An Eleno in the defense of people’s government in Chile, 1973: Real Atahualpa Venegas Venegas, ‘Jorge’

Abstract

On September 11, 1973, one of the bloodiest dictatorships in Latin America began with the violent overthrow of Salvador Allende’s government. In this article, I analyze the resistance organized by the Elenos, militants of the National Liberation Army, based on the testimony of a Socialist Party member who later went into exile in Mexico. I apply oral history methodology to examine his involvement in defending the Popular Unity government. My analysis aims to identify the individual and collective resistance strategies employed during and after the coup, contributing to the broader understanding of leftist movements' resistance in Chile.