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Salvador Allende: A Revolutionary Legacy
This is a political biography of one of the 20th Century's most emblematic left-wing figures - Salvador Allende, who was president of Chile until he was ousted by General Pinochet in a US-supported coup in 1973.
Victor Figueroa Clark guides us through Allende's life and political project, answering some of the most frequently asked questions. Was he a revolutionary or a reformist? A bureaucrat or inspirational democrat? Clark argues that Allende and the Popular Unity process he led were a symbol of hope for the left during their short time in power.
Forty years on, and with left-wing governments in power across Latin America, this book looks back at the man and the process in order to draw vital lessons for the left in Latin America and around the world today.
Victor Figueroa Clark guides us through Allende's life and political project, answering some of the most frequently asked questions. Was he a revolutionary or a reformist? A bureaucrat or inspirational democrat? Clark argues that Allende and the Popular Unity process he led were a symbol of hope for the left during their short time in power.
Forty years on, and with left-wing governments in power across Latin America, this book looks back at the man and the process in order to draw vital lessons for the left in Latin America and around the world today.
176 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 2013
12 people are currently reading
320 people want to read
About the author
Victor Figueroa Clark
4 books5 followersVictor Figueroa Clark has a background in economics, politics, and history. His PhD research focused on the Chilean left after the 1973 coup, examining the way that the parties of the left developed ideologically, and how their relationships in Europe, in Cuba and elsewhere contributed to the participation of many Chileans in revolutionary processes in Central America. It is a transnational approach to history, and a transnational approach to Latin America.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
August 22, 2023
A very good brief introduction of Salvador Allende' political life and his ideological analysis. It will help one to know the pre-existing socio economic conditions of Chilean working class and resource exploitation by private ownership historically to understand the progress and general improvement in living conditions of the Chilean working class during Allende's time in the office . Also understanding the immediate socio economic regression during the Junta period, post coup will clearly help one understand and appreciate the progressiveness and foresight of Allende.
January 6, 2022
Most of the books I’ve found about Allende’s Chile deal with the coup in 1973, so I was glad to find this necessary biography that follows the leader from his childhood until his death. However, I wish some latter history sections were edited more tightly because they jump back and forth from time periods which make it hard to follow a chronological timeline.
September 18, 2015
This was a good intro to someone with only a superficial sense of Allende's story. Unfortunately the short format kills the style somewhat, so the book is more a chronicle of Chilean politics in the 20th century than a biography. There is extremely little about Allende's thought in the book--possibly because he didn't have a clear programme or theory. Anyway, a solid introduction.
September 8, 2013
essential reading.
October 27, 2023
Clark's narrative is crisp and bracing, a concise view of Salvador Allende's life that in retrospect always seemed headed for an ultimate climax. Chile's doomed Marxist president came from the upper echelons of his society. Yet while he came from social privilege, his family was comparably not very wealthy. This duality allowed Allende to easily access institutions and levers of power while remaining steadfastly dedicated to Marxist ideals.
Allende's living context was also unique. He was only a generation or two removed from Latin America's Independence wars, in which his grandfather played a role. At the same time he came of age in the 1920s and 1930s at the peak of Soviet Communism's international prestige and influence. (Something Clark could have done more of was give readers a peek into Allende's personal views of worldwide political movements that occurred in his youth.) His easy access to politics, the times in which he lived, and of course all his personal gifts and abilities came together as a living political doctrine that can be called Allendismo.
Allendismo, as Clark describes, is the expression of Allende's belief in the Chilean Road to socialism. It involved radical but yearslong reforms of existing political and economic institutions, discarding what didn't work and keeping what did. For example he wanted to incorporate workers' unions into the organs of government, to give them a proactive role in managing the economy. In Allende's view it would have been best to avoid the devastating violence and collective trauma of a Bolshevik-style revolution and instead try to appeal to a broad coalition in the middle. Throughout the book Clark sketches Allende's road to the Chilean Road, and provides an appropriate level of detail for important figures in his life.
After two tries at the presidency he finally won in 1970. Unfortunately that's also the time when the CIA's work to undermine and destroy communist movements worldwide was in full swing. Clark's interpretation is that had the US not immediately started financing and arming the opposition, Allende could have formed that centrist alliance. It is a persuasive view.
I've never read anything like the chapter about the coup itself. I could envision it as a high production film. After waking up to news of of suspicious troop movements at 4 AM, Allende heads to La Moneda with his closest confidants, body guards, and a few loyal police officers. He radioed a call for help to the people of Chile, but in the end only 60 people were on hand to defend against the military coup. He took up arms, firing a rifle gifted to him by Fidel Castro out of the windows of the presidential palace. As war planes begin bombing the building Allende orders his remaining defenders to leave. By the time military insurrectionists enter the building, Allende has already fired a bullet through the top of his skull. The final chapters deal with Allende's legacy and vicious fallout from the coup, both of which are ongoing stories.
Throughout his life Allende tried mediating conflicts from the left and the right but in Clark's telling, he's the only person who could have pursued the Chilean Road. Could he have succeeded without meddling from the US? We'll never know, but as Allende himself said in his final broadcast, "social processes can be arrested by neither crime nor force. History is ours, and people make history."
Allende's living context was also unique. He was only a generation or two removed from Latin America's Independence wars, in which his grandfather played a role. At the same time he came of age in the 1920s and 1930s at the peak of Soviet Communism's international prestige and influence. (Something Clark could have done more of was give readers a peek into Allende's personal views of worldwide political movements that occurred in his youth.) His easy access to politics, the times in which he lived, and of course all his personal gifts and abilities came together as a living political doctrine that can be called Allendismo.
Allendismo, as Clark describes, is the expression of Allende's belief in the Chilean Road to socialism. It involved radical but yearslong reforms of existing political and economic institutions, discarding what didn't work and keeping what did. For example he wanted to incorporate workers' unions into the organs of government, to give them a proactive role in managing the economy. In Allende's view it would have been best to avoid the devastating violence and collective trauma of a Bolshevik-style revolution and instead try to appeal to a broad coalition in the middle. Throughout the book Clark sketches Allende's road to the Chilean Road, and provides an appropriate level of detail for important figures in his life.
After two tries at the presidency he finally won in 1970. Unfortunately that's also the time when the CIA's work to undermine and destroy communist movements worldwide was in full swing. Clark's interpretation is that had the US not immediately started financing and arming the opposition, Allende could have formed that centrist alliance. It is a persuasive view.
I've never read anything like the chapter about the coup itself. I could envision it as a high production film. After waking up to news of of suspicious troop movements at 4 AM, Allende heads to La Moneda with his closest confidants, body guards, and a few loyal police officers. He radioed a call for help to the people of Chile, but in the end only 60 people were on hand to defend against the military coup. He took up arms, firing a rifle gifted to him by Fidel Castro out of the windows of the presidential palace. As war planes begin bombing the building Allende orders his remaining defenders to leave. By the time military insurrectionists enter the building, Allende has already fired a bullet through the top of his skull. The final chapters deal with Allende's legacy and vicious fallout from the coup, both of which are ongoing stories.
Throughout his life Allende tried mediating conflicts from the left and the right but in Clark's telling, he's the only person who could have pursued the Chilean Road. Could he have succeeded without meddling from the US? We'll never know, but as Allende himself said in his final broadcast, "social processes can be arrested by neither crime nor force. History is ours, and people make history."
December 10, 2024
Read this while writing a video essay on this man’s life and my grandfather. Great book and a great analysis of a man’s life within a democratic system.
A little confusing towards the end since it tries to take on a little too much for this book’s plate. A little bit too much back and forth.
If you want to read a humanized account of Allende, this is the book tbh… (even though I wished it dealt a little bit more with his psychology)
A little confusing towards the end since it tries to take on a little too much for this book’s plate. A little bit too much back and forth.
If you want to read a humanized account of Allende, this is the book tbh… (even though I wished it dealt a little bit more with his psychology)
August 4, 2018
Una biografía POLÍTICA (es decir, con énfasis en este aspecto y discreto descuido del resto) del político chileno que sirve de introducción a los que desconocemos la historia chilena más allá de lo que la cultura general desde la óptica europea. Una historia amarga de algo que pudo ser y fue truncado de la manera mas cruel. Sin profundizar nos permite asomarnos al cruel mundo de la guerra fría y sus consecuencias. Muy ilustrativo para los que quieran molestarse en encontrar paralelismos con otros momentos y lugares.
January 2, 2024
A solid albeit brief introduction to Allende and Chilean political history. The short format necessitates an economy of detail, but 9/11 is covered effectively, although I disagree with the author's conclusion regarding the lesson to be learned from the coup and the viability of the democratic/parliamentary road to socialism. (He is more optimistic than I.)
June 21, 2022
Superb information
I am amazed at how well written and informative this book is, it reminded me of The Republic of Pirates and its well-detailed information of every character from the Caribbean
I am amazed at how well written and informative this book is, it reminded me of The Republic of Pirates and its well-detailed information of every character from the Caribbean
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October 25, 2018Gripping!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews