Before his removal, Allende nationalized the copper industry and the banks. The only way to nationalize any business is to take the property therein from its owners. How is taking property from its owners not a violation of their rights?
Furthermore, though his family (not surprisingly) denies it, a recent
report indicates that Allende was "a racist and anti-Semite, and as a proponent of eugenics and forced sterilizations."
In many ways, the young Dr. Allende was, indeed, in line with the Fascism-infected streams that were so prevalent during the first half of the last century. For example, he argued that mental illnesses, criminal behavior, and alcoholism were hereditary. Or further, he argued that homosexuality is an illness curable by implanting testicle tissue into the abdomen. Another example: Allende proclaimed that the hot climate prevented people in southern regions from acting morally. Referring to other studies, Allende wrote ominously about Jews in his dissertation saying, "The Hebrews are well-known committers of certain types of crimes including: fraud, deceit, defamation, but most notably usury."
While these views may be reflections of the era in which they were written, they certainly do not indicate a future as a well-respected Socialist for Allende -- and Farias deserves credit for discovering them. But typical of his abrasive style, Farias takes things a step further: The dissertation, he writes, wasn't merely a temporary phase for Allende. Instead, Farias accuses Allende of remaining loyal to racism and anti-Semitism for years -- at least until the days of the Popular Front government under President Pedro Aguirre Cerda (1939 to 1942). Allende served as health minister in that administration and promoted a law on the forced sterilization of the mentally ill.
All of which sounds as bad, or worse, than Pinochet.
