President, 1970–1973
In 1970, Chile had very close elections, with a three-way split:
Allende received 36.2% of the vote, Alessandri (National Party) 34.9% and Tomic (Christian Democratic Party) 27.8%. The Chilean Congress then had to choose between the first two. The Christian Democrats agreed to support Allende in return for his agreement to the “Statute of Democratic Guarantees”, which meant that large changes required approval by Congress, and the military must remain politically neutral. However,
Allende admitted to the French communist writer Regis Debray that his agreement was just “a tactical necessity” to gain power, never intending to honor it.
Instead, Allende embarked upon radical changes. He formed his own personal armed gang, the
G.A.P. (Grupo de amigos personales, Group of Personal Friends), and started taking over buildings, factories, mines, and banking. His goons took over almost 6,000 farms, putting 60% of arable land under the control of Marxist buffoons, who could only plant 30% of it. Congress protested, and the courts also ruled against his gangster government seizures. But Allende ignored or violated over 7,000 court rulings, including a unanimous Supreme Court resolution. He was following the playbook of his close friend, Cuban despot Fidel Castro, who supplied agents, arms and propaganda.
The results of this
socialist stupidity should surprise no one. Allende inherited a budget surplus of over U.S.$343 million, but left it with a deficit of more than $300 million. Manufacturing and agriculture declined precipitously, shortages were rampant, and inflation averaged 300%.