Last Words by Salvador Allende

“Workers of my country, I have faith in Chile and its destiny. Other men will overcome this dark and bitter moment when treason seeks to prevail. Keep in mind that, much sooner than later, great avenues will again be opened, through which will pass the free man, to construct a better society.” Full speech here. Also see: The Day Chile and the Rest of Latin America Remember as Their 9/11 | The Wire “Washington and the Chilean elite realised that Allende could not be defeated by electoral means; the stage was set for a military coup. The opposition used its majority in the Congress to stall the working of the government. There were large street demonstrations organised by upper class women —“the jolly ladies of the bourgeoisie”, as Gabriel Garcia Marquez described them — private university students and far-Right groups. Food and medicine disappeared from the shelves. … Four decades might seem like a long time to drag things out of the past, but people across Latin America commemorate the date as living history, not the least because the Chilean template is still being used to destabilise every progressive government in the region – whether that of Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Argentina or Brazil. It is their 9/11, their moment of terror unfolding from the skies.”