Interrogating “Solidarity” in the Chile Solidarity Movement of Spain, 1973–90

This paper will examine the changing meaning of solidarity within the Chile solidarity movement of Spain. It begins by looking at expressions and manifestations of Spanish solidarity with the Chilean people during the Presidency of Salvador Allende (1970-1973), the world’s first democratically elected Marxist government. Much of this early political solidarity centered on aiding Allende’s socialist project, forging relationships between leftist political parties and labor unions across Chile and Europe and condemning the “fascist” and “imperialist” elements in the Western hemisphere that attempted to undermine the “Chilean path to socialism.” These early displays of solidarity helped shape later manifestations after Augusto Pinochet’s military dictatorship took power by coup in 1973. However, national politics and social movements in Europe impacted the political perspectives of both Chilean exiles (many of whom settled in Western Europe) and their European allies. In particular, this paper shows that Spain’s transition to democracy and the election of the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party in 1982, meant solidarity became largely linked to governmental aid. By examining European expressions of solidarity during Chile’s 1988 plebiscite and the election that followed, this paper shows that by the mid-to-late 1980s, solidarity became largely related to government-affiliated development and civil-society building. In highlighting the transformation of “solidarity,” this paper calls greater historical attention to the way in which activists and scholars understand and apply the term.