This document is titled “Memorandum From the Chief of the Western Hemisphere Division ([J.C.] King) to Director of Central Intelligence McCone.” It was created on January 3, 1964, and had the subject line “Political Action Program in Chile.” The document discusses the current state of relations with Eduardo Frei’s coalition, the Democratic Front, the finances behind it, the rationale for why the US should support them, how businesses feel about the situation, and speculation on whether change needs to be made. The clear concern for how successful Frei’s campaign indicates worries about the growing Marxist movement and the desire to not have a repeat of the 1958 election.
This document is significant as evidence of the covert funding of the Christian Democrats, a key factor in the success of Frei’s campaign. The covert nature of the funding emphasized by Frei, the leader of the Christian Democrats and their candidate, being misinformed on where the money is from, being told it is from a group that was redacted instead of the US Government.
“2. Support for the Democratic Front
On 19 December 1963 the Special Group approved a one-time payment [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] to the Democratic Front [less than 1 line of source text not declassified].4 The suggestion for this payment originated with Ambassador Cole and was concurred in by Assistant Secretary Martin. Arrangements are now being made to transfer this money [less than 1 line of source text not declassified]. This Special Group paper did not request regular monthly payments to the Democratic Front.
During his December 1963 Washington visit, [name not declassified] mentioned that the Democratic Front required 1.5 million dollars for its election campaign—one million of which it could raise locally. The implication was a pitch for $500,000 from United States sources.
3. Present Assistance to the Christian Democratic Party
…
b. Rationale for this Assistance
The reasons for our non-attributable assistance to the Christian Democratic Party are:
(1) To Deprive the Chilean Communist Party of Votes
The Christian Democratic Party is the fastest growing party in Chile. Its social program and evangelical fervor has enabled it to compete successfully with the Communists for the votes of students and workers. The Christian Democratic Party is the only non-Communist party in Chile in a position to attack directly the Communist Party at its mass base. This has been demonstrated in the municipal elections of April of last year, in the student elections, and in the fight for control of labor unions, which, though still controlled by the Communists, are showing the signs of Christian Democratic Party inroads.
(2) To Achieve a Measure of Influence Over Christian Democratic Party Policy
This objective could not be realized effectively because of security restrictions under which we must operate in this case. The Special Group, in approving assistance to the Christian Democratic Party, insisted that this assistance be non-attributable. [1½ lines of source text not declassified] Since security has been tightly maintained, Eduardo Frei, the leader of the Christian Democratic Party, is unwitting of the fact that he is being aided by the United States Government and believes that this assistance is being provided by his [less than 1 line of source text not declassified] friends.
(3) To Foster a Non-Communist Coalition
One of the original objectives in March 1962 was to strengthen the Christian Democratic Party so that it would be more attractive to the Radical Party as a coalition partner. Up to April 1963 the Radicals had been the largest single party and the Christians the second largest in Chile. Hence a coalition of these parties with the greatest voter appeal was viewed as a viable non-Communist barrier. Since the Radical Party joined the Conservatives and Liberals in their own alliance, the Democratic Front, on 11 October 1962, this objective is not now feasible.”
Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, Volume XXXI, South and Central America; Mexico, eds. David C. Geyer and David H. Herschler (Washington: Government Printing Office, 2004), Document 245. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v31/d245
