The 1972 October strike, also known as the "bosses' strike"
or the "truckers' strike", was an employers' strike carried out in Chile during the month of October 1972, against the
Popular Unity government headed by the President
Salvador Allende
Salvador Guillermo Allende Gossens (26 June 1908 – 11 September 1973) was a Chilean socialist politician who served as the 28th president of Chile from 1970 until Death of Salvador Allende, his death in 1973 Chilean coup d'état, 1973. As a ...
, due to the economic crisis in the country. This strike was supported and financed by Chilean business associations and the US
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
(CIA), which sought to destabilize the socialist government.
Grassroots Response
In response to the October 1972 strike, grassroots organizations played a crucial role in maintaining daily life and countering economic disruption. Workers, students, and community members organized to ensure the continued distribution of essential goods and services. For instance, local activists established alternative food distribution and transportation networks, effectively mitigating the strike's impact. These efforts exemplified the concept of "popular power," where ordinary citizens took collective action to address immediate challenges and assert their agency in the political landscape. The Revolutionary Left Movement (MIR) supported these grassroots initiatives, emphasizing the importance of bottom-up political engagement. This period highlighted the significant influence of grassroots movements in Chile's political dynamics during the early 1970s.
[Schlotterbeck,Beyond the Vanguard]
See also
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Presidency of Salvador Allende
Salvador Allende was the president of Chile from 1970 until Death of Salvador Allende, his suicide in 1973, and head of the Popular Unity (Chile), Popular Unity government; he was a Socialist Party of Chile, Socialist and the first Marxism, Mar ...
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List of strikes
The following is a list of specific strikes (workers refusing to work, seeking to change their conditions in a particular industry or an individual workplace, or striking in solidarity with those in another particular workplace) and general str ...
References
External links
{{Wikisource, Pliego de Chile, Pliego de Chile
1972 protests
Protests in Chile
1972 in Chile
Presidency of Salvador Allende
Labor disputes in Chile
1972 labor disputes and strikes
Transport strikes