Chilean Political Music

During the socialist experiment of the 1970s.

• Throughout most of the 1900s prior to 1970, Chile was a democracy.

• However, the lower and peasant classes were poorly represented by any governments prior to 1970.

• In 1964, Eduardo Frei Montalva, a Christian Democrat and ideological centrist, won the presidency with 56 percent of the vote.

• He sought to help the lower classes.

• President Frei tried to institute a social and economic program that partially took control of the copper industry (largely owned by U.S. companies) as well as to reform the agricultural sector.

• Frei depended on the middle class for the bulk of his support. However, the class was alienated by Frei’s support for the lower and peasant classes. This energized middle class opposition to Frei.

• But President Frei’s attempt to reach out to the lower and peasant classes also activated these classes. They were further activated by middle and upper class attacks against them.

• The upper and middle classes particularly opposed the land reform (that is, redistribution) policies of President Frei’s plan.

• Beginning in 1969, a group of left-of-center parties and groups formed a “Popular Unity” coalition. Their presidential candidate was Salvador Allende Gossens.

• Allende was a Marxist, and he was elected president in 1970 with 36.3% of the vote.

• He instituted an economic reform program that was much more ambitious than that of his predecessor, Frei.

• Allende nationalized the copper industry without compensation (which the U.S. particularly disliked). He also accelerated the land reform measures by attempting to take over some large agricultural estates. He printed unsupported currency to erase the debts caused by his government’s reform policies, including the nationalization of many basic industries.

• Allende was not able to control the chaos his rapidly instituted policies caused. There were strikes, a poor balance of trade, decreased investment, food shortages, and lots of protest.

• It was against this backdrop that Allende sought to maintain support for his policies from the peasant and lower classes.

• He was not able to fully utilized the mainstream media due to its opposition to him.

• Thus, Allende asked many popular musicians to create songs that both explained and supported his government’s policies.

• These musicians quickly heeded the call, and their songs were generally quite confrontational.

• Their songs had both educational as well as campaign rally qualities.

• In this respect, their use paralleled much of the way Bob Marley’s music was used.

• Important musical groups and singers for that time period include Quilapayún, Anti-Illimani, and Victor Jara.

• A lot of this type of music contained traditional, folk, and Indian themes. There was a conscious desire to connect the cultural heritage of the common people with the the government’s reform policies.

• There were large-scale attempts to use music in a political manner through concerts, theater, and other means.

• During the early 1970s, Chilean politics became tremendously confrontational.

• On 11 September 1973, Chile experienced a military coup d’état. General Augusto Pinochet Ugarte was installed as president.

• Allende shot himself during an attack on the presidential mansion.

• Victor Jara was tortured and executed.

• Other groups had to flee the country.