Allende’s Last Stand, Luis Orlando Lagos, 1973
Salvador Allende was the first democratically elected Marxist head of state, and he assumed the presidency of Chile in 1970. He nationalized U.S.-owned companies, turned estates into cooperatives, froze prices, increased wages and churned out money to bankroll the changes. In late August 1973, Allende appointed Augusto Pinochet as commander of the army. Eighteen days later, the conservative general orchestrated a coup. Allende refused to leave. Armed with an AK-47 and protected only by loyal guards at his side, he broadcast his final address on the radio, the sound of gunfire audible in the background.