September 11, 2023 marked the 50th anniversary of the military putsch led by Augusto Pinochet against Chile’s freely and democratically elected president Salvador Allende. Drawing on a wealth of interview material, Günther Wessel relates Allende’s life story and the history of the country: from the putsch to the arduous struggle for a return to democracy and the development of the latter into the present day. Since December 2021, a left-of-centre coalition once again rules the country – and the defence minister in Gabriel Boric’s administration is Maya Fernández Allende, a granddaughter of Salvador Allende. Is Chile on the verge of a new awakening?

Günther Wessel (reading), Wolfgang Kunath (moderation)