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In November 1971, Chilean filmmaker Alvaro Kovacevich filmed a conversation between Salvador Allende and Fidel Castro during Fidel Castro’s visit to Santiago. Although the documentary premiered in Paris, it has been little circulated. The Chilean and Cuban leaders discussed several topics, including the threat hanging over the Popular Unity regime, which is threatened by local oligarchs and the United States. Allende stressed that “the people are in the government, and if they achieve what they will not achieve, overthrow this government, Chile will fall into chaos, violence and internecine struggle.” Here are some excerpts from that memorable conversation, which Kovacevich titled “American Dialogue”.
DF (Process), Mexico. – On November 10, 1971, Cuban Prime Minister Fidel Castro Ruz flew directly to Santiago to reciprocate the visit of Chilean democratically elected President Salvador Allende, a Chilean doctor, to his homeland and began a stay there that would turn from ten days into three weeks. The day after the mass speech, filmmaker Álvaro J. Covacevich brought the two leaders together and filmed their speeches, which lasted less than an hour, with questions from journalist Augusto Olivares Becerra, for his documentary entitled “A Dialogue in America”. The play had its world premiere in Paris in April 1972, where it was called “witness to the struggle for the process in Chile” and introduced by poet Pablo Neruda and French mime Marcel Marceau as “the historical ideology of the government of popular unity”. In the same year, it was awarded the Best Film Award by Chilean professional film critics and received a special award at the Yohiat International Film Festival in the USSR. Nathaniel Davis, then US ambassador to Richard Nixon, described the visit as “an extraordinary high-level traveling exhibition, a thinly veiled disturbance … a complete circus.” Kovacevich, who is also an architect, landscaper, collector and cultural promoter, photographed the attack on La Moneda Palace, which Allende defended, on September 11, 1973. This week marks the 40th anniversary.
* * * – President Allende, the expression “Chilean way” is used not only in Chile but all over the world. How would you define this political process called “Chilean way”? Allende: Actually, the name “Chilean way” can be said to be almost exaggerated. But I believe that, above all, it tends to honor what is in line with our reality, history and tradition. Logically, people in struggle must adapt to their reality, adopt tactics and strategies that must lead to their transformation. “Chile, by its characteristics, by its history, is a country where bourgeois institutions are fully functioning, where the people make sacrifices, make progress and win within the framework of bourgeois legality. It has been raising awareness and understanding that Chile cannot achieve the dimensions of a country with economic independence and capable of reaching a higher level of life and existence under a capitalist regime or reformism. It must be taken into account that the Chilean situation is different from that of other countries… The Chilean Congress has been functioning continuously for 161 years. (Image of Pinochet appears in black and white) “I want to show that the Chilean armed forces are professional armed forces that have never participated in political action in their history. Finally and most importantly, the working class actively and directly participated in the formation of conscience and popular struggle. We said that the Chilean revolution was pluralistic, democratic and free.We have to deepen every aspect, you understand (he says to Fidel) … However, the fundamental factor (raises his hand) is and will always be the working class and its unity. (…) “The obstacles, from whom? First of all, the oligarchy, which has enough experience and wisdom to defend its interests very well, supported by imperialism, in an institutional framework where Congress has influence and power but the government does not have a majority. So the difficulties are quite serious. They make the revolutionary process in Chile encounter obstacles every day and every moment within the framework of this legality … “For our part, the difficulties are related to what? Freedom of the press, not just freedom of the press, but the debauchery of the press. It is deformed, it lies, it slanders, it distorts. The media at its disposal (the oligarchy) is powerful; journalists associated with foreign and national interests, I repeat, not only do not recognize but also distort our initiatives…” Castro: The difficulties are enormous… Allende: Progress is being made, I have already said it: the copper is ours, the iron is ours, the saltpeter is ours, the steel is ours. That is, we have conquered the basic wealth. (…) Look, Fidel, there (in Cuba) imperialism also controls the land… Castro.- Our copper is sugar cane. And the sugar cane is grown on the best lands that belong to the United Fruit Company and many other companies, so our land reform law immediately puts us in conflict with the interests of imperialism. (…) – Go on, President, with the visit of Prime Minister Fidel Castro, the sectors that are unfavorable to his government have increased… Castro: (interrupts sarcastically) Look at what a good way to address it!, unfavorable sectors! Are you talking about the media? (Allende laughs). – Commander, the objective media wants to ask a question… Castro: Do you think it is objective to oppose this process in such a clever way?—That is exactly why I wanted to answer this question, Mr. President, what do you think will happen in Chile if a counter-revolution occurs? Allende: First of all, I think it is necessary to emphasize that, as Augusto Olivares you said, with the presence of Fidel, the process has intensified. It is logical. Castro: So I am to blame, right? Allende: No. But they knew what the presence of Cuba and Fidel Castro in Chile meant. They realized that it was activating the revolutionary process in Latin America. (…) The revolutionaries never created violence. It was the sectors and groups that were struck by the revolution that generated violence against the revolution. (…) “Well, but returning to the curiosity of Augusto Olivares, we also always considered that a counter-revolution could emerge. And in the face of it, what would be the reaction? The reaction of an organized and disciplined people, the unity of the people, the loyalty of the armed forces and the traditional police in the use of the law. We also realized that the process in Chile was irreversible, and I want to insist … the people are in the government, and if they achieve what they will not achieve, overthrow this government, Chile will fall into chaos, violence and internecine struggle.Castro: Fascism. Allende: Oh, of course! Imperialism, which has been behind all the revolutionary processes that crack the changes and their failure means, will not be able to land in Chile. In Chile he will not intervene materially, but he is looking for other paths… “I am a fighter, I have dedicated my life to making the socialist path possible with my efforts and my abilities, and I will carry out this mission: the people have given me. I will carry it out tirelessly. I will carry out the program that we promised to the political conscience of Chile. For those who always unleash social violence, they do unleash political violence; if fascism intends to use the means that it has always used to destroy those who seek revolution, they will find our response and my firm decision. “When I finish my term, I will finish the office of President of the Republic (raises hand, fist). They must shoot me, as I said yesterday, to stop me from performing! “I am not defending a personal cause, I am defending the just desire of the Chilean people to make changes that will allow them to live with dignity with a different national consciousness and to make Chile an independent country, master of its own destiny.” Castro: I admire your words very much, I really congratulate you, I am sure that this will become a banner for the people, because where the leaders are willing to die, the people are willing to die. And willing to do whatever needs to be done. This is a very important factor in every revolutionary political process… Allende: There is no other possibility. I also want them to understand that this is not a process of one person, it is a group of conscious people, who are leaders and know how to move forward when something happens. We already have workers who are directing the companies, acting in the ministries… The Single Workers’ Central is the fulcrum of the front line of the unity of the parties and the people in this process, so there is a support base that is the towns. And this person, who you know well, is invincible. (…) “This is no longer the time for genocide, the world refuses to do this. The conscience of the people will awaken in the face of any such threat.” Castro: We can gather 600,000 people to arms in a few hours. (…) – Mr. President, what do you think of this meeting of two peoples in the revolutionary process in the context of exploited Latin America? Allende: Cuba and Chile are the vanguard of a process that unites the rest of the Latin American peoples and the rest of the exploited peoples of the world. But Latin America cannot continue to be just a continent of hope. “We must imagine what the gap and distance between our economically dependent, politically subjugated countries and the industrial capitalist and socialist countries mean. The brutal differences between the few who have power and wealth and the vast masses who are on the margins of culture, health, housing, food, rest, recreation cannot continue to exist in Latin America … Latin America has the opportunity to be present at the moment when the world creaks. It collapses economically, morally, politically. “Therefore, the reserve of this continent must be expressed when it becomes possible for the people to intervene, when the people reach the government, when they destroy the old oligarchy that is complicit with imperialism, when there is a voice that is undisputed. The Latin American peoples from the Americas, as our heroes of independence pointed out … “The exploited peoples of the world are aware of their right to life, and that is why the confrontation goes beyond our borders and will take place in our countries.” has universal significance. But Latin America will one day have the voice of a people that until today has been constrained, so that tomorrow it will be the voice of a free continent.”
DF (Process), Mexico. – On November 10, 1971, Cuban Prime Minister Fidel Castro Ruz flew directly to Santiago to reciprocate the visit of Chilean democratically elected President Salvador Allende, a Chilean doctor, to his homeland and began a stay there that would turn from ten days into three weeks. The day after the mass speech, filmmaker Álvaro J. Covacevich brought the two leaders together and filmed their speeches, which lasted less than an hour, with questions from journalist Augusto Olivares Becerra, for his documentary entitled “A Dialogue in America”. The play had its world premiere in Paris in April 1972, where it was called “witness to the struggle for the process in Chile” and introduced by poet Pablo Neruda and French mime Marcel Marceau as “the historical ideology of the government of popular unity”. In the same year, it was awarded the Best Film Award by Chilean professional film critics and received a special award at the Yohiat International Film Festival in the USSR. Nathaniel Davis, then US ambassador to Richard Nixon, described the visit as “an extraordinary high-level traveling exhibition, a thinly veiled disturbance … a complete circus.” Kovacevich, who is also an architect, landscaper, collector and cultural promoter, photographed the attack on La Moneda Palace, which Allende defended, on September 11, 1973. This week marks the 40th anniversary.
* * * – President Allende, the expression “Chilean way” is used not only in Chile but all over the world. How would you define this political process called “Chilean way”? Allende: Actually, the name “Chilean way” can be said to be almost exaggerated. But I believe that, above all, it tends to honor what is in line with our reality, history and tradition. Logically, people in struggle must adapt to their reality, adopt tactics and strategies that must lead to their transformation. “Chile, by its characteristics, by its history, is a country where bourgeois institutions are fully functioning, where the people make sacrifices, make progress and win within the framework of bourgeois legality. It has been raising awareness and understanding that Chile cannot achieve the dimensions of a country with economic independence and capable of reaching a higher level of life and existence under a capitalist regime or reformism. It must be taken into account that the Chilean situation is different from that of other countries… The Chilean Congress has been functioning continuously for 161 years. (Image of Pinochet appears in black and white) “I want to show that the Chilean armed forces are professional armed forces that have never participated in political action in their history. Finally and most importantly, the working class actively and directly participated in the formation of conscience and popular struggle. We said that the Chilean revolution was pluralistic, democratic and free.We have to deepen every aspect, you understand (he says to Fidel) … However, the fundamental factor (raises his hand) is and will always be the working class and its unity. (…) “The obstacles, from whom? First of all, the oligarchy, which has enough experience and wisdom to defend its interests very well, supported by imperialism, in an institutional framework where Congress has influence and power but the government does not have a majority. So the difficulties are quite serious. They make the revolutionary process in Chile encounter obstacles every day and every moment within the framework of this legality … “For our part, the difficulties are related to what? Freedom of the press, not just freedom of the press, but the debauchery of the press. It is deformed, it lies, it slanders, it distorts. The media at its disposal (the oligarchy) is powerful; journalists associated with foreign and national interests, I repeat, not only do not recognize but also distort our initiatives…” Castro: The difficulties are enormous… Allende: Progress is being made, I have already said it: the copper is ours, the iron is ours, the saltpeter is ours, the steel is ours. That is, we have conquered the basic wealth. (…) Look, Fidel, there (in Cuba) imperialism also controls the land… Castro.- Our copper is sugar cane. And the sugar cane is grown on the best lands that belong to the United Fruit Company and many other companies, so our land reform law immediately puts us in conflict with the interests of imperialism. (…) – Go on, President, with the visit of Prime Minister Fidel Castro, the sectors that are unfavorable to his government have increased… Castro: (interrupts sarcastically) Look at what a good way to address it!, unfavorable sectors! Are you talking about the media? (Allende laughs). – Commander, the objective media wants to ask a question… Castro: Do you think it is objective to oppose this process in such a clever way?—That is exactly why I wanted to answer this question, Mr. President, what do you think will happen in Chile if a counter-revolution occurs? Allende: First of all, I think it is necessary to emphasize that, as Augusto Olivares you said, with the presence of Fidel, the process has intensified. It is logical. Castro: So I am to blame, right? Allende: No. But they knew what the presence of Cuba and Fidel Castro in Chile meant. They realized that it was activating the revolutionary process in Latin America. (…) The revolutionaries never created violence. It was the sectors and groups that were struck by the revolution that generated violence against the revolution. (…) “Well, but returning to the curiosity of Augusto Olivares, we also always considered that a counter-revolution could emerge. And in the face of it, what would be the reaction? The reaction of an organized and disciplined people, the unity of the people, the loyalty of the armed forces and the traditional police in the use of the law. We also realized that the process in Chile was irreversible, and I want to insist … the people are in the government, and if they achieve what they will not achieve, overthrow this government, Chile will fall into chaos, violence and internecine struggle.Castro: Fascism. Allende: Oh, of course! Imperialism, which has been behind all the revolutionary processes that crack the changes and their failure means, will not be able to land in Chile. In Chile he will not intervene materially, but he is looking for other paths… “I am a fighter, I have dedicated my life to making the socialist path possible with my efforts and my abilities, and I will carry out this mission: the people have given me. I will carry it out tirelessly. I will carry out the program that we promised to the political conscience of Chile. For those who always unleash social violence, they do unleash political violence; if fascism intends to use the means that it has always used to destroy those who seek revolution, they will find our response and my firm decision. “When I finish my term, I will finish the office of President of the Republic (raises hand, fist). They must shoot me, as I said yesterday, to stop me from performing! “I am not defending a personal cause, I am defending the just desire of the Chilean people to make changes that will allow them to live with dignity with a different national consciousness and to make Chile an independent country, master of its own destiny.” Castro: I admire your words very much, I really congratulate you, I am sure that this will become a banner for the people, because where the leaders are willing to die, the people are willing to die. And willing to do whatever needs to be done. This is a very important factor in every revolutionary political process… Allende: There is no other possibility. I also want them to understand that this is not a process of one person, it is a group of conscious people, who are leaders and know how to move forward when something happens. We already have workers who are directing the companies, acting in the ministries… The Single Workers’ Central is the fulcrum of the front line of the unity of the parties and the people in this process, so there is a support base that is the towns. And this person, who you know well, is invincible. (…) “This is no longer the time for genocide, the world refuses to do this. The conscience of the people will awaken in the face of any such threat.” Castro: We can gather 600,000 people to arms in a few hours. (…) – Mr. President, what do you think of this meeting of two peoples in the revolutionary process in the context of exploited Latin America? Allende: Cuba and Chile are the vanguard of a process that unites the rest of the Latin American peoples and the rest of the exploited peoples of the world. But Latin America cannot continue to be just a continent of hope. “We must imagine what the gap and distance between our economically dependent, politically subjugated countries and the industrial capitalist and socialist countries mean. The brutal differences between the few who have power and wealth and the vast masses who are on the margins of culture, health, housing, food, rest, recreation cannot continue to exist in Latin America … Latin America has the opportunity to be present at the moment when the world creaks. It collapses economically, morally, politically. “Therefore, the reserve of this continent must be expressed when it becomes possible for the people to intervene, when the people reach the government, when they destroy the old oligarchy that is complicit with imperialism, when there is a voice that is undisputed. The Latin American peoples from the Americas, as our heroes of independence pointed out … “The exploited peoples of the world are aware of their right to life, and that is why the confrontation goes beyond our borders and will take place in our countries.” has universal significance. But Latin America will one day have the voice of a people that until today has been constrained, so that tomorrow it will be the voice of a free continent.”
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