Defying bipolarity: the diplomatic independence of the Christian Democratic Government in Chile and its rapprochement with the “Socialist World” (1964-1970)

Abstract

The last decade has witnessed a historiographical renewal aiming to emphasize the role played by the Latin American countries during the Cold War. Following this tendency, the article argues that far from being a passive actor, Eduardo Frei’s Chilean Christian Democratic Government (1964-1970) conducted an independent foreign policy, defying the strict loyalty to the Americanpriorities and building new bridges with the Socialist camp. Very soon, Frei’s administration, encouraged by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Gabriel Valdés, decided to establish diplomatic relationships with the USSR, and, immediately after that, with five other Eastern countries, prompting political, economic and cultural links with the Soviet Bloc. Moreover, since 1968, this renewed international approach facilitated a commercial rapprochement with Mao’s China and the Cuban Revolution, with which Santiago signed an agriculture agreement, marking the end of the isolation policy against Cuba contracted in OAS. The attitude of the Chilean diplomacy triggered a strident controversy in the Latin American context and resulted in Fidel Castro’s recognition, a leader who had previously attacked Eduardo Frei’s “Revolution in Liberty”. All these elements allow us to state that, to a large extent, Salvador Allende’s foreign policy since 1970 had its roots in the earlier global international opening.