Carlos Altamirano

Carlos Altamirano Orrego (December 18, 1922, Santiago de Chile) is a lawyer and one of the most influential politicians of Chilean socialism. He was the general secretary of the Chilean Socialist Party (PS) between 1971 and 1979. Before that, he was deputy from 1961 to 1965 and senator from 1965 to 1973. He escaped after Pinochet's coup d'état on September 11, 1973 and lived as a refugee in Cuba.

Biography

Carlos Altamirano started as professor of financial law and public finanaces in the University of Chile. Once exiled, he was one of the main protagonist of the ideological renovation of Chilean socialism. He wrote "Dialéctica de una Derrota" en 1977 ("Dialectics of a Defeat"). He returned to Chile after the end of Pinochet's dictatorship in 1993, and didn't participate actively in politics, although he did continue his reflections concerning politics.

Carlos Altamirano led the way for armed struggle against the bourgeoisie, in particular after the "tanquetazo" failed right wing coup. During Salvador Allende's government, he had a very strong discourse, calling to "advance without compromise" ("avanzar sin transar" — that might be compared to Marceau Pivert's "tout est possible", "everything is possible", during the 1936 Popular Front in France). In 1973, sectors of the Chilean Navy tried to convince leaders of the far-right paramilitary organization "Patria y Libertad" to assassinate him [http://noticias.tvn.cl/detalle.aspx?IdC=195247&IdS=1 Confesiones de un ex Patria y Libertad] , "TVN", 12 February 2006 es icon] . The plan, however, was not enacted. After the September 11, 1973 coup, Altamirano fled to Cuba.

According to lawyer Alun Jones, representant of the Spanish justice during Spain's request to Great Britain for the extradition of Augusto Pinochet, Augusto Pinochet had planned an attack against Carlos Altamirano just after Franco's funerals in 1975. [cite news | title = Lords reserve Pinochet ruling | url = http://www.guardian.co.uk/pinochet/Story/0,,208742,00.html | publisher = The Guardian | date = 1999-02-05 | accessdate = 2007-07-18] A declassified FBI document suggests that Altamirano had become an obsession of DINA director Manuel Contreras, who wanted him assassinated at all cost, but that others within the agency cast doubts, because Altamirano seemed to be a decisive factor among the Chileans living in exile. The same document indicates that the neo-fascists associated with Stefano Delle Chiaie were to assassinate Bernardo Leighton instead. [cite web | title = Attempted Assassination of Bernardo Leighton | url = http://foia.state.gov/documents/Pfbi3/00008806.pdf | publisher = Federal Bureau of Investigations | work = FBI Chile Declassification Project Tranche III (1968-1972) | date = 1980-04-09]

References

Books

*"Dialéctica de una Derrota" (1977) es
*"Después de Todo" ("After Everything") es

See also

*Operation Condor