Crusade’s introduction
to the report on Chile during the thousand days of Allende
which was prepared by the Latin American TFP
An observer little given to methodical analysis of the international situation, or confused by the avalanche of events and disoriented by the contemporary chaos, could be led to believe that the “new face” of “socialism a la Chilena” is an episode that belongs to the past, already relegated to deep archives, where sometime in the future some specialist in history may dig them up once again.
Nothing could be more false. Even now the ” Chilean Way” is one of the most important themes of international political thinking and maneuvering.
Because Allende was overthrown by a military coup before he was able to demonstrate publicly the fullness of his intentions, the following points are not unequivocally clear to the public:
(1) If the people of Chile had expressed the desire that communism abandon its power in a constitutional way, it would not have done so.
(2) As soon as Communism was able to despise and disregard the rules of fair play, it would do so.
(3) Allende would never have permitted the holding of presidential elections in 1976.
And the lack of understanding of these points in the mind of the public is shown by the fact that the Communist Parties of France, Italy, and Portugal are each seeking a kind of “socialism a la Chilena.” If a person analyzes carefully the Marxist propaganda in each of these countries, he sees that the basic ingredients are the same as those that Communism used in Chile.
So we have Europe confused by the siren chants of the three Communist parties whose song is the same as that of Santiago.
ln fact, the Chilean Experiment, precisely because it was an experiment, has had a continuous fascination for world public opinion. From the first days, it has been studied in the same manner as a parable. The French and Italian electorates had their eyes glued to the Chilean experiment, examining each step taken, believing that sooner or later Paris and Rome might face the same horizons as Chile. Realizing this, leftists all over the world were fulsome in their praise of the government of Santiago. And great volumes of Marxist propaganda about the so-called Chilean way to socialism by democratic methods brought itself to bear upon the non-marxist elements in public opinion.
There were some souls who saw the Chilean Experiment as a new phase in a recurring struggle between atheistic collectivism and the Cross of Christ understanding clearly that Communism here, as elsewhere, had as its goal the total destruction of the Catholic Church and the Christian Civilization.
For the first time in the world, socialism was being applied in “liberty.” It was already generally admitted that socialism had tyranny as a corollary. A successful disassociation of these two terms would be highly effective propaganda for the Marxist cause. Accordingly, one question was: Is there or is there not freedom in Chile? ln the case of many persons, if there were freedoms there, one could accept the hypothesis of a Communist government coming to power by democratic means, whereas if there were no public freedoms, this hypothesis would be cut off right on the threshold.
In the case of other persons, perhaps more numerous, the question was: Is there prosperity under that regime? Are there shortages? Is there hunger? Unfortunately, the leftist media and the great journals of the toads [TFP term for big capitalists who support Communism] never provided the public with an unprejudiced answer to these two questions.
Into this artificially created vacuum in U.S. public opinion the press continues to pour propaganda portraying Allende’s regime as moderate, democratic, and freedom-loving, and Allende himself as a tragic victim of the forces of reaction. It seems evident that the beneficiary of this campaign is not Allende, who is dead, but rather the ideas and programs which he represented, an indication that the left believes that the Chilean Way to Socialism has a future in the United States.
Today some persons would like to believe that the United States is an oasis inside a world of convulsion. That this neo-isolationist notion is erroneous is obvious to anyone who considers that modern super-communications and super-transportation bring the different parts of the world into close proximity very quickly, and that the increase in Russian military power, along with the decline of U.S. influence in Europe and the Mediterranean, has placed Europe within the open jaws of the Russian bear. If Communism wins in Europe, the next battlefield will be our own country.
This impending crisis is further magnified by the growing economic crisis, which was precipitated by the Russians through their Arab puppets and which some people are beginning to call the new 1929.
To be realistic we must recognize that in the United States the political choices of the future may be made within the context of this economic slide.
Now the fact is that a significant sector of American public opinion despises ideological disputes and frames the whole question of Communism versus anti-communism in the following terms: “Russia is poor and lives under a tyranny, but the United States is rich and lives under freedom. I dislike tyranny and hunger, but I like prosperity and freedom. Therefore, a regime of free enterprise is better for me.” These persons do not want to hear about problems of religious freedom, of persecutions, of free enterprise, etc. With them, it is a pure case of a play of interests, better taken care of here than there.
As the economic and financial crisis worsens, as has already been foreseen, we will soon experience its social reflexes and the political consequences which will inevitably follow. With the end of plenty, and the specter of tyranny upon us, as a pretended solution for the crisis, socialism “a la Chilena” will have found its hour among us.
Then socialism could be considered a “very intelligent” measure for ending the dispute with Russia, thus enabling us to divert considerable sums of money now going toward national defense into programs for social welfare. The proponents of this idea will present it as a talisman which will pacify the world, maintain freedom, and place us on the road to plenty through the resources we will be able to turn over by abandoning our defense expenditures. We believe that the appropriate remedy is to put an end to petroleum blackmail as a first step in resolving the economic crisis. Having already published articles exposing the roots of the problem, we cannot help but wonder at the confusion that exists in the world over its causes and at the inertia and indecision of those responsible for the Western world.
ln this issue of CRUSADE we will give the reader the elements required to follow more surely the possible events of the future in our country and in the West. Then at the hour that Marxist propaganda presents “socialism a la Chilena” as the panacea for the debacle in the world, our readers will have the data required to judge coldly and objectively the national and international political situation.
Though we do not expect Marxism to present the Chilean plan to the United States and Europe in exactly the same form as before, we do think that the essential features will be the same.
And it must of necessity have the same consequences. ln view of this, we want to acquaint our readers with the consequences of the application of that program in Chile.
It is with this intention that we are publishing an analysis by the Latin American TFP’s that had a great impact in Iberian America, where it made its appearance in several large editions in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Uruguay, and Venezuela. It was also published in Paris, and passages were reproduced and commented upon in various organs of the press in the Old World.
Though the form of the original has been rearranged and adapted to some extent by our editorial staff, nothing essential has been sacrificed in this carefully synthesized and serene study based on the facts given to the TFP by those who lived through the thousand days of Allende. As in the case of the original, we have avoided “a priori” analysis. Judgment is left in most cases to the reader himself.
Scheme of The Report
Part 1. AFTER THE THOUSAND DAYS OF ALLENDE, THE PEOPLE GIVE THEIR TESTIMONY… Being the words of many witnesses, from different sectors of the Chilean population, immediately after the fall of Allende.
Part 2. THE CHILEAN EXPERIMENT. Being a brief but systematic account of the Allende years, showing the roots of the disaster, what factors paved the way for Allende’s ascent to power, the methods he used to implant Marxism, the consequences of his policies upon social and economic conditions in Chile, the factors which led to his overthrow, the profundity and scope of the reaction against the Marxist regime.
In order to encourage the reader to draw parallels between Chile and the United States as an aid in his evaluations, we have added two comparative discussions.
(1) SOCIALISM – COMMUNISM – PROGRESSIVISM
(2) SOCIALISM AND PROGRESSIVISM IN THE UNITED STATES
In publishing this report in the United States, we do it looking toward the future of the nation rather than from the standpoint of providing a description of an episode from contemporary history which, however, would in itself, justify the publication of this material so full as it is of lessons for us.
John Hart, the Editor