Unidad Popular
MAPU was first formed as a splinter group of the Christian Democrat Party of Chile on May 19, 1969. At the time, Christian Democrats were in the government and many party members, especially among the youth, became critical of the party's policies that they regarded as pro-American and pro-imperialist. It joined the Unidad Popular coalition of Salvador Allende and participated in his government. The party's ideological line was not clearly defined at first. In fact, the party leaders were encouraged by Allende and Fidel Castro (whom the MAPU delegation met in 1972 when visiting Cuba) not to embrace Marxism officially, since there were such parties in Chile already, and the Unidad Popular coalition wished to claim a Christian Left niche, too (the newly founded Izquierda Cristiana was considered too small).