"banner, Bread Work and Freedom" [NBS I/D 161]

Catalogue Number
NBS I/D 161

Object Name
banner

Title
BREAD WORK AND FREEDOM FOR THE PEOPLE OF CHILE

Place
Chile & London & England & UK

Date
c.1980

Creator(s)
NBS National Museum of Labour HistoryNBS National Museum of Labour History

Description
Chile Solidarity Campaing banner.

In 1973 Salvador Allende's socialist Popular Unity governmnet was overthrown by General Augusto Pinochet's military junta; following the seizure of power, left-wing political activity was repressed and many activists immediately detained. The Junta was responsible for the torture and execution of thousands of Chilean people; around 30,000 people left the country during the dictatorship.

This banner was used in London in the early 1980s as part of the Chile Solidarity Campaign. The Campaign supported Allende's government and opposed the Pinochet dicatatorship following the coup. Demonstrations took place demanding human rights for the people of Chile, and protesting agains the torture of opponents to Pinochet's fascist junta.

The dictatorship ended in 1990, and Pinochet was arrested in the UK in 1998 and put under house arrest. Spain requested his extradition so that he cold be put on trial for the murder of Spanish citizens in Chile. The Chile Solidarity Campaign disbanded in 1991, following the democratic election of 1989.

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