(The following article is from the June 16-30, 2008, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $25/year, or $12 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $25 US per year; other overseas readers - $25 US or $35 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133 Herkimer St., Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)

By Alfonso Alvarez, translated from the original Spanish by Ardis Harriman

June 26, 2008 will mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of Salvador Allende. It is the moment to take a look at his place in history, at how upon his death he left us with a rich legacy, an unfinished work, a study for the present day with a vision of the future. His anti-imperialist, pro-Latin American, internationalist stance, and his idea of socialism are the basic foundations of this legacy. It is the legacy of a nation, a legacy of democracy and unity. His mark on the history of Chile and the world can never be erased.

     As a young man, Allende became part of Chile's social struggles by participating as a student leader in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Chile. He was also a teacher at the Chilean Student Federation's night school for workers. 

     From 1927-31, he took part in the protests that ended with the ousting of the dictatorship of Carlos Ibañez del Campo. In 1932, Chile was briefly declared a socialist republic, but this was followed by a period of persecution and Allende spent time in jail. He received his medical degree in 1933, linking his profession with his social concerns. It was the same year that the Socialist Party was founded. He was a lifelong member and became its General Secretary in 1943.

     The decades of 1930s and 40s shaped Allende's political identity and style, and he threw himself into the reality of Chile's medical and social systems, its economic and cultural issues. He travelled extensively throughout the country, empathized with the experiences of miners, peasants, southern ranchers, the problems of the petty bourgeois. He understood the concerns of the emerging working class in central Chile, and he connected with people in the big cities.

     He took part in the creation of the Popular Front in 1936 and was elected Deputy for Valparaiso and Aconcagua. He was appointed Minister of Health, Welfare and Social Insurance by President Pedro Aguirre Cerda and was the youngest person in his cabinet. In 1945 he was elected Senator for the Southern provinces. Along with his Party responsibilities, he brought a wide variety of experiences to the Chilean political left and socialist thinking. He once remarked, "This is how we must struggle for economic understanding with the people of America: a clear continental policy is indispensable."

     Nationally, he distinguished himself in agrarian reform by pushing for a Ministry of Economy and helping form Chile's Development Corporation. At the end of the 1940s, he was faced with the division of the Socialist Party and a protracted battle against the anti-democratic law of the government of President Gonzalez Videla. He participated in the creation of the People's Front and was its candidate for President in 1952. The following year, he was elected Senator for Tarapaca and Antofagasta.

     He visited France, Italy, China, the former Soviet Union, and was elected Vice President of the Senate. When the Socialist Party was reunited, it joined the Communist Party in the formation of the Popular Action Front (FRAP). For the second time in 1958, he was a presidential candidate and was only narrowly defeated by the Conservative Jorge Alessandri. He attended the investiture of President Betancourt of Venezuela, visited Havana and met with leaders of the Cuban revolution. In 1963, he ran for the presidency for the third time, only to be defeated by Christian Democrat Eduardo Frei.

     By now he had become an established leader of the left, and was elected President of the Senate. He again visited Europe, as well as Latin America, North Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. After the death of Che Guevara in Bolivia, he accepted Che's comrades into Chilean territory and helped them to travel safely to Tahiti. In 1969 the Popular Unity was formed, and Allende once again was a candidate for the presidency. This time he was successful, and defeated Jorge Alessandri. He became President of Chile on November 3, 1970.

     The successes of the Allende government are numerous: a milk program for school children, an increase in wages, the nationalization of copper, the deepening of agrarian reform, the creation of social programs. The law for the nationalization of copper went into effect on July 11, 1971, a day also known as the Day of Dignity. The following year, he spoke in the General Assembly of the United Nations. He maintained good relations with both socialist and capitalist countries.

     However, the popular nature of his government created a climate of unrest in the reactionary circles of the United States headed by the Kissinger-Nixon duo, and he was overthrown in a bloody coup by the Chilean Armed Forces under General Augusto Pinochet. President Allende died fighting in La Moneda Presidential Palace on September 11, 1973.

     His name and his memory have grown in stature with time. He is known and respected worldwide. Streets, museums, and schools carry his name both in Chile and throughout the world. It is the name of a statesman who for more than half a century brought prestige to Chilean politics. He was an outstanding example of a person of principle, a socialist and a democrat.

     Compañero Presidente Salvador Allende: Presente!