Chile: the balanced view : a recopilation of articles about the Allende years and after

number less than 80,000 in a population of over ten million, is enough to refute the notion that the Government maintains itself solely by repression. The new Government made it clear from the beginning that a good deal of time would be required to set the national house in order, politically and economlcal'y, and It was determined to eradicate the marxist parties and ideology from Chile, holding them chlefly responsible for the country's collapse. This aim has been pursued, though if past history is any guide the Communist party in particular, hitherto the most disciplined in Chile, might lose its leaders but retain ,its grass-roots organization in clandestinity, The Socialist party -always much more fissiparous- with an extreme left wing closely linked to revolutionary groups outside politics, notably tlle Movement 01 the Revolutionary Left (MIR), was much more shatlered by the intervention, while the MIR itsel1 went underground. It has lost a number of its leaders since, as well as secret stores of arms, owing to the vigilance of the military in seeking them out. As forthe opposítion partíes, they were clearly surprised by the Government's firmness in insisting on a political holíday. This was particularly true of the Christian Democrats, Chile's largest party which, despite divisions of opinion in its own ranks, had led parliamen– tary opposition to Allende's government. Its relations with the new Government have not been cordial, owing to criticisms of government policy by some leading members and to 'government reaction to them. To the party, the Government has seemed insensitive to genuine disquiet; to the Government, tbe party has failed to appreciate the gravity ofChile's situation and the need fortough measlll'esto meet it. The summaryexpulsion from Chile of a prominent Christian Democrat, Sr. Renán Fuentealba; in November 1974, after he had given an interview to a foreign reporter, marked the low point of relations between the Government and the party, and illustrated the difficulty of establishing a dialogue. On the wider issue ofthe ultimate return of party politics in Chíle, it is still far too soon to say, much less to prophesy, what shape they will take. Various government spokesmen have put different terms to their intended stay in power, which clearly depends as much upon the country's capacity to recover quickly from its traumatic experience as on the Government's o'lm intentions with regard to the constitutional and political arrangements to be made to minimize the risk of repetition. A commission has been set up to revise, if not replace, the existing constitution, though its proposals have not yet appeared. It seems likely, however, that provision will be made to ban all parties unwilling to accept its terms, and that, whatever their future role in government, the military will exercise a more stringent veto power over politicsthan in the past The issue is clearly a difficult one. While there are few grounds for supposíng that the great'majOrity of Chileans are dismayed at the current absence of polítical activity in view of what has happened -and most are contem'ptuous of politiquería, "politicking", from which they think the country has suffered enough- there is no deny¡ng the deep-seated Chílean adherence to civilized polítics as the best means of reconciling conflicting interests forthe good ofthe whole. The elimination of abuses is seen to be necessary, and the temporary curtailment of accepted rights in an emergency will be tolerated, but in Chile it cannot be permanent. Similar/y, it seems unlikely in Chile that political thought can be extirpated by decre.e. The country's tradition of ideological ac– commodation enabled it to contain extremism within a framework of consent, until the deliberate attempt was made in the early 1970s to dismantle it. The restoration of that tradition can hardly be made overnight, but that the great majority of Chileans should wish to see it restored can scarcely be doubted. How and when remains to be seen, but the present Government is quite convinced that before that date Chile must recover a degree of economic strength and social peace, and most of the country accepts that view. THE ECONOMIC POSITION Few governmeríts can have taken power in more unpromising economic circumstan– ces than the Chilean}unta in September 1973. The prospect of a continuing annual rate of 18