Salvador Allende

Salvador Allende Gossens (July 26, 1908–September 11, 1973) was President of Chile from 1970 until 1973, when he died of a gunshot wound, under circumstances that remain a matter of dispute, during the violent Chilean coup of 1973.

Early life

Allende was born in 1908 in the port city of Valparaíso. He was the son of Salvador Allende Castro and Laura Gossens Uribe. 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. He married Hortensia Bussi, and had three daughters, among them politician Isabel Allende.

Related Topics:
Port city - Valparaíso - University of Chile - Medical degree - 1933 - Isabel Allende

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In 1933, Allende co-founded the Socialist Party of Chile and became its leader.

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He was minister in 1934, in one of the three Popular Front governments of Chile, led by Pedro Aguirre Cerda. He also served at different times as cabinet minister, deputy, senator and finally as president of the Chilean Senate. He ran unsuccessfully for the presidency on three occasions: in the 1952, 1958, and 1964 elections, joking that his epitaph would be "Here lies the next President of Chile."

Related Topics:
1934 - Pedro Aguirre Cerda - 1952 - 1958 - 1964

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Allende was an ardent Marxist and, as such, an outspoken critic of capitalism. He advocated far-reaching social reforms thorugh legal means. For this reason, he was a deeply unpopular figure within the administrations of successive U.S. presidents, from John F. Kennedy to Richard Nixon, who believed there was a danger of Chile becoming a Communist state and joining the Soviet Union's sphere of influence.

Related Topics:
Marxist - Capitalism - Social reform - U.S. presidents - John F. Kennedy - Richard Nixon - Communist state - Soviet Union - Sphere of influence

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The United States had substantial economic interests in Chile (through ITT, Anaconda, Kennecott, and other large corporations which could potentially be nationalized or expropriated by a socialist government). The Nixon administration in particular was the most strongly opposed to Allende, a hostility that Nixon admitted openly. During Nixon's presidency, U.S. officials attempted to prevent Allende's election by financing political parties aligned with conservative candidate Jorge Alessandri. Allende also received financial backing from foreign communist and socialist organizations.

Related Topics:
United States - ITT - Anaconda - Kennecott - Conservative - Jorge Alessandri

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