Remembering Salvador Allende

Forty-two years ago on this day, September 11, died one of the people whom I regard as a personal hero. Salvador Allende, President of Chile, a man whose ideals and actions inspire my social vision, was victim of a coup staged with the help of the CIA by a general who later became a dictator under whose rule thousands of people were killed and thousands more tortured and imprisoned.
Rather than fleeing, Allende chose to die, showing an unshakable coherence with his ideals. All this because the USA didn't want Chile to choose its own course if that led them towards socialism. And still today a lot of people seem to be victims of a cold war propaganda that misportrays that political doctrine.
On this day, I like to remember the courage and generosity of Salvador Allende. The courage to change the life of his fellow citizens for the better, an attempt he made until the very end, often with success. During its first year in office, the Allende Government achieved economic growth, reductions in inflation and unemployment, a redistribution of income, and an increase in consumption. The government also significantly increased salaries and wages, reduced taxes, and introduced free distribution of some items of prime necessity. Groups which had previously been excluded from the state labor insurance scheme (mainly the self-employed and small businessmen) were included for the first time, while pensions were increased for widows, invalids, orphans, and the elderly. The National Milk Plan affected 50% of Chilean children in 1970, providing 3,470,000 with half a litre of milk daily, free of charge. He took care of the needy and the poor, and promoted social equality.
But of course, as high as his ideals were, he was only a man, and a man cannot do miracles alone. That is what the people, humanity, can do. But a man can inspire. And inspire me, to day, he still does.
Remember Salvador Allende.