Partisan hostility intensified over the course of Allende’s presidency. His leftist allies took to describing opponents as fascists and “enemies of the people,” while rightists described the government as totalitarian. The growing mutual intolerance undermined efforts by Allende and the Christian Democrats to negotiate any sort of modus vivendi: Whereas Allende’s radical allies viewed such negotiations as “opening the door to fascism,” right-wing groups criticized Christian Democrats for not resisting the communist threat.
