A case of 'new Soviet internationalism' : relations between the USSR and Chile's Christian Democratic government, 1964–1970

After Iosif Stalin's death in 1953, the Soviet Union emerged from its isolation and began to show an interest in traditionally marginalized foreign societies. As the example of the Chilean-Soviet rapprochement under Eduardo Frei's administration (1964–1970) shows, Soviet leaders viewed state-to-state relations with "progressive" Latin American regimes as an appropriate means of undermining U.S. influence in the region without risking an armed confrontation with "imperialism." The reformist project of the Chilean Christian Democratic government, which included a diplomatic opening to the Soviet bloc, provided a testing ground for the suitability of Moscow's new global approach. The surge of cultural and political exchanges indicate that the Soviet authorities were keenly interested in the Chilean experience. In addition, the considerable growth of travel and official missions beyond the Iron Curtain also demonstrates that Santiago wished to benefit by diversifying its international partners

Roots and reassessment of the Cuban 'guerrilla ethos' : from the armed imperative to the end of foquismo

Based on original interviews and rare archival sources, the central thread of this article is the origin, rise and reassessment of the Cuban Revolution’s «guerrilla ethos» that shaped the political creed of the first revolutionary generation. During the anti-Fulgencio Batista insurrection (1952-1959), the belief that only violence could lead to the ousting of the dictator steadily gained traction among the opposition as the right path to revolution. This radical approach was already voiced by a number of movements prior to the Moncada attack (July 1953), when Fidel Castro became a public national figure, and was crowned by the advent of the revolution in 1959. The revolutionary administration established an insurrectional doctrine – sometimes known as foquismo – that stemmed from the «lessons » of the anti-Batista fight and guided the island’s external involvements throughout the sixties. However, the «guerrilla mentality» confronted major challenges in the second half of the decade (guerrilla’s defeats, Soviet pressures). This article stresses an additional and often forgotten component that, nonetheless, exerted a powerful effect on Cuba’s reconsideration of its previous revolutionary principles: the unfolding of the Juan Velasco Alvarado military government (1968-1975) in Peru, promptly labelled in Havana as a viable route to «revolution», which resulted in a partial revision of the «guerrilla ethos» that emerged in fifties

The meeting of revolutionary roads : Chilean-Cuban Interactions, 1959-1970

Fidel Castro's endorsement of Salvador Allende's revolutionary program in August 1970 was determined by global transformations and changing priorities within both Chile and Cuba. Since 1968, favorable prospects for the Left encouraged Havana to abandon its radicalism premised on the inevitability of armed struggle. Prior to 1970 Chile gradually promoted rapprochement with the socialist world and lessened Cuba's hemispheric isolation, imposed by the Organization of American States. It is within this framework that the meeting between Cuba's and Chile's revolutions has to be understood. Allende, knowing that Castro's support would push the radical Left to side with Popular Unity in the 1970 elections, sent a delegation to convince the Cubans that socialism could be achieved by peaceful means. These events and strategic discussions within Chile and Cuba reveal how the history of the Left needs to be placed in a broad context defined by the complex unfolding of domestic, hemispheric, and international transformations shaping Latin America in the 1960s

Una historiografía en deuda : las relaciones entre el continente latinoamericano y la Unión Soviética durante la Guerra Fría

This article shows that, despite the importance of the Soviet model in the Latin American imaginary, the latter's relations with Moscow during the Cold War have not been a topic of frequent research. The sixties saw the rise of the first studies on the subject, which expanded in the early seventies, and again in the late eighties after a phase of "silence," but which were strongly impregnated by the typical prejudices of their context. Other than punctual interpretations, however, the end of the conflict has not stimulated the academic renovation that was expected, and an evaluation of the "state of the art" shows that, in the area of Soviet-Latin American ties, the social sciences are still in debt

The fate of the Chilean 'lumumbists' facing the cold War issues (1964-1973) = Le sort des lumumbistes chiliens face aux enjeux de la guerre froide (1964-1973)

Chilean students at the Patrice Lumumba University were the most important Chilean community in a foreign institution, thus becoming a symbol of the good relations with Moscow during Frei’s administration after 1964. Nevertheless, worried about the real intentions behind the granting of the scholarships delivered by the Soviets, the authorities got suspicious. However, living in the USSR provided a rich experience for these students who, back in their country, finally succeed in integrating into Chilean professional circles, at least until Pinochet’s coup d’état in 1973

Desafiando la bipolaridad : la independencia diplomática del gobierno democratacristiano en Chile y su acercamiento con el “mundo socialista” (1964-1970)

The last decade has witnessed a historiographical renewal aiming to emphasize the role played by the Latin American countries during the Cold War. Following this tendency, the article argues that far from being a passive actor, Eduardo Frei’s Chilean Christian Democratic Government (1964-1970) conducted an independent foreign policy, defying the strict loyalty to the Americanpriorities and building new bridges with the Socialist camp. Very soon, Frei’s administration, encouraged by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Gabriel Valdés, decided to establish diplomatic relationships with the USSR, and, immediately after that, with five other Eastern countries, prompting political, economic and cultural links with the Soviet Bloc. Moreover, since 1968, this renewed international approach facilitated a commercial rapprochement with Mao’s China and the Cuban Revolution, with which Santiago signed an agriculture agreement, marking the end of the isolation policy against Cuba contracted in OAS. The attitude of the Chilean diplomacy triggered a strident controversy in the Latin American context and resulted in Fidel Castro’s recognition, a leader who had previously attacked Eduardo Frei’s “Revolution in Liberty”. All these elements allow us to state that, to a large extent, Salvador Allende’s foreign policy since 1970 had its roots in the earlier global international opening

Damaris Puñales‑Alpizar, Escrito en cirílico, El ideal soviético en la cultura cubana posnoventa

L’Amérique latine n’a pas encore fait l’objet d’un grand intérêt de la part des spécialistes des relations internationales de l’Union soviétique. Le continent, considéré traditionnellement comme la zone du monde la moins importante aux yeux du Kremlin, a très rarement été incorporé dans les débats historiographiques sur les enjeux essentiels de la guerre froide. Ces limites sont particulièrement évidentes en ce qui concerne l’analyse des rapports avec Moscou. Il est vrai qu’au cours de la gue..

La Revolución cubana de cara al desafío ideológico de la «vía chilena al socialismo» (1959-1973)

Through a wide range of unpublished sources (diplomatic files from MINREX and interviews conducted both in Cuba and Chile), this article reflects on the Cuban interpretation of the “Chilean Path to Socialism” embodied by Salvador Allende, who was president between 1970 and 1973. By examining commentary and reports, this paper shows that Cuban interest in the feasibility of Chile’s non-armed route to power predated the UP electoral victory, stretching back to the early 1960s. The path taken by Allende and part of the Chilean left appeared to contradict the features of the Cuban revolutionary narrative, which was shaped by the island’s insurrectional past. A certain pessimism about the chances of success of the “Chilean path” prevailed in Cuba, confirmed by Pinochet’s 1973 coup d’état.Mediante un conjunto de fuentes inéditas (informes diplomáticos del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Cuba y entrevistas efectuadas por el autor en Cuba y Chile), el presente artículo se interroga sobre la interpretación cubana del proyecto de la «vía chilena al socialismo», personificada por Salvador Allende, presidente entre 1970-1973. A través del análisis de diversos comentarios y evaluaciones, este trabajo muestra que el interés cubano por ponderar la viabilidad de la vía pacífica hacia el socialismo se manifestó a lo largo de toda la década de 1960, y no solo a partir de 1970, año del triunfo electoral de la Unidad Popular. El camino trazado por Allende y parte de la izquierda chilena parecía contradecir los ejes de la narrativa revolucionaria estampillada a la luz del pasado insurreccional de la isla. En ese sentido, imperó en Cuba un cierto pesimismo respecto a las posibilidades de éxito de la «vía chilena», pesimismo confirmado con el golpe de Estado de 1973