Chile 1970-1973

Synopsis

Nearly 11 years after the Cuban Revolution, the socialist Salvador Allende was elected through a democratic process as president of the Republic of Chile to head a left-wing coalition called Popular Unity. His economic and social platform aimed to decrease Chile's dependence on other nations and the social inequality that dominated the country. Weakened by internal and external strife, by dissension within its own party ranks, and by grassroots demonstrations in the streets, the Popular Unity government faced a particularly adverse economic situation and had only implemented a part of its program three years after the election. On 11 September 1973 the government was ousted in a coup d'état that brought General Augusto Pinochet Ugarte to power and neoliberalism to Chile.

Timeline

• 1955: African and Asian nations meet at the Bandung Conference in Indonesia, inaugurating the "non-aligned" movement of Third World countries.
• 1960: Congo, along with several...