The Chilean Middle Class Played a Central Role in the Coup Against Salvador Allende
The CIA and the Chilean military have rightly been seen as central culprits in the 1973 overthrow of socialist president Salvador Allende. But we shouldn't overlook the important role that the Chilean middle class played in the coup and its aftermath.
Salvador Allende shaking hands with people in the street, 1972. (Brazilian National Archives via Wikimedia Commons)
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Chilean elites, right-wing parties, and the military orchestrated the overthrow of Salvador Allende’s socialist government in 1973; the middle class, banging pots and waving handkerchiefs in protest throughout the Popular Unity years, looked on approvingly.
Patricio Guzmán’s classic film trilogy The Battle of Chile cemented that image with its first installment, Insurrection of the Bourgeoise, a stirring portrait of middle-class revolt goaded on by foreign conspiracy. There, scenes of middle-class street protests are juxtaposed with opposition-party sabotage and external economic blockades — the latter being decisive in the coup.
The Chilean middle class is usually cast in these depictions as contributing to the overthrow of the Popular Unity government. It is much more rarely seen as leading the movement for Allende’s violent ouster.
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