On September 4, Chileans commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the historic 1970 presidential elections when Salvador Allende and the Unidad Popular (UP) rose to power. At the time, the Chilean left’s electoral success was seen as revolutionary. For a generation of young activists both at home and abroad, the 1970 elections seemed to confirm the possibility of a parliamentary road to socialism.

While Allende’s time in government was short-lived, ending abruptly on September 11, 1973, during a violent, CIA-backed military coup, it continues to inspire social and working-class movements to this day. In the wake of large-scale social unrest in Chile in the fall of 2019, many in the new Chilean left looked back with nostalgia on the UP years. In the five decades since his presidency, much has been written about Salvador Allende’s life and his political legacy. Much less is known though about the women who accompanied him and shaped his path.

Jacobin contributor Lea Börgerding recently spoke with Tanya Harmer, international history professor at the London School of Economics, about her new book Beatriz Allende: A Revolutionary Life in Cold War Latin America, a biography of Allende’s daughter and close confidante. Born in 1943, Beatriz was active in that turbulent period of Latin American politics — the long 1960s — and her life offers new insights into the decade leading up to Allende’s presidency and his years in government. It also sheds light on a generation of young activists in Chile who witnessed the rise and fall of left-wing revolutionary struggles across the continent. This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.