Neoliberalism was imposed on Chile – grandson of the country’s first socialist president told RT

Ever since Salvador Allende was elected as Chile’s first socialist president in 1970, the US was adamant on removing him from power and used economic sabotage and other means to create the conditions for a military coup, Allende’s grandson, Pablo Sepulveda Allende, has told RT. 

Pablo Sepulveda Allende was speaking to former Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa, who has launched a new talk show on RT dedicated to examining the wave of US-backed coup d’etats that spread across South America in the 20th century. 

Speaking about the September 11, 1973 coup carried out by Augusto Pinochet, Allende stated that although Chile admittedly had a number of economic issues at the time, he insisted that all of them had largely been provoked by the United States. 

He recalled the infamous order given by US President Richard Nixon to the CIA to “make the [Chilean] economy scream” and prevent Allende from coming to power or unseat him if he does.  

Today, 50 years after the coup, and over 20 years after the end of Pinochet’s dictatorship, Chile is still trying to find its footing, Allende said. Despite his country sometimes being described as one of the most developed nations in Latin America, he insisted that there is a misconception about Chile’s economy and society. Allende pointed out that there is still a lot of poverty in the country and that most people are deeply indebted. 

Allende also argued that neoliberalism, which has been the dominant ideology in Chilean politics, had essentially been forced on Chile following the 17 years of state terror that was waged by Pinochet’s authoritarian military dictatorship.

He decried the fact that Chile’s modern left-wing parties have embraced neoliberalism and made pacts with the right in order to stay in power. He claimed that the Socialist Party, as well as other members of the center-left coalition, have betrayed the legacy of his grandfather by, for example, denationalizing the copper industry. 

“Today, after 50 years, 70% of copper that is mined in Chile belongs to foreigners, to transnational corporations,” Allende said. 

The full interview with Allende is available on RT Spanish. Upcoming episodes of Correa’s ‘Coup D’etat’ series will include discussions with former and current leaders of Honduras, Venezuela and Argentina, among others.

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