Poder Popular (Chile)

You can be the parliamentary system, ie the bourgeois representative democracy juxtaposed. In contrast to this is Poder Popular characterized by their collective, flexible and direct Constitution. In the Chilean history, it was the independently organized workers and marginalized sectors of society, such as the inhabitants of the slums ( Poblaciones ), who advocated the establishment of People's Power. In contrast to representative democracy, where the act of the Political limited to the periodic cast a vote in elections, the political power in the People's Power is constantly being renegotiated and is subject to a much more direct control. People's Power can also be understood as a form of self-organization of the workers.

The militancy of the social struggles of the workers and small farmers in Chile already rose in the 1960s during the reign of Christian Eduardo Frei. The moderate reforms of free provoked an increase of occupations in the country and of factory occupations. The workers and peasants intensified their gait to achieve a radicalization of the social reform program (eg land reform, nationalization ). The number of strikes increased in this period. During the government of Salvador Allende, the number of occupations rose even further.

The most prominent form of People's Power in Chile emerged during the short reign of the Unidad Popular and the President Salvador Allende ( 1970-73 ). Particularly striking were the cordones Industrial Facilities ( " industrial belt "), which were able to organize significant portions of the workforce for some time and the traditional trade unions - such as the CUT (Central de Trabajadores de Chile Unitaria ) - faced. As an example of the Cordón Cerrillos - Maipú can apply in the capital Santiago, who formulated the following demands: 1 the support of the Allende government, insofar as it interprets the struggles of the working 2 the expropriation of all monopoly firms and all strategic industries, the foreign capital and those companies that boycott the production 3 workers control over all industries, farms and mines through a permanently accessible from the base councils 4 the establishment of a people's Assembly to replace the bourgeois parliament

The Allende government initially articulated their rejection of cordones, which she described as "irresponsible". Allende insisted on the reformist road to socialism by the institutions of the bourgeois state, whereas the cordones were rejected as an expression of " dual power ". The cordones industriales finally established themselves in response to the sabotage and lock-outs, which were applied by the Chilean entrepreneurs to destabilize the government of the Unidad Popular.

This was particularly evident in October 1972 at the strike of truck drivers who were thereby accelerate the fall of the Unidad Popular. " The strike ends [ ..] with the strengthening of poder popular, " people power ": First of all workers organize themselves and take over the production, distribution and Guarding of enterprises in the hand. " The workers participated in the course of transportation strikes the initiative in their own hands and stopped the distribution of goods going. " They set up factory committees to organize the distribution without the bosses and the production to protect against sabotage. Huge marches and demonstrations were held, in which the workers ' Crear, crear, poder popular " ( " creates, manages people's power " ) called. In short, the cordones reappeared and turned the tide against the bosses. "

Another form of People's Power were the Juntas de Abastecimientos y Precios (JAP, committees of supply and prices), organizations of residents of Poblaciones who were responsible for the distribution of food and control the prices.

The dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet crushed by the military coup of September 11, 1973, all structures of the People's Power.