Not dead, just been a hellacious couple of months personally. I'm obviously not giving up this project, although i cannot unfortunately promise anything like regular updates.
George Alessandri won the presidential election but he felt that he lacked a true mandate. He won a plurality of the vote, but he had failed to get a majority. It was a failing he felt that he could rectify at least in form, along with helping his own long time pet issue of reducing inflation. Among the first actions he took was to introduce a constitutional amendment which mandated run-off elections at the presidential level. It was a move which pleased both the center and the right of the political spectrum while infuriating the left as it was accepted wisdom that under this new system the UP coalition would have no presidential prospects.
While he was infuriating the left Alessandri moved as quickly as possible to tackle inflation at the same time. His reasoning being that he was going to fight the left on this issue anyways, so he would let them divide their efforts fighting him on multiple fronts rather than allowing them the time to recover from his political assaults. It was an effective strategy, especially given the dislocations that the UP coalition was going through as a result of the elections and its failures. Alessandri was able to set up a constitutionally mandated independent reserve board in charge of interest rates and charged with keeping inflation under control. While it was not initially completely successful the reserve board would prove to be one of Alessandri’s most important legacies.
These initial strikes against the left were helped by the way that the UP coalition began to disintegrate. The Radical party, with the addition of several socialist deputies, bolted from UP. Mario Polestro, and his brother, led the group of Socialist defectors. All were machine politicians who felt that the Socialists and their new focus on ideological purity no longer held a place for them. The Radicals were more than happy to take in the defectors, using them as a public sign of strength and parlaying their defection into two cabinet positions.
Alessandri had the last laugh on that though. He named Adriana Olguin as Minister of Justice, with explicit instructions to clean the foreign money out of the Chilean political process. While Olguin was without question a Radical she was also a firm indication to the women of Chile that Alessandri was going to fulfill his promises to them. By naming such a figure to the Ministry of Justice he made an implicit promise that he would be cleaning up the government. He also named Maria Teresa del Canto to be his minister of education, a second radical and a second women. Given the position of women within the party structure, and more importantly public perception, Alessandri fulfilled his promise to the Radicals without allowing their party leadership to have any real say in his government. It was a masterful political move, one that would prove to be fortuitous as the Ministry of Justice went after Allende and the UP for accepting soviet money with a will.
The UP wasn’t the only party to face internal strife in the early days of the Alessandri presidency. The Christian Democrats were also undergoing convulsions. Tomic and his leftist allies found themselves in a very awkward position as Jose Ignacio Palma and Patricio Aylwin lead a virtual parliamentary coupe. Jose Ignacio Palma represented the technocratic wing of the Christian democrats, and was able to work well with the Alessandri administration and especially Willaim Thayer the new secretary of labor. Aylwin on the other hand represent the right wing of the Christian Democrats, who had been infuriated by the campaign Tomic had run. He was less welcome by the Alessandri administration but that initial hesitance on the part of the administration would thaw over time.
The divides in the Christian Democrat party benefited Alessandri’s agenda as the right and center of the party could be courted without speaking to any of those figures who Alessandri felt had slandered him in the past. Being able to court various factions of the Christian Democrats allowed for a workable effective majority in the chamber of deputies and the senate. Even if those parties which explicitly supported the Administration were not in the majority.
Of course despite his successes Alessandri did not get everything his way. Palestro and his newly minted radical friends managed to secure for their districts the majority of the urban redevelopment money that he had hoped to spread widely. They wisely maneuvered through the political process and were promised the subsidized housing towers in their districts, meaning that they were very secure in terms of electability. They were also able to convince those contractors who were bidding on the towers and housing blocks that hiring locals would be looked upon favorably during the selection process and their districts saw a sharp jump in the number of employed heads of households. Those construction jobs would turn out to have staying power and would serve as an engine of social mobility. Those who landed said construction jobs were often able to get their families out of the lower class and into the lower middle class at worst, well into the middle class at best.
In addition to the urban renewal projects that Alessandri launched, there was a steady drum beat of announcements about development in the Norte Chico region. Alessandri and his administration were determined to be seen correcting the problems of the previous administration at the earliest possible time. This lead to the Army deploying engineers to survey possible water pipe routes from the coast up to the highlands, as well as an intensive study of just what would be required to implement such a system. In addition noises were made about a trio of desalination plants and a nuclear reactor to power them. While little initial progress was made, studies were launched and ground was surveyed very publically. Although the idea of piping water to the highlands would eventually be abandoned the idea of having the coastal cities served by desalination plants in times of drought and the idea of nuclear power were implemented in the long run.
Despite Alessandri’s best efforts he wasn’t able to reduce the agricultural land redistribution as much has he had wanted too. He did manage to slow governmental appropriation a fair bit and rewrite the compensation model but nothing he could do would completely pacify the campenisto’s and their demands for land. It would remain a struggle throughout his presidency to balance land redistribution with driving the engines of economic progress. He was able to convince more than a few of the technocratic wing of the Christian Democrats to support him in trying to attract foreign investment and modernization in the harvesting and fruit packing industries. That would have long term consequences as the export potential of Chilean fruits and produce was drastically increased thanks to Alessandri’s foresight.
Alessandri would remain skeptical of the jobs that his opposition had forced him to create until the day he died. It seemed very much like a continuation of the Radicals approach to job creation which he had seen fail to drive the economy for his entire adult life. As such he tried mightily to attract foreign investment, and industry. Mostly through quietly offering tax breaks and favorable deals to various international corporations, although it was to his credit that those industries he tried to entice into Chile were all focused on export, rather than continuing the Radical idea of import substitution. His vision would allow Chile to begin to build a manufacturing sector which would be the envy of Latin America, although that was to be years down the road. He was moderately successful over the course of his presidency, but the ground work for his biggest success was laid within days of his assentation to office.
ASMAR, with the full support of the government, made a major purchase of heavy industrial equipment from the bankrupt New York Shipbuilding Corporation. With the industrial equipment and dry docking supply’s ASMAR was able to expand its shipyards, as well as offer surplus equipment to other shipbuilding companies in order to lure them into partnership. The government fully supported this effort offering tax incentives and subsidizing land purchased for the purpose of building factories and shipyards in Chile. Despite the economic benefits the purchase was arraigned for one reason and one reason only, securing the dry docking and industrial equipment needed to service a ship the size of the Kitty Hawk. The Navy having been promised a carrier, was bound and determined that they would be able to service and support said carrier.
Despite the military rational for the purchase it would be the economic implications of the purchase which would have longer lasting effects. Two companies would take the Chileans up on their offer, Haijin heavy industries, a developing company in Korea, and Sumitomo Heavy Industries of Japan. Though negotiations would go through to 73 when the partnership was signed, and the first ground would not be broken on the proposed shipyards until 74, with the shipyards fully opening only in 81 the effect on the Chilean shipbuilding industry was enormous. Especially the Partnership between the three companies to produce propellers.
Despite Chile never building more than 3 percent of the hulls constructed in a year the subcontracting and parts manufacturing plants built during the Japanese shipbuilding boom of the eighties means that Chile produces between five and six percent of all maritime construction in the world. A figure which has remained steady even after the decline of the Japanese shipbuilding industry as the Korean shipbuilding industry took advantage of the excellent pipeline for components that the Japanese had built, along with the build quality which the Japanese had insisted on. All of this was started by President Alessandri, giving his legacy a shine which it otherwise would not have had.
In addition to the straight economic benefits ASMAR was also able to parley Alessandri’s turn to Israel and Asia into military contracts by obtaining a license to building the Sa’ar 4 missile boat. Islamic countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, and Iran were offered the Israeli designed ship from an acceptable source. Thailand, The Philippines, and Shri Lanka were also approached to see if orders could be found. ASMAR in partnership with the Israeli defense establishment had begun to turn Chile into an arms exporter.
The contacts with the Israelis were not limited to ASMAR, and as the two nations drew closer several joint projects were launched and Israeli ex pats became something of a feature in the Chilean defense industry. The most immediately obvious sign of this growing cooperation was the introduction of the next generation assault rifle by FAMAE, the Israeli designed GAL. Although it would not be deployed for some time the testing of the rifle, and FAMAE’s retooling of its production line began much earlier than most thought. Procurement of a new assault rifle was hardly the only military procurement which began, Alessandri and his advisors were determined that the next time they faced down Argentina they would not have what was clearly a losing hand.
Perhaps the most innovative of the procurement decisions made in the early days of the Alessandri presidency had very little civilian input. The FACH, acting almost completely on its own, managed to work out a four way deal with Britain, Kuwait, and the United States. By purchasing BAE Lightning’s from Kuwait at a very low price, due mostly to the emirates seeming inability to maintain its own systems. The interceptors were quickly becoming something of a national embarrassment, and by flogging them off to an acceptable source the Kuwaiti monarchy managed to save a considerable amount of face. The condition of the plains did necessitate having them refurbished by BAE, which did not add appreciably to the cost or time. It also allowed the FACH to begin the acquisition of the British Shorts Belfast stock at the behest of the CIA through their British connections. Those Belfast’s would be used to transport F-5A’s from Iran to South Vietnam in 72 as part of Operation Enhance Plus, thereby freeing up United states assets for more important tasking’s as well as building concrete diplomatic and military ties to the Iranian regime and South Vietnam for minimal effort on the Chileans part. It was a masterwork of complicated dealing, which directly led to the sacking of three generals in the FACH when Alessandri found out about the program. There was talk of transferring the Belfast’s to the navy, but in the end it was allowed to stand, although discussion’s about the purchase of new fighters was looked on with extreme disfavor in La Monda for the next couple of years. Despite said disfavor the purchase of Israeli AAM’s and licensing for said AAM’s was looked at quite closely throughout the year, with the idea of establishing a native missile and air industry gaining strong political support. It would not come to fruition until later, but the seed had been planted and was beginning to grow.
Unlike the FACH the army read the political situation correctly, and therefor proceeded with a modicum of caution. While there were needs a plenty to fill when they contemplated the possibility of war with Argentina, they made their request into something which could be parlayed into a diplomatic victory for the President. The Israeli’s had recently had a deal to sell 350 AMX-13 light tanks to Singapore fall through when the French government had undercut their bid. The army differentially offered the idea of picking up the Singaporean order at a discount to replace the majority of its existing tank stock and to replace all of the Sherman’s still in service. It was an idea which was adopted readily and the negotiations commenced with somewhat indecent speed.
The most important exploration of purchasing was done in England by the Navy. Purchase orders for the Leander broad beam frigates which would be known as the Condell class was expanded from four to six, and the Chilean navy began to work with British ship builders to modify the type 42 design into a form more suitable to Chilean needs, and to suite the sea conditions in which they would be used with an eye towards the south Atlantic. That modification would become known as the Batch III Type 42 in British service, and represented a clearly superior end product then the initial run of Type 42’s, the extra 50 feet of length not only increased the sea worthiness of the design but also made the accommodations much more acceptable. Not to mention the expanded missile magazines would render the ships effective for longer than their series mates. Still while these moves were important, and profitable for British industry, they were not the main focus of the Chilean acquisition efforts.
A carrier was required by the Chilean navy, which was the consensus and much like the ‘we want eight and we won’t wait’ campaign in Britain prior to world war one it was also a popular demand. Alessandri had no intention of going against such a popular project, although he didn’t intend to over stretch the budget. The initial inquiries launched by the Chileans were for the Centaur, unfortunately the Spanish had also expressed an interest in that ship and a small bidding war was the result which the Chileans decisively lost. By December of 1970 the Centaur was towed into Devonport to be upgraded to and improved Hermes standard for Spanish service. The Chileans next turned their attention to the Hermes, only to be informed that she was being transferred to the RAN following the discovery that the Melbourne - Frank E Evans collision had caused major structural damage to the Melbourne, as rebuilding the bow of that ship for a second time was going to be a more intensive project then the initial survey in Singapore had suggested leading the RAN to deem the project uneconomical and search for an immediately available replacement.
Inquiries in America about the purchase of an Essex class vessel had also run into a brick wall. The Chilean navy had already been leery of their ability to man and operate an Essex class carrier, which was the reason they had tried to go British, but an additional problem was presented to the Chilean ambitions in the form of American strategic policy. The US government, Nixon and Kissinger in particular, had no desire to see any more destabilization of the southern cone then was already present. Not even the active soviet presence in Peru managed to sway them. There was a belief that introducing another carrier to the southern cone would touch off an arms race which could lead to the fall of not only the Chilean government but also the Argentine and Brazilian government’s as they overspent in an attempt to keep up with their neighbors. By way of compensation the Chilean navy was transferred multiple S2 Trackers, WF1B Tracers, and C-1 Traders with an unusually generous end user license which allowed for those air craft to be sold after upgrading.
In France the naval delegation also met with considerable success. Dassualt aviation having heard about the transfers of both the Hermes and Centaur, as well as the upcoming competition for the Entendard replacement for the Marine National, was working on two prototypes for naval use. The Mirage F2M two seat interceptor which was the naval version of the F2 that had been cancelled in 66 was reworked to accept the M53 engine, its avionics suite modernized and upgraded, and the prototype navalized. Dassault would have a prototype flying in 73, ready for naval testing. Running parallel to that project was the F1M project, which again would be ready for testing in 73, which drew extensively from the F1m53 project for the NATO future light fighter competition. Dassault was banking on an expanded naval aviation market, as the Spanish, Australians, and Chileans had all expressed interest along with the Marine National. The Chileans declined to present a firm order, but their interest was represented by tentative orders placed for both craft. The foreign interest resulted in the abandonment of the Super Entendard project, with its resources and personnel being folded into the development of the F series naval fighters.
As 1970 closed the Chilean Admiralty was in the unusual position of having almost everything ready for a carrier, except for the carrier itself. It was fully expected that this was going to turn into a massive scandal, as the Chilean tax payers discovered the amount of money spent on a unit that wasn’t going to come into being. Especially since there was a dearth of carriers which could be considered for sale on the world market. Fortunately for the Chileans Whitehall came to their rescue. The RN was being moved firmly out of the carrier game, and it was felt that the cost to refit the Eagle was excessive, as such quiet noises were made to the Chileans about the possibility of buying the Eagle as is, with a possible SLEP refit, sometime in 72. The Chileans grasped the opportunity as if it were a life preserver and they were a drowning man. The Eagle would not only fulfill their needs, but the refits and modernizations needed would not be overly costly.
Whitehall’s accommodation of the Chilean desire for a carrier has been speculated to be linked to when the British ambassador to Uruguay was kidnapped by the Tupamaro guerrillas. MI-6 brought perennial presidential hopeful Salvatore Allendes connection to the movement to the Chilean Justice Departments attention in the hopes that they could use him as a go between in negotiating for the release of their ambassador. This revelation caused panic as Allende and his foreign connections were thought to be a domestic dirty secret, no one wanted to admit it internationally and it being known meant that the investigation which was already ongoing took on new urgency. Chilean intelligence reached out to the Uruguayan military, as one of Allendes aids was a ministry of justice plant they believed could be used as the go between when the negotiations were conducted. A second string was added to the bow when clearance for the British to deploy the famed SAS on Uruguayan soil was received.
On August 12 Chilean operative located the people’s prison in which Geoffrey Jackson and ten other hostages were held. Three days later while the Uruguayan army launched a frontal assault on the Tupamaro’s an SAS squadron snuck in the back of the people’s prison and freed the hostages. The operation was widely hailed as a prime example of international cooperation, and gain Chile diplomatic points with England. As this was just before the possibility of the Eagles sale was raised it is widely considered to be part and parcel of the deal struck for the Chileans to acquire their carrier.
While all of this diplomatic maneuvering was going on in back rooms close to home Alessandri had turned his foreign policy firmly towards Asia by the end of the year, with the first draft of corps men, nurses, doctors, and airmen being sent to establish themselves in South Vietnam. It was a commitment that he felt needed to be made to reassure the American’s especially given how nervous they were about an arms race breaking out in the southern cone. That commitment would never grow to be over five hundred men, but the effects would be important in the long term. It was the first deployment of Chilean forces on the international scene, and while small it was effective. Chilean technician’s, in Vietnam to keep the Belfast’s running as they eventually shuttled F5A’s from Iran to Vietnam, became respected by their American comrades as professional and highly skilled. The corps men were deployed in penny packets, going from village to village and dispensing medical services much like their Philippine colleagues. They gained a reputation for being inventive with their limited resources, and being competent, as well as gaining Chile a humanitarian reputation with the peasantry of South Vietnam and the international press. The military doctors and nurses were the least commented on part of the deployment, and yet their experience’s in Vietnam resulted in a slew of reforms that revolutionized military and trauma medicine in Chile.
The military was actually the smallest contributor to the Vietnam project. Chilean banks were a larger force as they began to build bridges with their South Vietnamese competitors. By partnering with Vietnamese banks they allowed a flow of capital out of the country, something that was to become painfully apparent after the United States pulled out. Additionally their presence in South Vietnam allowed those officers and magnates who were inclined to look for long term wealth generation for their money to invest with confidence in the future. After all while the future of South Vietnam might be in question no one doubted that Chile would be around long term. South Vietnamese capital began to prime the Chilean economic pump, giving Alessandri a growing economy.
These cautious first moves by Chilean banks were followed up rapidly with an exploration of the possibilities presented by Africa. Botswanan banks were invited to partner with Chilean banks to begin building the financial sector of that country and to facilitate the sub Rosa movement of American and Israeli capital into South Africa and Rhodesia. It was a move which would never have been possible without support from the CIA and the world development bank, but armed with the assurances which Chilean bankers received from those institutions they began to expand and build economic bridges. It was a partnership which would benefit Botswana in the long run, but the trials and tribulations of operating in Africa would continue to bedevil the Chilean political establishment for years to come.
Of course South Vietnam was not the only country with which the Chileans sought to trade with. South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Australia, and New Zealand were all approached with the intention of beginning to negotiate trade treaties. The initial efforts did not yield much, but they laid the foundation for what was to come. These cautious initial approaches also gave Chilean companies openings into foreign markets and began to orient them towards export markets. The first to feel the effects of this move was the fruit industry, as Chilean fruit began to penetrate the Taiwanese and Korea markets, putting more money into the modernization efforts being undertaken for the industry. Suddenly the Chileans were not just confined to the United States market, but could see a wider world market and they were determined to take advantage of it.
The most surprising result of the Alessandri reorientation came out of Israel. Israel, while a major partner in the defense field, never was an importer of Chilean goods. Leading many to discount its importance in the Chilean economy, a view which fails to take into account the effect of Israeli vintners on the Chilean wine industry. The Israeli winery Carmel acquired its new Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc grape stock from Chile after their initial efforts to acquire new stock was blocked repeatedly by the French Government. Contact with the Israeli vintners and their ideas about wines ended up sparking off a major revolution in the aging and storage of wines in Chile. Raulli Beachwood barrels began to lose their popularity in favor of stainless steel and Oak, a process that would take years, and culminate with Chilean wines being considered among the best in the world. Although the traditional Raulli Beachwood aged wines would remain a delicacy they would never be a major export item. This revolution on vining would have a major positive long term effect on Chilean trade.
All in all Alessandri’s first year in office was a modest success, he had managed to get political reforms enacted and he had managed to begin growing the economy. Of course his success and the fragmented nature of the left would begin to give him problems in the next year as the political left began to recover from the blows that it had taken. He had also inadvertently added a new element to the rich poor divide by introducing a divide between the urban poor and the rural poor. Alessandri’s programs were decidedly to the benefit of the urban poor, and it was noticed, and he was funding them by slashing the land redistribution programs and those programs which had benefited the rural poor. Additionally his decision to involve Chile in the Vietnam conflict was not popular, opening up a secondary line of political attack to the center and left. His decision to cooperate with the CIA in its Africa adventures would also present long term political problems for him and his successors.
Of course i need to actually write my way up to that point.
