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Still, some U.S. experts on Latin America urge that the U.S. not prejudge Allende or his government. They note that the Chileans, who are mostly descended from Europeans and do not have the sizable Indian minority that poses problems for most neighboring countries, have long lived in relative isolation in a land whose north and south are as different from each other as Saudi Arabia and Finland. Despite the inevitable drift toward the left under Allende, they believe that the Chileans will retain a system that is essentially their own.
Former U.S. Ambassador to Chile Ralph Dungan insists that Allende means it when he says he is committed to constitutional rule. Dungan dismisses talk of a chain reaction throughout the region as "ill-informed nonsense. Foreigners and especially the U.S. should adopt an attitude of studied neutrality toward South America and let them work things out for themselves."
For the moment, at any rate, the U.S. and its neighbors in Latin America have little choice but to wait and see exactly what Salvador Allende has in mind when he talks about a revolution that tastes of meat pies and red wine.