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Despite his folksy, country-doctor looks and his man-of-the-people air, Allende occasionally betrays a penchant for stiff party jargon. In Santiago's right-wing political weekly Pec, a cartoonist last week captured the flavor of the Allendista phraseology in a strip showing a small boy rushing up to his father and shouting "Papa!" "What's this 'Papa' business?" his father scolds him. "You're supposed to say 'camarada'!" "Yes, camarada." "That's better." "Mama says—" the boy begins again. "What you mean is 'la compañera'!" "La compañera says that the baby—" "You mean 'the future of Chile'!" the father interrupts once more. Anyway, the boy finally concludes: "La compañera says that the future of Chile just dirtied its diapers."
Allende was defeated for the presidency three times, although he increased his vote from 6% in 1952 to 39% in 1964, when Eduardo Frei won an absolute majority. "This time," said Allende a few months ago, "I'm going to ask that they put on my tombstone, 'Here lies Salvador Allende, future President of Chile.' " Such a gesture will be unnecessary. Allende won by putting together a broader coalition of leftist parties than any other candidate had managed since 1938. He also benefited from the Chilean electorate's gradual polarization into a broad left and a shrinking right.
The victory caught even Allende by surprise. In the 1964 election, he made meticulous preparations for taking over the government. He organized a Cabinet, made tentative appointments to other posts and gathered a well-disciplined cadre around him. This time, he was hopeful but did not really expect to win. He made no plans, and the result is sheer confusion. At the Allende home, swarms of beseeching office-and favor-seekers come and go, while a handful of lieutenants try vainly to sort out what should be done with whom. The tiny living room is constantly jammed, alive with a buzz of political speculation. In a way, Allende's home has become a microcosm of Chile itself—filled with people who mill about, talking nothing but politics, speculating on the road ahead.
The Allende victory has left the Chilean people as divided as they are bewildered. Many are delirious with joy. A young Chilean sought out TIME Correspondent Kay Huff in Santiago to say: "Please tell the people the truth about Chile. Please let them know that this is the only way for Chile." That same night, about 100 women gathered in Constitution Square, facing the Presidential Palace, to sing the national anthem and chant, "Chile sí, Cuba no."
Deep Apprehension
Beyond Chile's borders, Nov. 4 is anticipated with considerable apprehension (see box p. 29). Nor are the country's immediate neighbors the only ones concerned. Convinced that Allende will establish some form of Communist government, the Nixon Administration is fearful that this could have a contagious effect on other South American countries. The Administration is also sensitive to the fact that the rise of a Chilean Communist regime could become an issue in the 1972 U.S. presidential campaign.