This book, in the guise of being about the career of Luis Corvalán, Chilean Communist party general secretary, presents more or less officially the Soviet line concerning what has happened in Chile in recent years. It is written by a Soviet journalist who visited Chile various times between 1969 and 1973, and is put out by the publisher of the informal “Communist International” of pro-Soviet parties, which also issues World Marxist Review and other publications.
Much of the book is reportorial rather than analytical. Passages describe the landscape in the far south and in the desolate northern nitrate- and copper-mining regions, and conditions in the coal-mining areas. Other parts consist of the author’s interviews with Corvalán, Young Communist leader Gladys Martín, President Salvador Allende, and various other Chileans.
The volume first presents a short review of the career of Luis Corvalán. It then sketches the history of the Chilean Communist party. Most of the book, however, concentrates on the events of the Allende period, and on those after the overthrow of the Popular Unity regime on September 11, 1973.
The author describes at considerable length the redistributive programs of the Allende government, as well as its nationalization projects. It also devotes a great deal of attention to the plotting against the Allende regime. As might be expected, Shragin attributes overthrow of the Popular Unity government principally to machinations of the United States, and particularly to the CIA.
The volume contains a good deal of rewriting of history. Naturally, the Chilean Communist party was always correct, whatever its line. Of Salvador Allende it is said that “as always he advocated joint action by the Socialists and Communists,” in spite of the fact that in the late 1940s Allende was a major leader of one of the most anticommunist parties in the country.
The book is as interesting for what it does not say as for what it does. For instance, although it criticizes the actions during the Allende government of “extremists” both inside Popular Unity and to its left, it never mentions the MIR, nor does it list Carlos Altamirano, secretary general of the Socialist party, as one of those “extremists,” although the communists did criticize him during the UP period. Although Shragin notes Allende’s decision two days before his overthrow to call a plebiscite to decide issues between him and the opposition parties, he does not mention Altamirano’s speech that same day, which was so provocative that it drove Allende to make that decision, in spite of Altamirano’s opposition.
The last part of the book sketches in considerable detail the political and economic policies of the military regime. It has some interesting information about these. This reviewer would be more willing to believe the author’s horror at suppression of opposition parties and at the existence of concentration camps if the book had not been published in Moscow.
