in1922 as the successor to the Socialist Workers’ Party. It achieved congressional representation shortly thereafter and played a leading role in the development of the Chilean labor movement. Concern over the party’s success at building a strong electoral base, combined with the onset of the Cold War, led to its being outlawed in 1948, a status it had to endure for almost a decade. However by midcentury it had become a genuine political subculture with its own symbols and organizations and the support of prominent artists and intellectuals. The PPCh’s strong stand against registration of voters and participation in elections alienated many of its own supporters and long-time militants who understood that most of the citizens supported a peaceful return to democracy.The dramatic failure of the PCCh’s strategy seriously undermined its credibility and contributed to the growing withdrawal from its ranks. The party was also hurt by the vast structural changes in Chilean society, the decline of traditional manufacturing and extractive industries and the weakening of the labor movement in particular. The collapse of the Soviet Union and its East European allies represented the final blow. The Socialist Party (PS), formally organized in 1933, had its origins in the incipiant labor movement and working-class parties of the earlier twentieth century. The Socialist Party was far more mixed than the PCCh, drawing support from the blue-collar workers a well as intellectuals and members of the middle-class. Throughout most of its history, the Socialist Party suffered from a large number of factions. Resulting from rivalries and fundamental disagreements between leaders advocating revolution and those willing to work within the system.The Socialist Party’s greatest moment was the election of Salvador Allende to the presidency in 1970. Allende represented the moderate wing of a party that had veered sharply...
