the country's children under the age of 15 were suffering from malnutrition. It was 1952 and Salvador Allende was facing his first presidential campaign with few resources. Twenty-seven years later, Ricardo Lagos Escobar represented the Socialist Party in the 1999 presidential elections. French philosopher Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron de la Brède et de Montesquieu, was a highly influential political thinker during the Age of Enlightenment. Again with the same support he was decisively defeated (1964) by the Christian Democrat Eduardo Frei. There were conflicting reports regarding whether Allende committed suicide or was killed by soldiers storming the palace after it was attacked by the Chilean Air Force. Allende was arrested multiple times while he was a student at the University of Chile for protesting against the government. © 2020 Biography and the Biography logo are registered trademarks of A&E Television Networks, LLC. Inaugurated on November 3, 1970, Allende began to restructure Chilean society along socialist lines while retaining the democratic form of government and respecting civil liberties and the due process of law. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Allende won the first of his four elections to the Senate in 1945. He was the son of Salvador Allende Castro and Laura Gossens Uribe. He earned a Medical Degree at that university in 1932, chosing to become a pediatrician. Allende also printed large amounts of unsupported currency to erase the fiscal deficit created by the government’s purchase of basic industries. Salvador Allende, in full Salvador Allende Gossens, (born June 26, 1908, Valparaíso, Chile—died September 11, 1973, Santiago), Chile’s first socialist president. In 1940, he married Hortensia Bussi, with whom he had three daughters, Carmen Paz, Isabel and Beatriz. In 1945, he became a senator. The UP coalition included the Communist Party (CP) and the Socialist Party. Louis XVI was the last king of France (1774–92) in the line of Bourbon monarchs preceding the French Revolution of 1789. Updates? Allende immediately implemented his socialist agenda, increasing wages and freezing prices while taking steps to reform the education system, health care and government administration. He had the support of the Socialist Party, many … Salvador Allende was born in Valparaiso, Chile, in 1903. Omissions? Salvador Allende was a Chilean President and Socialist leader. On the 50 th anniversary of the history-changing election of Salvador Allende in Chile, the National Security Archive today posted a selection of previously declassified documents recording the reaction of U.S. officials to the first democratic election of a Socialist leader … So I assume John you will be able to show where you ever wrote anything critical of Phillip Agee for revealing the names of hundreds of CIA covert operatives around the world? Allende was a reformist who believed in Keynesian economics. The CIA later acknowledged its support of the political opposition and advance knowledge of the coup, though it continues to deny any direct involvement in the event itself. Salvador Allende Gossens was born in 1908 and died in the coup against his government on 11 September 1973. Corrections? Poor economic planning and a growing dysfunctional relationship between Allende and Congress deepened the country's economic difficulty. "use strict";(function(){var insertion=document.getElementById("citation-access-date");var date=new Date().toLocaleDateString(undefined,{month:"long",day:"numeric",year:"numeric"});insertion.parentElement.replaceChild(document.createTextNode(date),insertion)})(); Subscribe to the Biography newsletter to receive stories about the people who shaped our world and the stories that shaped their lives. In his youth, Allende was influenced by an anarchist shoemaker, Juan De Marchi, who promoted revolution and radical politics. When Allende took office, Chile was enduring a severe economic crisis. In 2011, Allende's body was exhumed, and a scientific autopsy confirmed he had died by suicide. Because he lacked a popular majority, however, his election had to be confirmed by Congress, in which there was strong opposition from the right. The Socialist Workers Party and its international cothinkers had fundamental criticisms of the Popular Unity (Unidad Popular, UP) government led by Salvador Allende. Early Life Edit. In 1933 Allende helped to found the Chilean Socialist Party, a Marxist organization that was opposed to the Soviet Union influenced Communist Party. In 1933, Allende was one of the founders of the Chilean Socialist Party, which was based on Marxist principles but was intended to be specifically Chilean rather than broadly international in its orientation and parliamentary rather than revolutionary in its politics. Salvador Allende. Allende ran for the presidency for the first time in 1952 but was temporarily expelled from the Socialist Party for accepting the support of the outlawed Communists; he placed last in a four-man race. It was from the beginning a party which stated in its program its commitment to Marxism: “The Party adheres to Marxism as the method for interpreting reality … By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica.