The Americas | Half a century later

Chile is still haunted by the coup in September 1973

Gabriel Boric, the young left-wing president, is a fan of Salvador Allende

Chilean Army troops fire on the La Moneda Palace, during the coup on 11th September 1973. — Image: Getty Images

Aug 31st 2023

The images, in grainy black and white, are etched into history. Clouds of smoke billow from La Moneda, the presidential palace in the heart of Santiago, as Hawker Hunter jets of the Chilean air force fire rockets at it on the morning of September 11th 1973. Tanks patrol the surrounding streets as soldiers dragoon hundreds of civilian prisoners, hands on their heads. Salvador Allende, the elected Socialist president, in tweed jacket and tin helmet, brandishes a pistol in La Moneda. By 2pm, he would die by his own hand. And the world would soon learn the name of General Augusto Pinochet, the leader of the violent coup against Allende, who would rule Chile as a dictator for the next 17 years.

This article appeared in the The Americas section of the print edition under the headline “Half a century later ”