Greg Parkhurst
11/2/06
Allende and the Weavers of Revolution

In Peter Winn's Weavers of Revolution, a factory in Santiago, Chile fights for their independence against the Chilean government of the 1970's. While this rebellion is going on, presidential elections are taking place and Salvador Allende is the presidential candidate which represents the common people. The relation between Allende and the people he represents is a unique one because at first this class, the working class, helps and supports Allende to become president, but then both parties realize their different plans for the future and the working class actually contributes to the downfall of Allende's presidency. At first, the working class heavily supported …show more content…

For instance, a revolt of the Yarur factory undermined his political agenda and authority as president. Allende's plan for political stability was a "disciplined mass base and a clear hierarchy of command…the revolution from below at the Yarur mill threatened this delicate edifice" (189). Allende had to do things like increase agrarian reform which possibly would kill his alliance with the middle class, thus jeopardizing the chance of social peace and agreement. This was however, in his plan and unfortunately not for the workers of the Yarur factory. Many of the economic "reforms" of the lower class, such as accelerating inflation and consumer shortages, also were socially and politically costly to Allende's campaign. By 1972, "it was clear that the Allende government was not only faced with growing economic dislocations, but with rising class conflict and political opposition as well" (230). This demonstrates how the lower class had their agenda on mind, and even disrupted the campaign of Allende in order to do so. Allende was then forced to deal with situations he should never have had to, thus hurting his political status with the working class because he could never deliver the results they wanted all the time. The relationship between the working class and Allende is definitely a difficult to understand because it's hard to understand how a political party is supported by the same group who contributes to their downfall. The