Chile and Cuba: The Revolutionaries Behind It All
Chile and Cuba have both endured hardships throughout their vastly different revolutions. Throughout the nineteenth century, Chile has had a tradition of electoral democracy and civilian rule. While Cuba was in alliance with the Soviet Union and the global Communist bloc. The revolutionaries Salvador Allende and Che Guevara had greatly different ideas on how to achieve socialism in their respective countries. Allende focused on a democratic approach to socialism, whereas Guevara proposed guerrilla warfare. On the twenty-fifth of April 1977, the workers at the Yarur cotton mill in Santiago seized control of their factory and demanded socialism (Winn). After three days, Yarur became the first in Chile to be seized by the Popular Unity Government. In Chile’s Revolution from Below by Peter Winn, Winn eloquently describes how the Popular Unity Government envisioned a revolution that would help solve the basic needs of the Chilean people. This government had vast social programs and raised incomes for the lower classes. These measures were apart of the government's overall plan to produce a higher …show more content…
In order to produce an electoral majority for socialism, the Popular Unity Government focused their efforts on Chile’s workers, peasants and urban underclass for support. These lower class citizens would be won over by the material benefits that they would receive and were persuaded by their experience that socialism was a superior system that was in their own self-interest (Winn). Similarly, the Popular Unity Government needed the support of the middle class, who wanted the benefits of the changes that Allende proposed but feared the personal and societal costs (Winn). On the other hand, Che Guevara partnered alongside Fidel Castro to gain support with the
Chile and Cuba have both endured hardships throughout their vastly different revolutions. Throughout the nineteenth century, Chile has had a tradition of electoral democracy and civilian rule. While Cuba was in alliance with the Soviet Union and the global Communist bloc. The revolutionaries Salvador Allende and Che Guevara had greatly different ideas on how to achieve socialism in their respective countries. Allende focused on a democratic approach to socialism, whereas Guevara proposed guerrilla warfare. On the twenty-fifth of April 1977, the workers at the Yarur cotton mill in Santiago seized control of their factory and demanded socialism (Winn). After three days, Yarur became the first in Chile to be seized by the Popular Unity Government. In Chile’s Revolution from Below by Peter Winn, Winn eloquently describes how the Popular Unity Government envisioned a revolution that would help solve the basic needs of the Chilean people. This government had vast social programs and raised incomes for the lower classes. These measures were apart of the government's overall plan to produce a higher …show more content…
In order to produce an electoral majority for socialism, the Popular Unity Government focused their efforts on Chile’s workers, peasants and urban underclass for support. These lower class citizens would be won over by the material benefits that they would receive and were persuaded by their experience that socialism was a superior system that was in their own self-interest (Winn). Similarly, the Popular Unity Government needed the support of the middle class, who wanted the benefits of the changes that Allende proposed but feared the personal and societal costs (Winn). On the other hand, Che Guevara partnered alongside Fidel Castro to gain support with the