Early day motion · EDM 1558 · 4 Sep 2023

50th anniversary of the 1973 Chilean military coup

Tabled by Mick Whitley (Labour) 33 signatures

The motion

That this House notes that 11 September 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the 1973 Chilean coup d’état; honours the heroic sacrifices of all those who resisted the murderous dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet between 1973 and 1990 and remembers the three thousand Chileans murdered by state security forces in that time; notes that, at the direction of the dictatorship, Chile was subject to a radical neoliberal experiment that came at enormous and lasting cost to the lives and standards of living of millions of working-class Chileans; condemns the longstanding diplomatic and political support given to the Pinochet regime by successive British and American governments; commends by contrast the solidarity demonstrated by the British trade union movement and those civic society groups which assisted approximately three thousand Chilean exiles in seeking asylum in the United Kingdom in the aftermath of the coup; believes that the overthrow of the democratically-elected government of Chile offers vital lessons for the modern-day when democracy around the globe is again threatened by authoritarianism, racism, and the self-interest of global capital; and restates its commitment to championing democracy, peace, and equality, taking as its inspiration President Allende’s final broadcast to the Chilean people, in which he said history is ours and people make history, and that much sooner than later, the great avenues will again be opened through which will pass free men to construct a better society.

Source: the official Early Day Motions database.