Salvador Allende

Father of Carmen Paz (born in 1941), Beatriz (1943-1977) and Isabel Allende (born in 1945), not to be confused with novelist Isabel Allende, his cousin's daughter.

Allende became the Socialist President of Chile--elected by popular vote--in 1970 who was replaced by the now notorious Augusto Pinochet. It has been reported that Allende committed suicide. But it has not been determined whether his death was the result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound or by fire caused by invading troops in the military coup designed to oust him from office. In retrospect, many believe that his eventual downfall was the result of conflicts between the Chilean political Left and Right. Chile's Left drew its support from the urban poor and working class. The Right was supported by a cohesive upper class that was able to galvanize its resources from agrarian and industrial interests. Additionally, the Right was able to persuade the middle class to join its ranks. The threat of Allende's Socialist policies inevitably left his administration vulnerable to the assault of a much larger and better financed political Right. Moreover, his administration had to endure the hostility of the United States during the Cold War era that saw his rise to power as a "Socialist" threat to American Democracy and capitalism. Many records confirm that the United States subsidized anti-Allende strikes and vowed its support of the military which was virulently against his administration.

Unfortunately, Chile inherited Pinochet as a military dictator in 1973; at present Pinochet has been charged with war crimes for atrocities committed against opponents of his totalitarian regime.