The Final Speech

“¡Viva Chile! ¡Viva el pueblo! ¡Vivan los trabajadores!”

President Salvador Allende, 1973

Mid-twentieth century Latin America saw a rise of Marxist revolutionaries, often resulting in a violent overturn to dictatorships. Although Chileans thought they could avoid this path and take a “Chilean road” to socialism, they were no exception.

The Chilean Revolution began as a unique case because the country democratically-elected a socialist president, Salvador Allende in 1970. When he tried to implement his socialist platform through the democratic process, he was met with opposition from the media, the right, the military, and the United States. In a U.S. backed military coup, the military bombarded the presidential palace and Allende committed suicide inside the palace in 1973. Augusto Pinochet then began a right-wing military dictatorship that ruled from 1973-1990. Unfortunately, Chile became like other Latin American countries overtaken by U.S. backed dictatorships.

This video is a recording of Allende’s last speech from inside the presidential palace, La Moneda, shortly before his death. In the background, you can hear the firing of bombs outside as Allende delivers his final words to Chile. The speech represents the end of the revolution and the product of the reaction as a coup was taking place to overthrow the revolution.

In his speech, Allende spends little of his time addressing those who betrayed him, saying that he does not feel “bitterness but disappointment.” Instead, he spends most of the speech addressing a broad audience of supporters which includes workers, women, farmers, children, and youth. He reminds the people of the revolutionary ideas that they are fighting against such as “foreign capital, imperialism” and the “advantages which a capitalist society grants to a few.” He has awareness of what was happening around him as he acknowledges his time is short and the bombing of other radio towers. He affirms his loyalty to Chile and his speech serves to motivate his supporters as he reassures that “I will always be next to you.” He is also aware that he is living in an important moment in history as he proclaims, “History is ours, and people make history.” He foresaw that the coup would be a pivotal moment in Chile’s history, with the fall of the revolution and rise of a dictatorship. Even today, Allende continues to be a strong revolutionary symbol in Chile with the echo of his final words, “Long live Chile! Long live the people! Long live the workers!”

Works Cited:

Chasteen, John Charles. Born in Blood & Fire: A Concise History of Latin America. Fourth edition. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2016.

Hutchison, Elizabeth Q., Thomas Miller Klubock, Nara B. Milanich, and Peter Winn, eds. The Chile Reader: History, Culture, Politics. Latin America Readers. Durham: Duke University Press, 2014.

Memoria Chilena: Portal. “Salvador Allende hablando frente a un micrófono – Memoria Chilena.” Accessed February 11, 2020. http://www.memoriachilena.gob.cl/602/w3-article-98661.html.

Power, Margaret. Right-Wing Women in Chile: Feminine Power and the Struggle against Allende, 1964-1973. University Park, Pa: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2002.

“Salvador Allende: Last Speech.” Accessed February 11, 2020. https://www.marxists.org/archive/allende/1973/september/11.htm.

Salvador Allende’s Last Speech with English Subtitles. Accessed February 11, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HC8UirZLCZQ.

Shayne, Julie D. The Revolution Question: Feminisms in El Salvador, Chile, and Cuba. New Brunswick, N.J: Rutgers University Press, 2004.

Thomas, Gwynn. Contesting Legitimacy in Chile: Familial Ideals, Citizenship, and Political Struggle, 1970-1990. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2011.

By Emily Beuter