The Us's Interference

Introduction

"Men are moved by two levers only: fear and self interest." Napoleon Bonaparte, a man propelled very much by self interest, meant that all through history mankind has made decisions and acted in ways that are governed by either a fear of something or a need to improve one's own position. More specifically, a question arises with regards to the US's actions in Chile during this time period: Was the US's interference with the Chilean political sphere during the 1960s and 70s beneficial to Chile? After doing much research through online videos, articles and an interview, the conclusion arises that the US's actions within the political sphere were very detrimental to Chile due to the societal chaos and poor governing that occurred after the US interfered. This can be seen during the 1960s, during the coup of 1973 and some time thereafter.

This topic is important because if the US had acted in that way due to a fear of something or self interest then what is to prevent something even worse from happening due to similar causes, whether it be the US or China or any other country. Society must be able to rationalize its actions not due to fear or self interest, but for the betterment of the world. Some historians say that we must act out of self interest in order to better the world, but at the same time that self interest may hinder others. At times, it may be a very difficult decision indeed. During the time period, the US had feared the spread of Communism to Latin America and therefore acted upon those fears as well as to secure holdings in the area. The US did this through political support and an eventual military coup in 1973, led by Augusto Pinochet.

The Beginning of US Interference

The origins of the US's interference during the 1960s can be seen through their influence over elections. The US helped whichever side would further its power. Dr. Bowen, a teacher of political science and international relations at Mary Baldwin College, states that "Communist parties were banned (1947) and enthusiastic Chilean support was given in the 1950s and 1960s to U.S. efforts to stem Communists' influence in the region." It makes sense that Communism was viewed upon negatively because of the effects it would have on production and the economy. Bowen goes on to say that "U.S. dabbling in Chilean party politics and elections began in 1962, when CIA began undertaking covert actions to assist the Christian Democrat and Radical parties." This further proves that the US would go to any means in order to prevent the spread of Communism to South America. They would assist the Radical parties rather than the Marxist party simply to put down Communism.

The CIA has similar information including "In December 1963, the 5412 Group agreed to provide a one-time payment to the Democratic Front, a coalition of three moderate to conservative parties, in support of the Front's Presidential campaign." This information further proves the efforts to fund conservative parties in order to combat the popular Marxist leaders. The US Senate stated "...the loser of the 1964 election, Allende, on November 15, 1965, told the New York Times that the U.S. and other "outside forces" had stopped him from winning the 1964 presidential election." This helps to explain that without the interference of the US, Chilean politics would have gone down a very different path. It is possible that Chile would have become Communist following the 1964 elections if Allende won.

It can be said, however, that the threat of Communism urged the US to step in. Dr. Bowen states that "By 1970, democratic Chile was on the verge of bringing to power the hemisphere's first elected Marxist government." This does suggest that US helped due to the risk of a Marxist government which may have hurt Chilean economics by introducing socialist ideas.

He goes on to say that "Copper Mines were taken over by the state, as were other U.S. owned corporations." This leads to the belief that the Chilean economy would have suffered had the US not stepped in to stop the socialist actions of the government. Graham B. Hovey, a respected journalist with more than 50 years experience, recorded a quote relayed by Richard Nixon, "If Allende should win the election in Chile, and then you have Castro in Cuba, what you will in effect have in Latin America is a Red sandwich, and eventually it will all be red." This is further proof of the US's justification for interfering with Chilean politics. The fear of a "red sandwich" may have been too scary an idea for the people of the US.

Smith, a professor of Latin American Studies at the University of California, elaborates on this idea by stating, "... ideological belief that it was imperative to prevent the appearance that socialism and democracy ever could go together that most strongly motivated the U.S. to undertake a policy to prevent the 1976 election from occurring." This is evidence of the motives behind the US's interference. The idea that democracy and socialism cannot coexist would strongly oppose the possibility of a socialist president, which became the case when Allende came to power. This confirms that prior to the coup of 1973 the US had interfered heavily in several elections. They financed whichever party opposed the socialist party at the time. The US did this out of fear of Chile transforming into a Socialist state.

The Military Coup of 1973

Furthermore, the military coup of 1973 drastically changed the country. It is true that what occurred during the Coup D'état was dangerous and radical. Dr. Bowen puts it simply, "On September 11, 1973... the Chilean Armed forces mounted a coordinated military coup d'état which overthrew the civilian Allende government." This was most likely the result of US interference with powerful members of Chilean society. General Augusto Pinochet has been shown to have had US support to enact the coup. An example of the dangerous manner of the coup is relayed by Eugene Robinson, a writer for the Washington Post, "President Allende himself perished in the Moneda, riddled with machine gun bullets which, perhaps, were self-inflicted as he committed suicide concurrent with the military attack on the Moneda." This is a strong example of the bad that came with the enactment of the coup. This show of violence is the first in a long line of terrible acts, most of them by those in power.

Another example of the dangers of the coup is stated by Ariel Dorman, who had lived in Chile during the coup, which was an order by Pinochet, "Turn the National Stadium, our largest sports arena, into a gigantic