On this day in 1970, the Chilean Congress confirmed Salvador Allende's election. Allende got less than 40% of the vote so the election had to be settled in the Congress.
Shortly after taking power, Allende moved to the left rather than trying to bring the country together after such a contested election.
He extended diplomatic recognition to North Vietnam, North Korea, and Cuba. He also started talking about nationalizing the holdings of U.S. corporations in Chile, such as ITT and Kennecott Copper.
Allende's presidency turned the Chilean economy upside down. Chile went into a political crisis leading to General Pinochet's overthrow of President Allende in 1973.
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