first thing's first: wanna hear some good music?
Los trabajadores no participan en el gobierno, son el gobierno (The workers do not participate in the government, they are the government) is a 1973 Dutch and Spanish-language film that highlights many different aspects of the socialist Unidad Popular project in Chile, which inspired people around the world. The film shows how Chile’s workers, campesinos, artists, neighborhoods, students and youth joined together in the struggle for a just society. The Unidad Popular government came to an end on September 11, 1973 when the Chilean military staged a coup d'etat backed by the United States. Thousands were tortured, murdered, and disappeared by the ensuing military dictatorship led by Augusto Pinochet. Victor Jara and Salvador Allende, both featured in this film, were among the many victims of the coup.
Thank you to the Museo de Memoria y Derechos Humanos for producing the original Spanish translation of this film and sharing it online.
In 1971, Phil Ochs traveled to Chile to witness the country's socialist project under the Unidad Popular. Phil was among many left-wing people around the world who were inspired by the Unidad Popular and wondered if there really could be a "peaceful road to socialism." While in Chile, Phil met Victor Jara, "the Pete Seeger of Chile," as Phil describes him. Victor convinced Phil to make the 10 hour trip with him to the El Teniente mine to sing to the copper miners. As Phil later learned, Victor was not just a singer-- he was a committed communist who gave his life for the cause of Chile's exploited and oppressed classes.
Two years later, on September 11, 1973, the Chilean armed forces staged a military coup d'etat backed by the United States, overthrowing Chile's democratically-elected government led by Salvador Allende. Victor Jara was among the thousands of workers, peasants, socialists, and communists who were murdered by military forces in the aftermath of the coup. The military took Victor to the National Stadium along with thousands of other prisoners. They beat his hands to a pulp, threw his guitar at him, and mocked him by asking him to play and sing for them. Victor Jara was murdered by the military regime on September 16, 1973.
Phil Ochs organized a Chile solidarity benefit concert in memory of Victor Jara and Salvador Allende on May 9, 1974. In this interview Phil Ochs remembers Victor Jara.
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