This Monday, September 11, at 11:58 a.m., in the middle of the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the coup, a minute’s silence was held in the square in front of the Presidential Palace of Chile. It was precisely at this time, half a century ago, that armed forces bombed La Moneda, beginning the 17 years of Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship. Among the thousand guests were relatives of the disappeared, victims of torture and national and international authorities. The event was dedicated to the character of Salvador Allende, who committed suicide on that fateful day; for the search plan put forward by the government of left-wing President Gabriel Boric for the more than a thousand missing people and for the need for all political forces to commit themselves never to replacing democracy again. The one on the right left the ceremony.
After the solemn moment of silence, a chant broke out among the guests and the hundreds of Popular Unity sympathizers who gathered outside: “Comrade Salvador Allende! Present, now and always! The ceremony was attended by former Chilean socialist presidents Ricardo Lagos and Michelle Bachelet, who received applause each time she was mentioned. In addition, the President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro; that of Bolivia, Luis Arce; that of Uruguay, Luis Calle; and that of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, among other authorities. Foreign personalities were also present, such as the Argentine activist Estela de Carlotto, president of the Association of Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo; the Spanish judge Baltasar Garzón; and former American guitarist of Rage Against The Machine, Tom Morello, who remembered the Chilean singer-songwriter Víctor Jara, who was assassinated by the dictatorship with blows and bullets in 1983. “The spirit of Víctor Jara lives in every chord I play,” he said.
Representing the family of the deposed socialist leader, Senator Isabel Allende gave a speech in which she recalled the last meeting with her father and his legacy: “Social fighter and interpreter of the desire for social justice in a political career spanning decades.” the few Meters from here, it ended consistently and with dignity.” In the front row, Defense Minister Maya Fernández, Allende’s granddaughter, was excited; and Interior Minister Carolina Tohá, daughter of Allende’s Interior and Defense Minister José Tohá, was assassinated in 1974.
The senator also criticized voices that blame the Allende government for the democratic collapse. “We have seen with pain and concern that historical revisionism is being promoted. An attempt has been made to reverse the responsibility for the tragedy that we have experienced in the last 17 darkest years of our history (…) The real culprits are those who broke the institutions, bombed this palace, persecuted, tortured, murdered and Thousands of Chileans have disappeared.”
On September 11, 1973, many of us were probably no longer alive. But what happened 50 years ago and lasted 17 years of dictatorship is a wound that has not yet completely healed. pic.twitter.com/1ZGppi7snI
— Gabriel Boric Font (@GabrielBoric) September 11, 2023
On the stage, mothers and sisters of enforced disappearance victims, who belong to the group of relatives of disappeared prisoners, performed as a couple a piece of the traditional Chilean dance Cueca Sola. Another emotional moment was when Chilean poet Elvira Hernández recited: “They threw them into the sea and they did not fall into the sea.” “They fell upon us.” It is a reference to the events during the dictatorship.
Chile achieved this commemoration on September 11, 1973, in a climate of strong political polarization and lack of consensus. In recent months, a section of the hard right has claimed the figure of Pinochet as its own, justifying the coup by saying it was “inevitable” because democracy had already broken in Allende’s final period. “The coup cannot be separated from what came after it. From the moment of the coup, human rights were violated,” President Boric said in his speech. “We rebel when they tell us there is no other alternative. Of course there was another alternative! And if we experience another crisis tomorrow, there will always be another alternative that means more democracy, not less,” he added.
Presentation of the “Cueca sola” during the commemoration ceremony. Cristian Soto Quiroz
Boric highlighted Chile’s former presidents, Christian Democrat Eduardo Frei and socialists Ricardo Lagos and Michelle Bachelet, who were part of the Concertación, a conglomerate that ruled between 1990 and 2010, as well as Sebastián Piñera (2010-2014 and 2018-2022). , the traditional right who signed the Santiago Commitment to protect democracy and human rights.
It is an agreement that has also been joined by foreign heads of state and government, including Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil; Guillermo Lasso from Ecuador; Pedro Sanchez from Spain; Michael D. Higgins from Ireland; Luis Abinader from the Dominican Republic; Gustavo de Petro from Colombia and Andrés Manuel López Obrado from Mexico as well as the President of the Federal Council of the Federal Republic of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier and the Prime Minister of Portugal António Costa. “In diversity and among those who think differently, we can build a better society.” “I also dare, in this commemoration, to strengthen the learning and reflection of progressive and left-wing forces about our own processes. “Democracy is the only path to a more just and humane society and therefore an end in itself and not just a tool, and political violence does not fit in with that,” Boric noted.
Allende’s shoes
At 80 Morandé Street, more precisely at the door of the Presidential Palace where the body of President Allende was brought, Boric inaugurated on Saturday the 10th an installation entitled “The Walk of a Democrat”, which is represented by a Glass display case showing the shoes the socialist leader wore on the day of the coup.
The shoes of former President Salvador Allende.Cristóbal Venegas
During the memorial service, dozens of his supporters, most with red carnations in hand, lined up to have their photos taken with Allende’s shoes. In addition, the place is particularly symbolic and sad, and this September 11, a canvas was spread in Morandé 80 with the faces of his closest associates who accompanied him during the bombing in La Moneda.