The Chile Solidarity Campaign and British Government Policy Towards Chile 1973-1990

Wilkinson, Mick

Abstract

On 11th September 1973 the democratic Popular Unity government of Dr Salvador Allende was overthrown by a US-backed military coup, thus ending 160 years of almost unbroken democracy. The Junta embarked upon the neutralization of all opposition, a process involving the torture and murder of thousands of people. Political parties were banned and trade unions crushed. Thousands more were forced into exile. An initial return to economic stability, due primarily to funding from international lending agencies, was eventually supplanted by mass unemployment, widespread poverty and an escalating national debt. The Junta maintained high levels of repression as the sole form of political authority. The Chile Solidarity Campaign was established in 1973 with the objective of influencing British Government policy towards the Junta. It worked in conjunction with growing protest movements within Chile. There are few studies of the effectiveness of lobby groups, possibly because there are few means to empirically measure such effectiveness. Nevertheless, by consulting primary sources of contemporary and archive documentation and conducting personal interviews with MP's and major actors in the lobby, all of whom were frank and open about their role and experiences, it has been possible to paint a reasonably clear picture of the efficacy of the Chile Solidarity Campaign.

Citation

Wilkinson, M. (1992). The Chile Solidarity Campaign and British Government Policy Towards Chile 1973-1990. European Review of Latin America and the Caribbean, 19

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Jun 1, 1992
• Deposit Date: Jul 3, 2024
• Journal: European Review of Latin America and the Caribbean
• Print ISSN: 0924-0608
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Issue: June 1993
• Article Number: 52
• Pages: 19
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4731899
• Publisher URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/25675537