El Golpe Blanco - The White Coup

Summary: Parliamentary Elections in Chile on March 4, 1973: Reactionary forces, financially backed by the American CIA and international cooperation, attempt to gain a two-thirds majority in the National Congress, which would allow them to impeach President Salvador Allende, who was democratically elected for a six-year term in 1970. These efforts by the right-wing forces and nationalists, a so-called White Coup, seemed to be the last legal way for them to gain governmental power. When this coup fails, the Chilean reactionaries resort to an armed coup, and on September 11, 1973 they successfully launch a military-fascist government.The documentary uncovers the tactics nationalists and their allies used to change Chilean politics during the Allende government. Original footage, photos and audio are interwoven with quotes about the CIA’s role in Chile from major British newspapers, including the International Herald Tribune, Time and The Guardian.This release is the newly digitized original English version of the documentary that was distributed world-wide after the film came out in 1975. The English script was written and spoken by John Peet, a British journalist who defected to East Germany in 1950.