Van and Lyle are joined by journalist and historian Jonathan M. Katz to discuss Patricio Guzmán’s seminal Battle of Chile trilogy—widely regarded as one of the greatest political documentaries ever made—alongside its 1997 epilogue, Obstinate Memory. Our conversation was recorded mostly in the weeks after Trump’s reelection but before his inauguration, and the urgency of that moment colors much of our analysis. At the heart of it: What can the Chilean road to socialism and its systematic destruction teach us about the slow corrosion of democratic institutions in the U.S. and elsewhere? And how might the fates of Salvador Allende, the Popular Unity coalition, and Chilean workers help illuminate the emerging dynamics of the global far right?
We dig into the paradoxes and possibilities of the Allende years: the failed balancing act between revolution and legality; the coordinated resistance from business owners, professionals, and the military; the question of whether a peaceful transition to socialism was ever possible. We examine how The Battle of Chile dissects the infrastructure of counterrevolution—economic pressure, street violence, parliamentary sabotage, and media warfare—and what it means to rewatch these films in our current moment. And we talk about the strength and tragedy of mass mobilization, the unarmed marches and factory occupations, and the fateful decision not to arm the people.
Further Reading
The Racket, Jonathan’s newsletter
Gangsters of Capitalism: Smedley Butler, the Marines, and the Making and Breaking of America’s Empire, by Jonathan Katz
America, América: A New History of the New World, by Greg Grandin
“Defending Allende,” by Ariel Dorfman
Teaser from the Episode
Battle of Chile Trailer
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