50 Years of the Coup d’état in Chile: The Chilean Right Wing Will be Absent from the Commemoration

The traditional Chilean right, grouped in the Chile Vamos coalition, announced this Wednesday that it will be absent next Monday from the commemorative acts for the 50th anniversary of the coup d'état and said that it will not sign the declaration in favor of democracy promoted by the president Gabriel Boric.

The reasons for the absence

The president of the Independent Democratic Union (UDI, one of the parties of the conglomerate), Javier Macaya, explained that they refuse to go to the ceremony at the La Moneda presidential palace because they do not want to participate in possible "apologies for figures that we do not think deserve tributes like President Salvador Allende".

"Everything that the government has done in recent months has been to contribute to generating a climate of confrontation, of hatefulness, of imposing a single historical truth," added Macaya, whose party was founded by Jaime Guzmán, ideologue of the current Constitution, in force since the military dictatorship.

For his part, Fuad Chaín, president of Renovación Nacional (RN), another of the Chile Vamos parties, asked the president to have "a calling message around September 11, 2023" and assured that "he will be responsible if we have a peaceful day or a violent day".

What is commemorated?

September 11 marks 50 years since General Augusto Pinochet led a coup against the government of socialist President Salvador Allende (1970-1973), who committed suicide in the La Moneda presidential palace before being caught by troops military.

Read also: The Challenges Of Gabriel Boric As President Of Chile

The Chilean government has organized a large citizen event for that day in a square near the presidential palace, which will be attended by several world leaders, such as the Mexican Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the Colombian Gustavo Petro, the Argentine Alberto Fernández, the Uruguayan Luis Lacalle Pou and the Portuguese António Costa, among others.

The commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the coup is generating great polarization and tension in Chile and Boric, the first president to be born after the military rebellion, described the atmosphere as "electric" last week.

The 37-year-old former student leader wants to sign a four-point declaration in favor of democracy that day, which is strongly opposed by both Chile Vamos and the far-right Republican Party.

Chile Vamos presented its own statement on Wednesday and insisted on also condemning "the violations of fundamental rights" that occurred during the Government of Allende's Popular Unity (1070-1973) and "even those produced today."

According to Gloria Hutt, leader of Evópoli, the third party in the coalition, "it reflects our willingness to avoid breakdowns like the one we had in 1973 and the importance we attach to protecting democracy."

The coup began a cruel 17-year dictatorship that left more than 40,000 victims, including at least 3,200 murdered opponents.