Chile, a South American nation covering 292,258 square miles, borders Argentina to the east, Peru and Bolivia to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. During the time of the Cold War, Chile faced many challenges politically and economically due to the change in systems of government. Chile started as a presidential republic then shifted to a communist based society. Because the types of government have very contrasting viewpoints, the economy suffered through the shift. Before the era of the cold war in 1925, Chile was a presidential republic but later developed many ideological differences including the Chilean Communist Party within the Cold War period. In 1958, socialist and communists got one third of the vote from the population.
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Their efforts failed because in 1970 Allende won the presidential election and a coalition called Popular Unity was formed to support the road to socialism. Allende imposed price freezes and wage increases to raise living standards for the poor Chileans which lead “Chile to experience hyperinflation.” By 1973, he caused Chile to face an economic crisis that was so severe that many had “vivid memories that are actually closer to nightmares.” Due to the fear of the spread of communism the U.S. had, Nixon, president at this time, was motivated to bring down the Chilean government. He imposed an economic boycott which cut off aid from the Export-Import Bank, International Monetary Fund, World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank. Finally on September 11, 1973, Allende was overthrown by the Chilean military after three years of socialist government and the new military reformed relations with the United States. Throughout the years of the Cold War, Chile was heavily influenced by the spread of communism. Communism was a driving force in the Cold War that spread to Chile as Salvador Allende tried to implement it into Chile’s government system. This had a negative effect on Chile because it lead it to change government systems very frequently and heavily hurt the
Their efforts failed because in 1970 Allende won the presidential election and a coalition called Popular Unity was formed to support the road to socialism. Allende imposed price freezes and wage increases to raise living standards for the poor Chileans which lead “Chile to experience hyperinflation.” By 1973, he caused Chile to face an economic crisis that was so severe that many had “vivid memories that are actually closer to nightmares.” Due to the fear of the spread of communism the U.S. had, Nixon, president at this time, was motivated to bring down the Chilean government. He imposed an economic boycott which cut off aid from the Export-Import Bank, International Monetary Fund, World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank. Finally on September 11, 1973, Allende was overthrown by the Chilean military after three years of socialist government and the new military reformed relations with the United States. Throughout the years of the Cold War, Chile was heavily influenced by the spread of communism. Communism was a driving force in the Cold War that spread to Chile as Salvador Allende tried to implement it into Chile’s government system. This had a negative effect on Chile because it lead it to change government systems very frequently and heavily hurt the