LOSING A MODEL DEMOCRACY: SALVADOR ALLENDE AND U.S.-CHILEAN RELATIONS, 1945-1970 By MARK T. HOVE A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2009 1 © 2009 Mark T. Hove 2 To David, whose love and support made this possible 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Completing any major academic effort like as a dissertation is not possible without the assistance of many people. I owe special thanks Dr. Robert McMahon who took me under his wing, urged me to strive for my best narrative and analysis, and continually provided good advice and encouragement. Dr. Louise Newman merits special thanks for her constant support, encouragement, candor, and guidance. She continually struck the perfect balance between mentor, colleague, and friend, and often transformed that which seemed distant or unattainable into something within reach. During my studies at the University of Florida, I enjoyed the friendship, collegiality, and ideas of excellent colleagues, such as Steve Ortiz, Jason Parker, James Thompson, Adam Howard, and Marixa Lasso. I thank the Society for Historians for American Foreign Relations (SHAFR) for granting me the Michael Hogan Fellowship to study Spanish and do research in Chile for several weeks. It was also through SHAFR that I met Jeff Taffet, Kyle Longley, Stephen Rabe, Alan McPherson, and Jim Siekmeier, who offered valuable ideas, critcism, and encouragement. I thank the John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Baines Johnson, and Gerald R. Ford Presidential Libraries for generous research grants that enabled me to pursue the larger story of Allende and the United States. I thank the archivists at the many archives and libraries where I conducted research. They include Beth Lipford and Ed Barnes (National Archives, College Park), Dennis Bilger (Truman Library), David Haight (Eisenhower Library), Stephen Plotkin and Jennifer Quan (Kennedy Library), Regina Greenwell (Johnson Library), Geir Gunderson (Ford Library), Carmen D. Duhart (Archivo de Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores), Margarita Barraza C. (Fundacíon Eduardo Frei), Jorge Salinas (Benson Latin American Collection, University of Texas), Christopher Harter (Claude Bowers Papers, Lilly Library, Indiana University), Linda 4 Long (Wayne Morse Papers, Knight Library, University of Oregon), and Mary Carter (Frank Church Papers, Albertsons Library, Boise State University). During the course of this project, I have gained many friends and colleagues who, in ways great and small, have assisted me in this project, as has my family. Herb and Mary Ann Bolton merit my gratitude many times over for their friendship and gracious hospitality during my extensive research at the National Archives and Library of Congress. I owe special gratitude to my friend Rick Marsden who encouraged me to take a chance and pursue a dream. I thank my parents, Lorin and Janet, and my sibling, Laurel, Carrie, and Doug for their love and support. I offer profound thanks to my early mentors Ronald Schultz at the University of Wyoming and the late Kinley Brauer at the University of Minnesota for sharing their guidance, knowledge, and encouragement. Gwen Garrison, Linda Hodson, Doug Kraft, Sara Schoo, Patrick Barr-Melej, Judy Fai-Podlipnik, Nathaniel Smith, Tom Pearcy, Kristin Ahlberg, Rick Moss, Anand Toprani, Chris Tudda, Rick and Gloria Comstock, Madeleine Matthew, Karrie Brain-Marsh and Jeff Marsh have helped me more than they realize. Finally, I offer my deep love and gratitude to my partner David Matthew who has been a constant source of strength, love, joy, and guidance since I first considered graduate study. David, without you, I would not have made it. 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...............................................................................................................4 LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................9 ABSTRACT...................................................................................................................................12 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................14 2 RISE OF A MODEL DEMOCRACY, 1945-1948.................................................................26 Periphery to Battleground.......................................................................................................26 A Meeting of Two Democracies.............................................................................................29 Accepting a Popular Front President ......................................................................................41 Copper, Coal, and Foreign Investment...................................................................................52 Collapse of González Videla’s Coalition ...............................................................................57 A European Crisis...................................................................................................................66 The Model Democracy Premise .............................................................................................73 Conclusion ..............................................................................................................................82 3 FAVORING A MODEL DEMOCRACY, 1949-1952...........................................................84 The Premise Adopted .............................................................................................................84 Mr. “Y” and Hemispheric Relations.......................................................................................87 Developing Threats Left and Right ........................................................................................98 The Korea War and a Cold War Policy................................................................................107 Two Fronts and the 1952 Election........................................................................................112 Who Lost Chile?...................................................................................................................125 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................131 4 A THREAT EMERGES, 1953-1954....................................................................................134 The Arbenz Factor ................................................................................................................134 New Administration, Same Premise.....................................................................................136 The Friends of Guatemala ....................................................................................................146 Shifting from Right to Left...................................................................................................158 A New Threat Arises ............................................................................................................174 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................182 5 A VERY CLOSE THING, 1955-1958 .................................................................................185 Allende Precedes Castro.......................................................................................................185 Preventing Social Revolution ...............................................................................................186 6 Golpe with Tea and Marmalade ...........................................................................................189 The Klein-Saks Mission .......................................................................................................196 The Pine Tree in a Flower Pot ..............................................................................................208 The End of the Klein-Saks Program.....................................................................................211 Seeking the Presidency Again ..............................................................................................220 Anxieties and Missed Opportunities.....................................................................................227 A Very Close Thing..............................................................................................................240 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................251 6 RUNNING SCARED, 1958-1964........................................................................................255 Supporting Frei, Stopping Allende.......................................................................................255 Insisting upon Reform ..........................................................................................................257 A Road, But Not the Road....................................................................................................268 Creating a Showcase.............................................................................................................271 Tampering with Democracy .................................................................................................289 The Panic Button ..................................................................................................................303