SALVADOR ALLENDE AND THE CIA
By Jack Devine (ex-member of the CIA)
[1] The CIA’s covert efforts to reduce support for President Salvador Allende played an important role ∈ the extreme political confusion that characterized his time ∈ power. But the fierce opposition Allende faced was primarily a response to his own flawed economic policies, which hurt not only the wealthy but the \middle and working classes as well. Perhaps fearing that his narrow margin of victory gave him little time to pursue his vision of a socialist Chile, Allende rushed into a program of land reform, nationalization of industry, and government spending to stimulate the economy. Initially, it seemed to work. In the government’s first year, real GDP grew by nearly eight percent, production increased by more than 12 percent, and consumption levels grew at a rate of 13 percent. But by early 1971, Allende’s economic populism began to backfire. Landlords became reluctant to maintain properties that might be seized at any moment. Business owners began leaving the country, taking their capital and entrepreneurial knowledge with them. And the public ∈ general suffered shortages of basic goods.
[2] Allende faced political problems, too. The moderate Christian Democrats were alarmed by his nationalization of industry and opposed his agenda ∈ parliament. Meanwhile, leftists ∈Allende’s ruling coalition thought he should move even faster. Their impatience encouraged the Revolutionary Left Movement, which sponsored confiscations of privately held land ∈ the countryside, often by violent means, creating a climate of fear and worsening food shortages.
[3] Among my group of secret helpers at the time was an elderly middle-class woman, a grandmotherly type. She suggested putting together a demonstration ∈ which women would carry pots and pans along with banners protesting the scarcity of food and basic household items. It sounded like a good idea, at least worth a small CIA investment. I gave her several hundred dollars but had low expectations. So I was stunned a few weeks later when I was walking near a park not far from the U.S. embassy and heard the thunder of thousands of women parading down the street, pounding on pots and pans. There, among those directing the marchers toward the presidential palace, was my helper. Later that night, as the demonstrators gathered outside the palace, leftist students arrived on the scene and physically attacked the women. Images of Chilean housewives getting harassed by leftist youths flashed around the world, creating a publicity nightmare for the Allende government and a rallying point for the opposition.
[4] The demonstration came to be known as “the March of the Empty Pots and Pans,” and soon, similar protests were organized by other women’s groups, sometimes aimed at the military, which the women challenged to act against Allende.
Adapted from Foreign Affairs, July/August 2014.
With respect to to the Revolutionary Left Movement, which of the following is most supported by the information ∈ the article?
