Latin Trouble Spot: A Communist may Win the Presidency of Chile is an article from the August 13, 1970 edition of the Wall Street Journal. It provides a run down of the situation in Chile about a month out from the Presidential election. This includes details about the election and related Chilean politics including economic topics such as taxation and the nationalizing of copper mines, as well as details about the Frei administration, including its broken promises to the lower class. There is also information about all three candidates. This article was likely created because of the significance of the situation, and the potential effect Allende’s election would have on American investments in Chilean industries such as the aforementioned copper mines. The article also describes an example of a poster from the CIA’s spoiling campaign against Allende.
The point of view of the author and The Wall Street Journal are evident in the large focus on finance and other aspects of the economy. An article from a newspaper not regarded as a major source of economic information would likely not contain as much. It’s much less opinionated than it would likely have been had it been written as an opinion article, but the support for Alessandri is clear through, with much less negative writing about him when compared to what is said about Allende and Tomic.
One aspect of the larger historical significance of this is its contribution to the depiction of the election in US media. It also provides an extremely valuable example of covert activity with its discussion of a graphic poster that was undoubtedly a part of the CIA’s spoiling campaign. Covert Action in Chile: 1963-1973 mentions a poster that “…portrayed Cuban political prisoners before the firing squad, and warned that an Allende victory would mean the end of religion and family life in Chile.” Unfortunately, there is no copy of the “Cuba 1964” poster alongside the article, nor was there any instance online after an extensive search, but it regardless provides an instance of a common CIA propaganda tactic, playing on the middle and upper class’ fear of communist Cuba and the Castro regime.
“Copper Mines at Stake
Also at stake are Chile’s vast copper mines, which rank among the richest in the world. Anaconda Co. and Kennecott Copper Corp. have an estimated $600 million invested in copper mining here, and other big U.S. metal concerns are also heavily involved. Dr. Allende promises to nationalize the mines at once if he’s elected. And though he pledges fair compensation, mining executives here have strong doubts about the value of any payment they might get.
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But Chile today is beset with problems. A dispiriting inflation, averaging nearly 30% a year, ravages this land that stretches for 3,000 miles in a long, narrow strip between the Andes and the Pacific Ocean. And poverty besets many of the 9.5 million people. One study found that 60% of Chilean families are impoverished, earning less than $30 a week.
Severe Malnutrition
The results show up in various ways. Inadequate funds for sanitation and medical care contribute to the deaths of eight infants for every 100 births, triple the U.S. rate. Lack of money for food results in malnutrition so severe that the IQ of many Chilean youngsters is adversely affected. There is an acute shortage of housing; in Santiago some people sleep under the ends of bridges at night.
“Most of the people are miserable,” an intense University of Chile student tells a reporter. “They live like animals”
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Political opponents are stressing the issue of communism, suggesting that if Dr. Allende wins he will take children from their mothers and send them to Cuba to learn to be Reds. In a newspaper advertisement last week, a picture labeled “Cuba 1964” showed a Communist gunman killing prisoners; a headline asked, “Do you want this for Chile?”
Dr. Allende scoffs at such charges and says his opponents are waging a “campaign of terror.” A congressional investigation of the newspaper ad is under way—leftist congressmen have charged that it was sponsored either by Anaconda or the Central Intelligence Agency. (In Chile, as in most other Latin nations, American companies or the CIA are blamed for nearly everything.)”
WILLIAM M CARLEY Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal. ” Latin Trouble Spot: A Communist may Win the Presidency of Chile.” Wall Street Journal (1923-), Aug 13, 1970. https://wooster.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/latin-trouble-spot/docview/133519691/se-2?accountid=15131
