Chilean presidential election, 1970

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A presidential election was held in Chile on 4 September 1970. A narrow plurality was secured by Salvador Allende, the candidate of the Popular Unity coalition of leftist parties. Because he did not obtain an absolute majority, his election required a further vote by the National Congress of Chile which resulted in Allende assuming the presidency in accordance with the Chilean Constitution of 1925.

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[edit] Campaign

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The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was covertly involved in the campaign, spending about $1 million. The CIA did not provide direct assistance to any candidate as they had in 1964, but rather focused on anti-Allende propaganda, a "scare campaign" of posters and pamphlets linking an Allende victory with the violence and repression associated with the Soviet Union. Editorials and news stories reinforcing this message were also written with CIA guidance, especially in the newspaper El Mercurio, and disseminated throughout the national media. The goal was to contribute to and exploit the political polarization and financial panic of the period. Besides propaganda, the CIA also funded an attempt to splinter the Radical Party away from the Popular Unity coalition. [1]

[edit] Results

Candidate Party/Coalition Votes %
Salvador Allende Gossens Popular Unity (UP) 1,070,334 36.61%
Jorge Alessandri Rodríguez Independent conservative 1,031,159 35.27%
Radomiro Tomic Christian Democratic Party 821,801 28.11%
Total valid votes 2,923,294

Source:[2]

The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) reports[3] that a total of 2,954,799 votes were cast, from a registered electorate of 3,539,747, giving a turnout of 83.5%. 3,539,747 registered voters is a noticeably low proportion of the total Chilean population of 9,720,000, of whom IDEA calculates that 5,346,000 (55.3%) were of voting age. Registration and turnout were reasonably consistent with earlier Chilean presidential elections, although both registration and participation have been considerably higher since the restoration of elections, beginning with the election of 1989. Other sources give slightly different figures. [4]

[edit] Congressional confirmation

None of the candidates received an absolute majority of votes; according to the 1925 Constitution, the National Congress had to decide between the two candidates who had received the most votes, Allende and Alessandri. The precedent set on the three previous occasions this situation had arisen since 1932 was for Congress simply to choose the candidate with the highest number of votes; indeed, former president Alessandri had been elected in 1958 with 31.6% of the popular vote, defeating the same Allende.

In this case, however, there was an active campaign against Allende's confirmation by Congress, including an intensification of the CIA propaganda campaign to create concerns about Chile's future. During this period the CIA generated over 726 articles, broadcasts and similar items. The CIA also encouraged international economic pressure against Chile during this period. The United States also began to lay the groundwork for a military coup in this stage, authorizing the Ambassador to Chile to encourage this outcome with his contacts in the Chilean military.[5]

Allende's presidency was eventually ratified, after he agreed to sign a "Statute of Constitutional Guarantees", promising not to undermine the Chilean Constitution.

Two days before the confirmation, Army Commander-in-Chief General René Schneider, a legalist, was killed in a botched kidnapping attempt organized by General Roberto Viaux, and supported by the CIA, who later gave $35 000 to the kidnappers in "humanitarian" assistance [6] René Schneider had expressed his deep opposition to organizing a coup d'état in case Salvador Allende's was finally chosen by Parliament as president.

René Schneider's murder was disapproved by a lot of people, and helped citizens and military support Allende, whom the Parliament finally chose on 24 October. On 26 October, President Eduardo Frei named General Carlos Prats as commander in chief of the army in replacement of René Schneider.

Candidate Party/Coalition Votes %
Salvador Allende Gossens Popular Unity (UP) 153 81.38%
Jorge Alessandri Rodríguez Independent conservative 35 18.62%
Blank votes 7
Total votes 188 100%

Source: [7]

[edit] Views of the election

There are generally two views of the voting in 1970. Those who opposed Salvador Allende point out that he received only a plurality of 36.3% of the vote, which was actually a 2.9% decline from his 1964 percentage. Those who supported him point instead to the fact that leftist forces clearly won a majority: in addition to Allende and the Unidad Popular (UP or Popular Unity) coalition he represented, Christian Democrat Radomiro Tomic won 27.9% with a very similar platform to Allende's. Conservative former president Jorge Alessandri received slightly under 35.8% of the vote.

A study by the Catholic University of Chile's Law Faculty determined that there were far more new voters than would be statistically possible and found examples of fraud. Their report concluded that Allende's small advantage over Alessandri could be explained by these illegitimate votes. A copy of their report was included in the White Book of the Change of Government in Chile, a book written by Pinochet's government giving an explanation for the coup d'état on 1973. There has been no further study regarding electoral fraud.

It has been argued that given that less than the majority of the voters voted for him, Allende did not have a clear "mandate" to embark in the wide reforms put forward in his program. The legality of the election itself is not generally disputed, despite the aforementioned Catholic University's Law Faculty's report.

[edit] Additional information

[edit] Articles about Allende/Pinochet coup d'état in Chile

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Church Report (Covert Action in Chile 1963-1973), United States Senate Church Committee, 1975
  2. ^ http://eleccion.atspace.com/presidente1970.htm
  3. ^ Country View for Chile, International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, accessed 2 August 2006.
  4. ^ Other sources give slightly different figures:
    • El Mercurio, 5 September 1970, the day after the election, gives 1,075,616 (36.3%), 1,036,278 (34.9%), 824,849 (27.9%), the same figures given by The New York Times.
    • La Tercera 5-6 September 1970, gives 1,070,334 (36.3%), 1,031,159 (34.9%) 821,505 (27.8%). These figures are echoed at Adolfo Pardo's online Historia de Chile, período 1958/2002, accessed 2 August 2006; Pardo also indicates that there were 31,505 blank or null ballots.
    • Donald J. Mabry Chile: General History on Historical Text Archive, accessed 2 August 2006: Salvador Allende 36.3%, Jorge Alessandri 34.9%, Radomiro Tomic 27.8%
    • Sellos de presidentes de la República titulados en la Universidad de Chile: Salvador Allende Gossens, University of Chile, accessed 2 August 2006: 36.6%, 34.9% 27.8%.
    • Cronologia 1970: Una revolución que comienza on salvador-allende.cl, Archivos Internet Salvador Allende, accessed 2 August 2006: 36.5%, 34.9%, 27.8%. This source also says that 0.2% cast blank ballots and that 0.6% of ballots were annulled.
    • In his memoirs (White House Years, 1979), Henry Kissinger credits Allende with "a bare 36.2 percent of the popular vote".
  5. ^ Church Report, ibid
  6. ^ CIA Reveals Covert Acts In Chile, CBS News, September 19, 2000. Accessed 2 August 2006.
  7. ^ Two sources:

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