The huge earthquake that struck Chile back in February has revealed all the negative consequences of decades of deregulation and privatisation, as the people come to the terms with shoddy building methods and lack of services to deal with such a catastrophe. Privatisation literally kills!

A recent screening of Part Two of The Battle of Chile (The Coup d’État) in Bolivar Hall in London highlighted the events that led to the September 11, 1973 coup that removed Allende from power. That experience is full of lessons for today’s revolutions in Bolivia and Venezuela, and beyond.

On Friday, October 19, the screening of the first and second parts of the legendary documentary film “The battle of Chile”, organised by Hands off Venezuela, drew a very large audience at the Bolivar Hall in London.

On June 25, miners from El Salvador, Andina, El Teniente and Ventana mines carried out a total strike, which was successful despite brutal police repression. Ever since, the tension at the mines and confrontations with the police have been increasing due to the aggressive and repressive attitude the company and the Bachelet government have adopted.

The death of Pinochet sparked off celebrations in Chile and around the world. He was a hated figure, a living example of the real nature of capitalism. He died without being brought to justice. But his was merely the fate of one man. The task is to make sure that the system that created Pinochet is buried once and for all. That task lies ahead of us.

There is another 9/11 to remember today, the Pinochet coup that overthrew the Allende government in Chile. In 1979 Alan Woods posed the question of who was behind Pinochet's coup. What interests was he defending? What were the policies of the Allende government and why despite all warnings was he unable to prevent the coup? Alan Woods had previously written an article in September 1971, two years before Pinochet's military coup, in which he warned against the threat of a military coup if the Popular Unity government failed to mobilise the masses and carry out a genuine socialist programme.
Lessons of Chile 1973 (September 1979)
Chile: The Threatening Catastrophe (September 1971)