The second half of the 20th century was marked by a global event, one where the world was at war behind the scenes, and stood many times on the verge of annihilation by nuclear weapons: the Cold War. Fought between the United States and the Soviet Union from 1946 till 1991, the Cold War was probably as global as the two World Wars that preceded it. At any rate, it generated considerable social and political turmoil in several nations where communists and capitalists, supported by their respective superpowers, struggled to seize power - mostly with tragic consequences for the country in question.
Oscar Guardiola-Rivera's book discusses an event that took place at the height of the Cold War: the coup d'etat by the military in the South American nation of Chile on September 11, 1973, three years after the country had elected a Marxist president, Salvador Guillermo Allende Gossens. The coup ended with Allende at the presidential palace shooting himself in the head with a Kalashnikov gifted to him by Cuban dictator Fidel Castro and the takeover of Chile by a military junta led by General Augusto Pinochet Ugarte.
Pinochet, who had been supported and propped up by the US all along, let loose a wave of terror on the nation - he targeted Left supporters, murdered many and made many others disappear. It was only in 1988 that he was thrown out by a referendum and Chile began its painful transition back to democracy. It is now one of Latin America's most stable and prosperous democracies, although Pinochet - thanks to a long-drawn-out and public trial - remains, to this day, an egregious symbol of US-sponsored dictatorship in South America.
Chile's experience was not unique. During the Cold War, all across the Third World, regime takeovers, especially against elected leftists, were common and very brutal. One recalls the murder of Patrice Lumumba, Congo's Marxist prime minister, after being deposed by the Western-backed Joseph Mobutu in 1961. Closer home, in Kerala, between 1957 and 1959, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), authorised by President D Eisenhower, promoted industrial unrest and turmoil in the state to subvert the administration of E M S Namboodiripad, the first elected non-Congress chief minister in India.
However, there were very precise reasons behind the Left's rise in Chile, culminating in Allende's presidency and his subsequent downfall. This is what Mr Guardiola-Rivera's book explores.
The book is divided into three parts: the precedents and causes of the coup; the coup itself; and the transition to democracy thereafter, as well as the coup's echoes in today's Chile.
In "Precedents and causes", the author delves into Chile's colonial past and its history in the 19th century, when the country gained independence from Spain and expanded geographically as a result of conflict with its neighbours and the great indigenous Mapuche nation to its south.
The author skillfully knits this time period into his narrative to tell us that Chilean society at its core was the complete opposite of an egalitarian one. Chile was the most homogeneous, centralised and militarised of Spain's possessions in the Americas. Colonial Chile was a hierarchical society, complete with a caste system like its other Latin American peers: with criollos and peninsulares (the rich landowning elite) at the top, followed by mestizos in the middle, and Africans and pure-bred Indians at the bottom. There was also the powerful Catholic Church.
Mr Guardiola-Rivera also discusses another important topic: foreign interventions in Chile. He discusses the role of Britain in the 19th century. But more important is the role of the US and the Soviet Union in the 20th century.
Also, world events of importance played their part. The author particularly discusses the Iron Curtain, the Korean War, the Cuban Revolution, the Bay of Pigs invasion and the Cuban missile crisis. All these events laid the foundation for Allende's ascent in Chile.
An unequal society that was being looked at with interest by two world powers - and was absorbing the latest revolutionary ideologies - was fertile ground for change. When Allende came to power, he quickly implemented leftist policies - including nationalisation of industries, free milk for children, free education and land distribution. In the first year, the successes were astounding. But soon dissent and opposition threw the country into political turmoil. Allende refused calls to step down. The armed forces, supported by the CIA, then stepped in and the coup followed. This is told by the author in three chapters in the second part, titled "Flies", after Sartre's retelling of Orestes' story.
The coup - and subsequent military repression - has scarred Chile and the country is yet to bring closure to its painful past. But, as the author writes, it is only by re-examining the real legacy of Allende, a Marxist committed to humanity and democracy who was wronged, that Chileans can really close this painful chapter in their nation's history.
Mr Guardiola-Rivera's book should be read by all those who are interested in Latin America, the global Left and the Cold War. But please ensure that you are fully informed about the region's history before you read the book.
A snag in the book is its style and prose. Mr Guardiola-Rivera hops from one topic to another at a dizzy pace, with the result that the reader is not able to grasp the full meaning of what the author wants to say. There is also the cost - at £20, it is a tad expensive.
Nevertheless, it is an important work about an important event that will truly enlighten its readers.
STORY OF A DEATH FORETOLD
The Coup Against Salvador Allende, September 11, 1973
Oscar Guardiola-Rivera
Bloomsbury
472 pages; £20
