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THE CIA IN CHILE
Ee~r £irigan Dait
Eighty-jour years of editorial freedom
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan
For
a
few
Thursday, October 17, 1974
News Phone: 764-0552
420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Mi. 48104
EDITOR'S NOTE:
The following analysis of American
intervention in Chile is based primarily
on the information contained in reports
made by University Political Science
Professor Kenneth Langton and Socialist
candidate Meg Hayes during the Young
Socialist Alliance-sponsored forum on
Chile and the CIA held at the Mich.
Union. The author also wishes to ex-
press his appreciation to Professor Lang-
ton for his generosity in providing subse-
quent information and aid.
By KEVIN STIERS
T HE TOTAL PICTURE which emerg-
ed from Monday's forum on the CIA
in Chile was not exactly that of a capi-
talist superpower singlehandedly quash-
ing a poor third world country's attempt
to socialize. Fortunately, for the rest of
the world, it takes more than $8 million
to topple a government. Still, there re-
mains many elements which are pro-
foundly disturbing in terms of the Amer-
ican government's basic ideological and
political orientation, and apparently
ceaseless indulgence in the abuses of
power.
To be sure, reported political science
Prof. Kenneth Langton and Ms. Hayes,
there were a multitude of opposing inter-
nal political and economic forces which
kept Allende's situation precarious from
the start, and might well have insured
his downfall with or without U. S. inter-
vention. But when examined in the light
of President Ford's recent proclamation
that the CIA funding for the purpose of
destabilizing the Allendean regime was
"in the best interest of the Chilean peo-
ple," the issue demands a thorough and
unsparing analysis.
ACCORDING TO LANGTON, who has
visited Chile a number of times, most
recently for a six-month period shortly
before last fall's coup, the domestic con-
ditions which Allende inherited were
formidable at best. As Allende came to
office in 1970, he faced an infant mor-
tality rate of 88/1000; a widespread pro-
tein deficit such that 50 per cent was
consumed by 7 per cent; a lack of ade-
quate sanitation and housing such that
75 per cent of rural homes were deemed
"unlivable"; and an average family in-
come of $40 per month.
to i0ars
lende's fear of antagonizing them, forc-
ed him into what Langton termed a
"balancing act". In other words, Allende
had to move fast enough toward social-
ization to please the leftist factions, yet
slow enough to avoid potential reaction-
ary backlash, to say nothing of dealing
with the problem of putting Chile back
onto its feet.
AS THE WORLD BANK, at the behest
of the American government, continued
"Ford's assertion that the deposition of Allende for
the junta was in the best interest of the people is chilling,
although perhaps not surprising from a man who once
suggested "dumping it somewhere else" as a solution
to local pollution problems."
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more
since the junta came to power last fall.
In addition, 80,000 persons have been
jailed, with 10-12,000 currently in Chi-
lean jails. The junta has declared mar-
tial law, revoked the Chilean constitu-
tional guarantees of free speech and
right to assemble peaceably; disbanded
all opposition parties; replaced all uni-
versity presidents with army officers;
closed bookstores and burned books; de-
stroyed or padlocked all leftist printing
presses; and imposed rigorous censor-
shin on all centrist publications, such
that many have already been forced to
shut down. Ms. Hayes enumerated sev-
eral instances of torture and brutality
to Chilean people by the new regime.
It is revealing to note that since the
coup, the U. S. has re-instituted eco-
nomic as well as military aid to the tune
of $570 million, is currently in the pro-
cess of loaning wheat and American
police, and is presently presiding over
a World Bank loan of $22 million.
THAT THE BRIEF REIGN of Allen-
de would have been turbulent with or
without American intervention is per-
haps an understatement. But Ford's as-
sertion that the deposition of Allende for
the junta was in the best interest of the
people is chilling in light of- the above
facts, although perhaps not surprising
from a man who once suggested "dump-
ing it somewhere else" as a solution to
local pollution problems.
To sum, in the words of Kenneth Lang-
ton: "It is uncertain whether or not
the coup would have succeeded without
U.S. intervention. But the combination of
financial and moral support by U. S.
corporations and the CIA to opposition,
plus the withdrawal of credit and the
pointed lack of any official statements
recognizing the constitutional legitimacy
of the Allendean regime practically in-
sured,;or at least sealed its fate."
Economically, Chile had one of the
lowest growth rates of any Latin Ameri-
can country, the highest external debt,
and an economy crippled by, extensive
external control of national resources.
Politically, Allende had only a 38 per
cent plurality in the Chilean congress,
with a coalition far from cohesive to be-
gin with.
BY 1972, TWO YEARS after Allende
had come to power, the rate of unem-
ployment had been reduced to 3 per
cent, (the lowest ever in Chilean his-
tory), workers' wages had been raised
by 30-50 per cent, a program of agrar-
ian reform had been instituted, and the
nationalization of major industries was
underway. In fact, according to Lang-
ton, the total production of copper ac-
tually increased during these two years.
But the diversity of opinions and ideo-
logies amongst the various factions of
Allende's Popular Front, coupled with
strong opposition by the right and Al-
to refuse to extend credit or advance
loans, the economic situation took a ma-
jor turn for the worse. As all available
capital had to be used as emergency
funds for the purchase of grain, spare
parts, and other necessary supplies, lit-
tle or no money could be re-invested in
the economy. By 1973 the buying power
of the worker's wage dropped off to a
subsistence level once more, and the
country was racked by strikes and in-
ternal political dissension.
It is at this point that the CIA enters
into the picture with $5 million to fund
the truckers' and professionals' strike,
and a million and a half for opposition
campaigns. If there was ever any doubt
about the beneficiality of the CIA inter-
vention to the Chilean people, this line
of official pap becomes ludicrous in light
of the military junta's actions over the
last year.f
PROF. LANGTON QUOTED'estimates
of 10,000 to as many as 30,000 killings
Letters:
On clerical unionization
Trial: Same o
PERHAPS NIXON WILL GRANT the
Watergate cover-up trial a sur-
prise visit since he is inevitably the
star of the ;show. Prosecutor Ben-
Veniste slides up to Ehrlichman, who
sits confidently in the witness chair.
He points an accusing finger at the
defendant's nose hairs and screams,
"Do you deny you participated in the
cover-up?"
Ehrlichman laughs scornfully,
"Hat" He knows a denial isn't even
necessary. Snapping his heels to-
gether for emphasis he replies, "Kolo-
nel, I had my orders."
Nazi officers often used this snap-
py line with some success during the
Neuremburg trials. Without Hitler to
remind the principals just how en-
thusiastically they had executed
their orders, the defendants could
easily shift the blame away from
their pious selves.
But when Ehrlichman tries it, the
Furer might want to defend himself.
Enter, Nixon, limping wildly to the
front of the courtroom. "John, tell
them how you convinced me it was
the only way. You said full disclos-
ure would damage the Office of the
Presidency."
TODAY'S STAFF:
News: Gordon Atcheson, Dan Biddle,
Jay Levin, Ann Marie Lipinski, Rob
Beachum, Jim Nicoll, Cheryl Pi-
late, Judy Ruskin
Editorial Page: Marnie Heyn, David
Warren
Arts Page: Ken Fink
Photo Technician: Steve Kagan
id shillelagh
REN-VINESTE WHIRLS TO face the
intruder. "You! I thought you
were too ill to come, to the stand
with him!" Federal marshals drag
Nixon to the stand, but not before he
swallows a heavy dosage of barbitu-
ates hidden in his cheeks. The chief
slumbers while the Germans smirk.
The tape transcripts that Richard
Nixon edited and released prove The
President, as he was fond of calling
himself, did not give ironclad, do-or-
die orders. Instead, he carefully
weighed his options.
NEARLY EVERY DOCUMENTED
discussion in the White House in
which Richard Nixon participated is
filled with options, not decisions. The
staff eventually began to interpret
what the president wanted based on
his immediate reactions to the alter-
natives.
So, though a comparison can be
made between Richard Nixon and
Adolph Hitler, The President was not
quite as forceful a leader as the
Furer. When Haldemann and Ehr-
lichman utter their inevitable dis-
claimer, someone should remind
them just how wishy-washy Nixon
was. In desperation, Nixon once told
John Ehrlichman, "You were my
conscience.."
In their heydey, the Watergate de-
fendants were the powers behind
the throne. Now that Judgement Day
has arrived, the abscence of the fig-
urehead should not absolve his ad-
visors' guilt.
To The Daily:
IT IS becoming apparent that
the University of Michigan is
running scared into the upc)m-
ing clerical election. Recenly,
Mr. William Neff held an in-
vitation only meeting for select-
ed P&A members, to instr'ct
them how to convince the cleri-
cals to vote for no union. P&A
employees were encouraged to
meet the clericals in a "com-
fortable conference room" and
hold an "informal relaxed"
meeting. In this setting, t h e
supervisors are warned not to
conduct the meeting in an "in-
structional manner or with a
superior attitude, and be sin-
cere". This is all, of course,
a service of the University Fam-
ily which is to help us make
what he called "Informed De-
cision".
Although, Mr. Neff cautioned
the P&A employees not to make
any misstatements, he himself
made a few which vere passed
on to his audience. Stch as
claiming that the UAW Interna-
tional receives 2 hours pay per
month and the local must ask
for more money to suj)ppOt it-
self.
SOME OF the comments
which Mr. Neff did not ask to
be passed onto the clericals who
are about to make their "in-
formed decision" was that he
considered the UAW to be one
of the "more responsible un-
ions" with "excellent union of-
ficers". It becomes apparent
from reading the material which
was handed out at the meeting
that Mr. Neff is trying to turn
the P&A employees into the
Concerned P&A for No Union.
The most important thing for
clericals to remember should
you be so lucky as to attend one
of these meetings is to listen
to everything that is said. If you
are told that working conditions
will get worse, write it down. If
you are told that working condi-
tions will be better if you vote
for no-union, write it down. If
you are threatened with repris-
als, layoffs, or any other intimi-
dation tactics, w r i t e it down.
All of these activities are il-
legal. It is very important for
all of us to be aware of tac-
tics the University is using so
that we can all be able to an-
swer the questions being rais-
ed andhthe misrepresentations
being used.
DURING THE next few weeks
before the election, clerical
workers who have been working
for unionization will be holding
building meetings and passing
out leaflets and answering ques-
tions about the UAW. If you
have a question stop us and ask
it. We don't have to be coached
to be sincere, we are already.
Clericals who wish to become
involved in this unionization
vears to come. Remember
VOTE YES!
-Dan Byrne
Rackham Graduate
School
October 14
To The Daily:
WE WOULD like to remind
the clerical staff at the UM
that as public employees we are
governed by the Michigan Pub-
lic Employment Relations Act.
According to the Act it is not
only illegal to strike, but it is
illegal to contribute to arstrike
fund as well as to receive
strike benefits. It is therefore
apparent that the UAW's $90
million strike fund would not be
available to us and since there
are no other benefits available
a strike would inflict heavy
financial losses on us. Since la-
bor unions typically use t h e
strike weapon to obtain their
demands and strikes by public
employees occur with regular-
ity, we feel this is an important
consideration in the upcoming
union representation election.
Please vote. An uncast ballot
means nothing and no election is
decided until all the ballots are
counted. We strongly believe
that a "no" vote is in the best
interest of the clerical staff.
-Secretaries for Non-
unionization
(formerly Concerned.
Secretaries)
To The Daily:
IF CLERICALS on campus
still believe that we do not need
a union, perhaps they should
read Robben Flemings "State of
the University" address, which
was presented in the Rackham
building this week. What Mr.
Fleming would lead us to be-
lieve is that in the near future
there will be fewer jobs for
clericals in the next University
budget and that the thrust of
budget money will be directed
towards the faculty.
Since none of the clericals on
campus were hired under a
contract all of us are vulnerable
when the University starts fir-
ing clericals to make their bud-
get balance. It does not matter
if you have worked here one,
five, ten, or twenty years you
have no protection against a
large scale layoff. The offices
which will probably be the hard-
est hit are those with one or
two clericals in academic de-
partments which are already
suffering from the financial
crunch of inflation.
With an inflation which this
nation faces right now the only
protection public employees
have is their right to unionize.
Only with a union can employees
demand seniority rights. Only
with a union will we win a cost
of living escalator allowance
which will protect us wvhen the
inflation rate starts soaring to
right, vote yes on October 28
thru November 1.
-Jan Cooper
Rackham
To The Daily:
IN TWO weeks clericals at
the U of M will have a chance
to vote for a clerical union.
There are many who would have
us believe, that it would be to
our benefit to wait anotheryear
and think it over. In case you
haven't noticed most of those
trying to convince us to vote
no-union are men making be-
tweeni20 and 30 thousand dol-
lars a year. They are trying to
earn their money.
We cannot afford to wait anat-
her year and think about it.
We have already thought about
it for five years. This is the
third attempt in five years by
clericals to form a union. The
message of these attempts is
clear enough, clericals cannot
expect the University to look out
for them. By waiting another
year, we are just delaying the
problem, not solving it.
Voting for a union is 3 good
beginning, but it is just a be-
ginning. There are many able
women who have come forward
in the current unionization
drive. Some of them worked for
AF'SCME and some for t h e
CCFAsUAW. They haveshown
their abilities to understand the
problems and needs of their fel-
low clerical workers. Altnough
the end of the unionization drive
is near, the job of making an
effective local which will re-
spond to the needs of clerical
workers is just beginning.
WOMEN WHO want to be-
come involved in setting up the
local union or working on con-
tract demands should call the
CCFA/UAW at 994-0808. We are
only as strong as we are inter-
ested.
-Kathy Braschayko
Student Accounts
October 15
To The Daily:
RECENTLY politicians from
President Ford on down have
been telling the American peo-
ple that it is time "to bite the
bullet." A case in point is the
recent letter Governor Milli-
kin sent to the University or-
dering a cut back of 1 per cent
in expenditures this year and
anticipating a cut back of 4 per
cent next year. If this happens,
President Fleming warned in the
State of the University Address
Monday, October 7, then the
University would be forced to
cut back jobs.
Before University of Michigan
employees start anticipating a
long sojurn in the unemployment
lines, it might be wise to take
all these statements with a grain
of salt. Governor Milliken, for
back for 1975 76.
IF, HOWEVER, Millikin is re-
elected and the legislature au-
thorizes such a cut back, then
the University will be faced
with the problem of trying to
reduce expenditures by 4 per
cent. It seems strange, how-
ever, to put eliminating jobs at
-the top of a list of ways to
save money becausetemployees
who are laid off stop paying
State Income Tax (and a large
percentage of the University
budget is based on state tax re-
venues) and start collecting un-
employment compensation from
the University. Surely the bud-
get could be examined for areas
of waste, supplies could be con-
served, and other things elim-,
inated before the University con-
sidered such a drastic and cost-
ly step. After all people a r e
more important than paper
clips.
But the whole tone of Presi-
dent Fleming's speech shows
that once again decisions a r e
being made from the top with-
out consulting the people on the
bottom. IF ASKED, employees
would be glad to cooperate by
sending in suggestions on ways
'money could be saved and ex-
penses eliminated to reduce the
U of M budget. Could it be that
the whole idea of a 4 per cent
cut back is intended as a veil-
ed threat to frighten employees
away from organizing to protect
their rights?
CLERICAL WORKERS must
refuse to be intimidated by such
threats. We need a union more
than ever to have a voice in de-
termining those policies that af-
fect us. To organize or not is
our decision; no one, a super-
visor, President Fleming, or
Governor Millikin, has the right
to make it for us. Every cleri-
cal can have a part in that de-
cision by voting in the com-
ing run-off union election.
-Proud to Be a Secretary
October 10
Reuther
To The Daily:
A LETTER you published on
October 15, 1974 from "a Reu-
ther supporter" indicated that
John Reuther has adopted a
middle of the road position on
amnesty, rejecting the plan for
unconditional amnesty. This is
blatantly false. John Reuther
announced on Wednesday, Oc-
tober 2, 1974 at a meeting of
none other than the V.F.W. that
he totally supports uncondition-
al amnesty. Admittedly this was
a change of position, but now he
clearly and unequivocally sup-
;ports this cause. The purpose
was not to capture student vot-
es, but to fulfill a deep-seated
commitment to pour his true
feelings into every issue.
Either the supposed "support-
er" is a dirty trickster, or very
mistaken. We hope the latter
is the case. We are personal~ly
convinced that John Reuther is
impeccably honest. Once the
electorate gains this aware-
ness, John Reuther should have
little trouble defeating a two-
faced and fork-tongued Marvin
Esch.
-Nancy Marcus
Paul A. Caghan
October 16, 1974
Identity
To The Daily:
THE COMMENTS about fa-
culty compensation attributed
to me in the October i iS3ue
are easily misunderstood *th-
out the following additional
facts:
The "reporter called ma at
home indicating he was survey-
ing faculty reactions to the
CESF proposals. I emphasized
repeatedly that I could speak
only as an individual faculty
member; to the extent that my
comments are interpreted as in-
dicating a lack of administra-
tive support for CESF, they are
interpreted improperly.
Speaking only as a faculty
member, I several times men-
tioned that I personally believe
the CESF proposals are justi-
fiable, and tried to indicate also
that I personally do io t believe
a unionized faculty is inevit-
able in a University whose staff
is otherwise widey unionized.
-Chares O. Morris,
Associate Dean
Associate Professor
October 16
-WAYNE JOHNSON
Contact your reps--
Sen. Phillip Hart (Dem), Rm 253, Old Senate Bldg., Capitol
Hill, Washington, D.C. 20515.
Sen. Robert Griffin (Rep), Rm 353, Old Senate Bldg., Capitol
Hill, Washington, D.C. 20515.
Rep. Marvin Esch (Rep), Rm. 412, Cannon Bldg., Capitol