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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Chile
Index
Once again, Congress approved the front-runner as
president.
Alessandri promised to restrain government intervention in
the
economy and to promote the private sector, although he did
not
envision reliance on the market to the extent that later
would
occur under Pinochet. With a slender mandate, the
opposition in
control of the legislature, and a modest program, the
president
accomplished little of great note.
Alessandri did, however, maintain political and
economic
stability. He temporarily dampened inflation, mainly by
placing a
ceiling on wages. This measure sparked mounting labor
protests in
the early 1960s. The economy grew and unemployment shrank.
He also
passed mild land-reform legislation, which would be
implemented
mostly by his successors. His action was partly the result
of
prodding by the United States government, which backed
agrarian
reform under the auspices of the
Alliance for Progress
(see Glossary) in hopes of blunting the appeal of the Cuban
Revolution.
At the same time, Alessandri tried to attract foreign
investment,
although he had no intention of throwing open the economy,
as would
be done under Pinochet. By the end of Alessandri's term,
the
country was burdened with a rising foreign debt.
In the 1964 presidential contest, the right abandoned
its
standard-bearers and gave its support to Frei in order to
avert an
Allende victory in the face of rising electoral support
for the
leftists. The center-right alliance defeated the left, 56
percent
to 39 percent. The reformist Frei enjoyed strong United
States
support, both during and after the campaign. He also had
the
backing of the Roman Catholic Church and European
Christian
Democrats. Frei ran particularly well among women, the
middle
class, peasants, and residents of the shantytowns
(callampas
or poblaciones). Allende was most popular with men
and bluecollar workers.
Although Frei and Allende were foes on the campaign
trail, they
agreed on major national issues that needed to be
addressed:
greater Chilean control over the United States-owned
copper mines,
agrarian reform, better housing for the residents of the
sprawling
shantytowns, more equitable income distribution, expanded
educational opportunities, and a more independent foreign
policy.
They both criticized capitalism as a cause of
underdevelopment and
of the poverty that afflicted the majority of Chile's
population.
To distinguish his more moderate program from Allende's
Marxism,
Frei promised a "Revolution in Liberty."
Data as of March 1994
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