History and Memory in Neoliberal Chile: Patricio Guzman's Obstinate Memory and The Battle of Chile

Abstract

In 1973, September 11 also fell on a Tuesday and, in Santiago de Chile, produced a tragic act of international terrorism. The Chilean military, with support from the U.S. government, brought down the democratically elected socialist Unidad Popular (Popular Unity, UP) government of Salvador Allende (1970-73) and initiated one of Latin America's longest and bloodiest dictatorships. In another striking coincidence, the terrorism of September 11, 1973, involved planes; fighter jets belonging [End Page 272] to the Chilean air force bombarded the presidential palace (La Moneda), leaving this symbol of Chilean democracy in flames.