page_title: United States involvement in regime change in Latin America
section_title: Chile
hierarchical_section_title: United States involvement in regime change in Latin America / History / Chile
caption_attribution_description: Español: El Presidente Aylwin junto al Gral. Pinochet y al Pdte. de U.S.A. George Bush.
context_page_description: Involvement of the United States in regime change in Latin America most commonly involved US-backed Coups d' etat aimed at replacing left-wing leaders with right-wing, usually military and authoritarian regimes. It was most prevalent during the Cold War in line with the Truman Doctrine of containment, although some instances occurred during the early 20th century "Banana Republic" era of Latin America history to promote American business interests in the region.
context_section_description: After the democratic election of President Salvador Allende in 1970, an economic war ordered by President Richard Nixon, among other things, caused the 1973 Chilean coup d'état with the involvement of the CIA due to Allende’s democratic socialist leanings. What followed was the decades-long US-backed military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. In 1988 a presidential referendum was held in order to confirm Pinochet’s ruling for 8 more years. The oppositional Concertation of Parties for Democracy endorsed the “No” option, winning the referendum and ending Pinochet’s rule democratically. After that free elections were held in 1989 with Concertation winning again.
caption: Augusto Pinochet meeting George H.W. Bush
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