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Everyone knows something, even if it's heard, on September 11, 1973 in Chile. Anyone knows the photos of the fence and the aerial bombardment of the Mint, anyone has heard Allende's speech when he was already defeated , anyone has seen his portrait with a tweed jacket, helmet and gun, escorted by the Group of Friends Personal. Many also have the vague idea that Pinochet was considered, until that day, a military loyal to the Government ... Nobody ignores what that coup meant, what were its roots and its consequences.

So we all have the plane of knowledge, but we lack the content. La Moneda, September 11 , the Chilean book Francisco Aguilera (edited in Spain by Dracena) is a perfect way to satisfy curiosity. La Moneda, September 11 is built on four testimonies: that of a policeman (carabinero), Allende's sympathizer who woke up late and hangover , when the coup was almost decided, and who wanted to go to defend La Moneda but could not; that of a waiter who worked in the palace and who was inside when Allende arrived and when the first shots rang; that of a fireman who was mobilized for the bombing but who was not allowed to put out the fire until the last minute; and that of a recruit, a supporter of the coup, who spent September 11 circling in formation through Santiago de Chile without knowing what his role was .

His stories are relieved as in a novel and explain the coup d'etat of 1973 through a thousand anecdotes and revealing images. For example, Allende's walk through a gallery of the palace, adorned with the plaster busts of the presidents who preceded Almost on a move, the president asked to destroy all the portraits except two: those of José Manuel Balmaceda and Pedro Aguirre Cerda .

Allende's case is interesting. We all have the idea that the president defended himself as a symbolic act, as a romantic way of claiming the dignity of his position before history . Aguilera, on the other hand, explains that Allende resisted because he hoped to win the battle.

«At the beginning, Allende does not know that he runs to perdition by going to La Moneda, how could he know? On the contrary: he is certain that he will have loyal military units to defend the Government. It is supported by the Army's performance during the Tanquetazo [the frustrated coup of July 1973], the fact that Pinochet was considered a legalistic and apolitical general and the presence of the Carabineros director at his side in La Moneda. Allende said it several times: whatever happens, there will always be, somewhere, a military unit loyal to the Government. I do not doubt that his goal was to resist to overcome the blow ».

One fact: during his last morning, Allende only lost his temper once, when he learned that the head of the Civil Police [a charge of his trust], had resigned before the military.

In the end, this is the question that goes through all the pages of La Moneda, September 11. Why did nobody go to the center of Santiago to fight the coup? Allende was only accompanied by a dozen personal guards and an elderly supporter who was shooting from the balcony of his house, neighbor of La Moneda.

"There was a rumor on the day of the coup," explains Aguilera, " the former commander in chief, Carlos Prats, was heading from the south with an army to face the coup plotters . This rumor was a hope, almost a certainty, for those who defended the Government. Allende knew that the only way to face a putsch was with the contest of loyal military units as in the Tanquetazo. In this sense, those who abandoned Allende are the only ones who could have saved him: the Armed Forces and order ».

But there is more: «Regarding the left forces, there was a defense device for the perimeter of La Moneda and the president: there was a plan to contain the coup (just waiting for the support of loyal military units). A cord of snipers had been designed in the buildings surrounding La Moneda. In the end, most of those fighters did not show up .

And he continues: «The least known part of the story probably corresponds to the attempt of the Socialist Party military apparatus (with the help of other leftist groups) to create an armed column that would break into La Moneda to rescue Allende. The group met in the industrial sector of the working population of La Legua. They were about 200 armed men . They met at noon. Too late. At that time La Moneda is already being bombed ».

“They still discussed the possibility of forming a column that would become strong in their march towards La Moneda, but then they were surrounded by the police. His gesture was due more to a voluntarist rhetoric than to the reality of the forces in the presence: there were fighting and confrontations but they eventually dispersed. I insist, the very possibility of the anti-coup device required at least a link or collaboration with military elements loyal to the Government, however minimal, even if it was only limited to delivering weapons to the workers ».

There are more romantic figures, doomed to doom in La Moneda, September 11. For example, Major Omar Zavala, Pinochet's field help , who, when he realized that his superior was in the plot, said he did not want to accompany him. He was arrested and there his track was lost: "I would love to be able to talk about him, but unfortunately, it is all the information I handle about him," explains Francisco Aguilera.

«Zavala is a character who remains enigmatic. In any case, it is part of those soldiers and officers who said no to the coup. I don't know what happened to him. I don't even know if he is currently alive or dead. On whether or not he knew, or to what extent, the ongoing conspiracy, it is impossible to secure it with certainty. I imagine he suspected it. But it is possible that he was not sure of Pinochet's participation in the coup, that he believed in his loyalty until the last moment. Pinochet only joins the coup plotters a few days before , with the plans already designed ».

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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