1973-10-25

This is the Latin American Press Review, a weekly selection and analysis of news and events in Latin America as seen by leading world news sources, with special emphasis on the Latin American press. This program is produced by the Latin American Policy Alternatives Group of Austin, Texas. 

The major Mexican newspaper, Excélsior, reports that the head of the Chilean military Junta, Augusto Pinochet, announced that the vast majority of Chilean industries nationalized under the Popular Unity government would be returned to their former owners. About 500 large and medium industries had been nationalized or partially nationalized during the Allende administration and placed into the social sector of the economy, in which structures were being set up to allow for workers control. 

Excélsior says that the new minister of the economy for the Junta, who announced that the industries would be returned to the private hands, also admitted that prices, which skyrocketed since September 11th coup, have risen even higher. Gasoline prices have risen more than 1,000% and are expected to rise more next month. Milk and other dairy products have risen between 300 and 900%. The prices of all basic food stocks in Chile has risen. The price rise in different products varying between 300 and 1,900%. 

The military government has also announced the formation of the New Labor Union, which is to replace the recently outlawed United Workers' Confederation. Meanwhile in Paris, an international delegation of journalists returned from Chile and condemned the military Junta for the burning of libraries, the destruction of laboratories, the censorship of the press and the widespread terrorism. This from the Mexico City Daily, Excélsior. 

Daily World newspaper reports of an indication of the reaction of U.S. labor organizations to the Chilean situation occurred last week in Detroit, when Leonard Woodcock, president of the United Auto Workers, protested the outlawing of Chile's Central Trade Union Federation by the Junta. "The United States," said Woodcock, "Has a moral duty to render all possible assistance to the peoples of Chile in their struggle to restore traditional liberties." 

"The Allende coalition," he added, "Was a lawfully elected government, respectful of the longstanding Chilean traditions of democracy. Those who killed Chilean democracy are, for the most part, self-declared friends of the Pentagon and certain U.S. multinational corporations. We assert, as we did in 1971, our strong solidarity with all Chilean workers and more specifically with Chilean metal workers, most of whom are brothers through the joint membership in the International Metal Workers Federation." 

This was by Leonard Woodcock, president of the United Auto Workers, as reported by the Daily World. 

The Guardian of New York City reports that, the U.S. support for the Chilean military Junta is coming out more clearly. The latest economic move to bolster the dictatorship was the announcement by the Department of Agriculture that Washington is giving a $24 million credit for the Junta to purchase wheat. This is eight times the amount of commodity credit offered to President Salvador Allende's government in its three years of governing Chile. 

It has been revealed that just before the September 11 coup, a delegation representing Chile came to Washington seeking credit for the purchase of 300,000 tons of wheat and returned empty-handed. Even for its client regimes, the U.S. government is not overly generous. The Junta will have to pay back the credit in three years with a 10.5% interest.

The Guardian continues saying that the wheat deal is designed to help the Junta keep the middle class happy by putting more goods on the market. Observers in Chile have said that even though large amounts of black market goods were released into the open market after the coup, there were still bread shortages. In another move in support of the Junta, the United States seized a Cuban ship in the Panama Canal, October 10th, at the Junta's request.

The ship had been unloading a cargo of sugar at Valparaíso at the time of the coup and was attacked by Chilean air and naval units supporting the coup. The Junta claims that the sugar belongs to Chile. This article on Chile from The Guardian. 

The British newsweekly, Latin America, comments further on the current political repression in Chile, with a fascist measure formally dissolving all Marxist and pro-Marxist political parties and banning all Marxist propaganda, written or spoken, the government vigorously pursued its policy of extirpating Marxism from Chile. The parties belonging to or sympathizing with the Unidad Popular coalition had their assets declared forfeit to the state and severe penalties were announced for anyone trying to keep those parties in being or spreading Marxist propaganda.

In fact, dozens of people are reported to have been arrested in Santiago for criticizing the Junta and those who denounced them to the authorities had their patriotism praised. At the same time, four foreign journalists were expelled, others arrested, interrogated or had their residences searched. The government-controlled press has been conducting a campaign of sharp criticism of the foreign press in general and of such non-communist publications as the New York Times, Time, Newsweek and the United States Congress.

The newsweekly Latin America went on to comment that, such sharp criticism by the Junta has piled up more hatred for itself abroad, despite its complaints of unfair treatment and a deliberate communist-inspired campaign to give it a bad image, nor was its international standing improved by the report of three international lawyers who went to Chile to report for the United Nations on human rights under the military Junta.

The three were Leopoldo Torres, Spanish Secretary General of the International Movement of Catholic Lawyers, Michael Bloom, the French Secretary General of the International Federation of Human Rights, and Joë Nordmann, the French International Secretary of the Association of Democratic Lawyers. Their conclusion was that, quote, "Human rights are systematically violated."

They cited cases of summary executions and torture. Torres told reporters that this came very near to the United Nations definition of genocide. This from the Britain's newsweekly Latin America. 

The following letter distributed by Tri-Continental News Service in New York was written by Beatriz Allende, daughter of the slain Chilean president, on October 5th, 1973 in Havana, Cuba, "To the progressive people of the United States, I address myself to you in these dramatic moments for my country, the Republic of Chile, which since September 11th has not only been suffering but fighting resolutely against the fascist military Junta that overthrew the constitutional president, Salvador Allende." 

"The coup of September 11th can only be comprehended in its full magnitude when one understands that even before the Popular Unity took up the reins of government, U.S. imperialist monopolies and Chilean reaction were conspiring against the U.P. They tried to prevent first the U.P.'s ascension to the presidency and later the completion of its program of social and economic transformation, which the country demanded and the government was carrying out." 

Ms. Beatriz Allende's letter continues that, "For the moment, the fascists have achieved their goal of blocking the revolutionary process by assassinating the president and overthrowing the democratically elected government. They countered on military men, traitors to their country, trained in U.S. military academies, and on the financial backing of U.S. monopolies and on the political and diplomatic support of the United States government." 

"Today, Chile fuels its institutions swept away, its culture destroyed, its progressive ideas persecuted, its finest sons tortured and murdered, its working-class districts and universities bombed, repressing the workers throughout the length of the nation." 

"The fascists are mistaken. They have not won. Alongside the fascist brutality arises popular resistance, which taking its inspiration from the example of President Allende is ready to fight and to win. The Chilean people today fighting in the streets, factories, hills and mines call on the solidarity of all progressive people throughout the world and especially the people of the United States." 

The letter continues that, "We know that the U.S. government does not necessarily represent the real people the United States and that in our fight we can count on them as did the Vietnamese. We can count on the solidarity of the workers, the national minorities, students, professionals and other popular groupings which condemn the imperialist policy of the United States government and which at the same time support the revolutionary processes of those countries fighting for full sovereignty and social progress." 

"With revolutionary greetings, signed Beatriz Allende", who is daughter of the late President Salvador Allende.

From Buenos Aires, Argentina, Excélsior reports that, the governor of Mendoza, Argentina, has branded the recent purge of suspected Marxists in the government as a witch hunt. A former presidential candidate stated that if the Peronist government is not capable of breaking the repressive ruling structure of Argentina, disaster will immediately follow. These ominous declarations, quoted in Mexico City's Excélsior, followed in the wake of Argentine President Juan Perón's unequivocal instructions that the Peronist movement be purged of Marxists. 

The Mendoza governor has been confronted with the injunction of removing leftists from his administration or leaving his post. 

The newsweekly Latin America notes that, this decision stands from Perón's conviction that he needs a majority of the middle class behind him to govern successfully without the threat of a military intervention. The military turned the government over to civilian hands only seven months ago, after 18 years of maintaining control.

Perón seized the necessity for the Peronist movement to remain vertically structured, this control thereby preventing the various faction from destroying each other. The dialectical nature of Marxism, therefore, and its identification of the class struggle as the mainstream of history are enemical to his ideas of national reconciliation.

Excélsior reports that one episode involving a victim of the purge of Marxists, which has drawn international attention is that of Rodolfo Puiggrós. Puiggrós, who was trustee, had sweeping powers over the University of Buenos Aires was replaced recently by a conservative. Puiggrós, a communist until 1945, was one of the few Marxist intellectuals who joined the Peronist movement at that time. His removal was immediately challenged by students and faculty members, reports Excélsior. 

In their words, "The most important university of Argentina has gone for a month without authority. The teachers, students and workers loyal to Puiggrós control it, and a document with more than 5,000 signatures demands the restitution of Puiggrós". According to the general opinion of the Argentine press, the situation at the university is explosive. Conservative fear was mounted against Puiggrós when he initiated such popular reforms as dropping admission exams, thus opening the university to all the people, breaking a contract with the Ford Foundation and firing professors who preached theories of Argentine dependence on foreigners.

In the face of this crusade against Marxism, the Peronist left is responding with the best possible grace. They, as much as Peron, need peace at home. Bomb blasts in all major cities, the assassination of a senior police officer in Buenos Aires and more kidnappings have been the order of the day in recent weeks. These serve both the far right and the antiperonist left.

The antiperonist left today means the revolutionary people's army, which is now committed to branding the government as antipopular in the hope of splitting its supporters. The Peronist left argues that an internal confrontation now will inevitably open the way to a right-wing coup on Chilean lines. More immediately, it would lead to further attacks on them from within the movement.

The current wave of violence has already led to the replacement of the progressive chief of the federal police by a right-wing general. This report on Argentina from Excélsior of Mexico City. 

Excélsior reports that, in Mexico City, on Tuesday 16th of October, José López Portillo, a top economic advisor to Mexico, announced that his government, as well as the people of Mexico, would have to adopt a rigid austerity program for the fiscal year of 1974. His statement on the antiinflationary measures coincided with the report released by Mexican industrialist Juan Sánchez Navarro, on the skyrocketing of prices in petroleum-related industry.

The economic advisor Portillo stated that the increasing inflation unofficially estimated at 40% cannot be headed off, but rather its impact could only be lessened. Having just returned from a one-month trip, which included the World Monetary Convention in Nairobi and meetings in Europe and Japan, Portillo projected that Mexico's domestic economic policies will greatly resemble those employed by several European nations also facing inflation.

This from Excélsior of Mexico City.

You're listening to the Latin American Press Review, a weekly selection and analysis of news and events in Latin America as seen by leading world news sources, with special emphasis on the Latin American press. This program is produced by the Latin American Policy Alternatives Group. Comments and suggestions are welcome and maybe sent to the group at 2205 San Antonio Street, Austin, Texas. 

This program is distributed by Communication Center, the University of Texas at Austin. The views expressed are solely those of the Latin American Policy Alternatives Group and its sources, and should not be considered as being endorsed by UT Austin or this station. 

Our feature this week is a reenactment of an interview conducted by a reporter from the French newspaper Rouse with a leader of the revolutionary left movement in Chile, more commonly known as MIR. The MIR supported the Popular Unity government of former president Salvador Allende, but they always maintained that a peaceful road to socialism would not be allowed by the right-wing leaders of the economic status quo, and that armed struggle was inevitable. 

Thus, at several points in the following interview, the MIR criticizes what they call the reformist path of electoral politics and conciliation. While many of the terms and political strategies discussed in the interview differ from those frequently heard in the political discussions in the United States, the interview is important because it is the first statement by any group resisting the Junta to emerge since the coup on September 11th. 

The interview took place on October 1st in secret in Chile, since those answering the questions are currently been sought by the military. The newspaper Rouse began the interview by asking MIR, "Had you already foreseen this coup? What are the first lessons that you've drawn from it?" 

"The coup d'etat that took place on September 11th was politically written in events that had already happened. We were prepared from a political as well as an organizational point of view, and we have prepared the sectors of the working-class and those of the presentry which we directly influence. We have not stopped denouncing the allusions of reformist strategy, allusions that cannot but disarm, in the full sense of the word, the Chilean people." 

"In that sense, the September 11th coup confirms in the most tragic way our predictions and analysis. It was written in the events of the short terms since June 29th. It was clearly apparent at that moment that a section of the army was ready to do anything in order to confront a popular mobilization, which was becoming larger and larger." 

"From then on, the principal concern of the military heads and of those who had been appointed to government posts could be reduced to one thing, to maintain discipline and cohesion in the military within that last rampart of bourgeois order and of imperialist order. The majority of the officers were in favor of the golpe or coup." 

"At the same time, one witness during those last months a mobilization and heightening of consciousness among the Chilean workers, which was totally new, having no common measure with anything that had transpired before. It is a phenomenon that was disseminated by the revolutionary press throughout the world. I won't get into that now, although that is the fundamental element of the last period." 

"In practice, to their concerns, by their enthusiasm, entire sectors of the Chilean working-class had begun to break away from the orientation of reformist directions. If the bourgeoisie and imperialism can to a certain extent tolerate Reformism, such a phenomenon cannot last very long. The means of production come more and more into the hands of the workers, and the previous capitalist owners of the means of production get more and more upset. This mobilization did only make the coup unavoidable, but also made the confrontation inevitable. It is crucial to underline the massive, global confrontation." 

"What did you do to help the emergence of that proletarian power and its consolidation?" 

"All of our militants participate fully in the birth process of popular power and in many cases played a decisive role in its consolidation, but they were far from being the only ones. The militants from the Socialist Party also played an important role in many cases, but since it was a question of an extremely wide phenomenon, especially in the Cordones industrial belts, one cannot speak only in terms of a consolidation of organized forces." 

"In fact, it was a question of a totally exemplary phenomenon of a massive ripening of workers' consciousness. In this framework, whenever possible our activities and propaganda, agitation and organization, always aim towards accelerating and consolidating that process. I would also like to add that we've considered of prime importance our work with respect to the army. This work is now the main accusation against us." 

"About this work you did with respect to the army, and without going into details which have no place in a public interview, were there important divisions or evidence of resistance within the army at the moment of the coup?" 

"Rumors to that effect have not ceased since September 11th. In fact, although there have been no decisive divisions in the armed forces as a whole, one would to be blind in order not to see the differences between the various sectors. Within the Junta in power, it is undoubtedly members of the Navy and Air Force that represent the ultra elements, but one should not overestimate them. They will not fail to reflect the very real divisions which exist in the bourgeoisie." 

"It is certain that sectors of the dominant class will have disagreements with the politics of the Junta, but right now there is just an almost unanimous sigh of relief, but at what a price. Let us not forget that many sectors which are joined to Christian democracy, in particular, have an old tradition which joins them to bourgeois democracy. A certain bourgeoisie legality and all that has been swept away by the coup. Not to speak of the excesses which seem to bother some of those gentlemen." 

"A more significant element in the armed forces is the fact that certain regiments did not really participate in the daily operations of house searches and repression. I am not saying that they are dissident. Rather, it's a question of tactical precaution on the part of the Junta to avoid the sharpening of potential splits." 

"In order to answer your question precisely, I can say that the fragmentary information that we have on the situation of the army indicates that in the beginning there were quite a few refusals to obey on the part of certain soldiers and sub-officers. They were all shot immediately. At least 10 of these cases were reported directly or indirectly, and therefore there must have been many more. That makes work within the army extremely difficult, almost impossible in certain cases." 

"On the other hand, if there were a political and military revolutionary offensive which appeared as a real alternative, there is no doubt that a good number of sub-officers and soldiers would be on our side. Several times during the house searches, soldiers, sub-officers and even officers closed their eyes, let us say, when they found weapons. They said, 'All we ask is that you don't use them against us.' " 

"Considering this, therefore, we will avoid in the near future irresponsible acts which might help to cement the armed forces into a homogeneous block, and we will work towards furthering the slight but significant manifestations of resistance within the army." 

"You talk of work plans of a political and military revolutionary offensive, but the thing that strikes us the most is the absence of visible signs of such an offensive." 

"That's true. At least at the level of visible signs, as you say, but on this point we must be very lucid because of the weight of the reformist illusions, mainly because of the blind politics of reformist directions, which have caused the Chilean workers to lose the battle. For this lost battle they have paid a great, great price. In editing the information which comes to us from all the suburbs of Santiago and from the rest of the country, we estimate at 25,000 dead, the number of victims from this battle." 

"According to our information, this number circulates also in the military high command and every day the number increases. The day of the coup the workers regrouped massively in work sites which they had already been occupying for several weeks. In many factories, the workers defended themselves heroically, in hand-to-hand combat against the military who were bent on retaking the factories, but the proportion of power was to unequal." 

"The military was armed to the teeth with modern weapons, using also tanks and at times air power. In contrast, the workers were very poorly armed, almost not armed at all in certain cases. The military were a well-coordinated centralized force carrying out a plan which had been extremely carefully prepared in advance. The workers from the different factories, from the different areas were not centralized, were not even coordinated among themselves." 

"Nevertheless, it took about five days, sometimes longer, for the military to defeat the industrial areas around Santiago. In the provinces, things happened generally in the same manner. This explains the great number of dead during the first few days. In certain places it was a veritable massacre. In one of the most important factories in Santiago 200 dead bodies were taken out of the basement. Under such circumstances, retreat was inevitable." 

"You characterize the actual situation as a retreat and not as a crushing defeat." 

"Without any doubt, because in spite of the extraordinary number of victims, the repression in most cases has not been selective at all. A fact that one must know and make known to the outside world is that a great number of militants, syndicates and political cadres perished at their posts, but the revolutionary organizations, ours in particular, have not been dismantled. In spite of two heavy losses, the essential core of our structure and our apparatus are absolutely intact." 

"In this sense, we have been consistent in our analysis and the measures we have taken have borne fruit. The military know this and it bothers them terribly. Their victory communiques are tainted by an undercurrent of fear. Without conviction, they exhibit material and weapons that have been seized and try to demoralize us by pretending to have made massive arrests in our cadres, but they know that they're lying and this is a decisive factor in the phase that is now beginning. A factor which allows us to talk of inevitable revolutionary offensive." 

"What about the other leftist organizations? In particular the parties in the Popular Unity Coalition". 

"Although I have had contacts with militants of the Communist Party, Socialist Party and the MAPU, United Popular Action Movement, I will talk with prudence and on an individual basis. About the MAPU, although it is a small group, I think I can say that it has not suffered much damage, either in its organization or in its structure. About the Communist Party, it seems that many intermediate cadres disappeared or were arrested." 

"One thing is certain, the core of the party in Santiago, notably, is completely disoriented. In one blow, the illusions about the peaceful road to socialism have fallen. In addition, the structure of the Communist Party seems to be deeply disorganized, although the leadership of the Communist Party has participated in the battles in the Cordones. Today, a great number of militants have no precise guidelines and are left completely on their own." 

"As for the Socialist Party, the situation is relatively complicated, given the complexity of the cross-currents which existed in the party when it was in power. The structure itself of the Socialist Party did not prepare it for the situation, but many militants, many revolutionary currents with the Socialist Party, which had their own struggles and organized cadres, fought the repression and are preparing for future struggles. There again, our responsibility is very great." 

"How does the MIR plans to carry out this responsibility?" 

We advocate the formation of a revolutionary front, which according to us, should regroup the parties of the Popular Unity and ourselves. The task of this front would be to prepare, as soon as possible, a counter-offensive against the actual regime, a political and particularly a military counter-offensive." 

"What is the current climate that the Junta is creating for you to work in?" 

"The climate of xenophobia that the Junta is trying to foment surpasses the imagination. Here also it is necessary to mobilize people outside of the country. Our militant comrades, political refugees, even simple residents, Bolivians and especially Brazilians risk their lives every instant. They are the Jews for the Junta. Simply because they speak with an accent, they are turned in by their neighbors." 

This concludes the reenactment of an interview between MIR and the French newspaper Rouge. 

You have been listening to the Latin American Press Review, a weekly selection and analysis of news and events in Latin America, as seen by leading world news sources with special emphasis on the Latin American press. This program is produced by the Latin American Policy Alternatives Group. Comments and suggestions are welcome, and may be sent to the group at 2205 San Antonio Street, Austin, Texas. 

This program is distributed by Communication Center, the University of Texas at Austin. The views expressed are solely those of the Latin American Policy Alternatives Group and its sources, and should not be considered as being endorsed by UT Austin or this station.