The "Chilean road to Socialism"

On attaining office, Allende announced, "I will be the first President of the first authentically democratic, popular, national and revolutionary government in Chilean history." Copper prices fell, but reforms were attempted anyway. The poor ate better, received higher wages and special assistance.

The rich stayed rich, but they didn't like threats being made to their sources of wealth. It was the middle classes who bore the brunt of the UP policies and had to pay for the rising standard of living of the working class. And it was from the middle classes that the strongest opposition to Allende's rule came. As early as 1971, Chilean middle class women staged a "March of the Empty Pots" in protest at the rising costs and increasing shortages of food.

By mid 1973, truck driver-owners, copper workers, doctors, shopkeepers and many others had staged or were staging a series of crippling strikes. Despite gaining a 46% vote in the Congressional elections of March 1973, which maintained the UP's position as the largest single grouping, the coalition was unable to persuade its opposition to stick to the "constitutional" ground rules that it was itself so keen on observing.