The Insurrection of the Bourgeoisie

The political economy of the period spanning 1970-1973 was determined by the election of Salvador Allende Gossens as president of Chile and the popular victory of his coalition government, Unidad Popular (U.P.) Allende and other U. P. candidates were elected on a platform of building democratic socialism, which Allende termed "the Chilean road to socialism."1 The U.P.'s victory has largely been attributed to its populist appeal to broad sections of the working- and lower-middle classes.

Allende himself earned a plurality, not a majority, of the popular vote (36.3%). This signified from the beginning that Allende and his party did not have the political mandate of majority consensus to begin sprinting down the road to socialism. Indeed, Chile at the time was already bitterly divided politically. The politics of individual Chileans generally corresponded to their socio-economic status. The working class, students, and parts of the middle class generally supported U. P. candidates or other left/center-left parties, while most of the middle and upper classes supported the centrist Christian Democratic or right-wing Radical and National parties.

Patricio Guzman perfectly illustrates the degree and intensity of the left-right divide in the first part of his ground-breaking documentary film, THE BATTLE OF CHILE, which opens on the eve of the 1973 congressional elections. In a series of impromptu street interviews, Guzman asks relatively simple questions to gauge the degree of public support for Allende's coalition government. Responses vary drastically, from heartfelt support to indignation and anger. U. P. supporters espouse their pride in Allende and their elected government, and feel hopeful that they will gain a larger percentage of the popular vote than the 1970 and 1971 elections. Supporters of opposition candidates seem confident that U.P. will be defeated, but disturbingly appear to see in the other side their own perceptions of the political incarnations of evil.


Patricio Guzman, THE BATTLE OF CHILE Part I: The Insurrection of the Bourgeoisie

The final part of the film documents the outcome of the elections, where the U.P. captures 43% of the popular vote. The victory does not sit well with the opposition, which Guzman follows as it becomes increasingly more militant. The first part of the film closes with the failed coup attempt by a faction of the armed forces in June.


Patricio Guzman, THE BATTLE OF CHILE Part I: The Insurrection of the Bourgeoisie

The intensity of the political battles grew and street demonstrations and riots manifested, culminating in the failed coup attempt. The growing violence demonstrated the deep socio-economic and political divide between factions of the population, and lent credence to the thesis of the existence of "two Chiles."

1 Peter Winn, Victims of the Chilean Miracle (Duke University Press: Durham, 2004) 16.