Beatriz Patricia Ximena Allende Bussi (, , ; 8 September 1942 – 11 October 1977), also known as Tati Allende, was a
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
an
Socialist
Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
politician
A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...
and
surgeon
In medicine, a surgeon is a medical doctor who performs surgery. Even though there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon is a licensed physician and received the same medical training as physicians before spec ...
. She was the daughter of former
president of Chile
The president of Chile (), officially the president of the Republic of Chile (), is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Chile. The president is responsible for both Government of Chile, government administration and s ...
Salvador Allende
Salvador Guillermo Allende Gossens (26 June 1908 – 11 September 1973) was a Chilean socialist politician who served as the 28th president of Chile from 1970 until Death of Salvador Allende, his death in 1973 Chilean coup d'état, 1973. As a ...
University of Concepción
Universidad de Concepción (UdeC) is a traditional Chilean private university. The work of the Penquista community, it is one of the most prestigious in Chile, and considered complex due to its extensive research in the various areas of knowled ...
from 1960 to 1962. She then transferred to the
University of Chile
The University of Chile () is a public university, public research university in Santiago, Chile. It was founded on November 19, 1842, and inaugurated on September 17, 1843.
to complete the remaining years of her training. She graduated as a doctor in May 1967 and took a job at the Consultorio Ismael Valdés, a medical center focused on women's and children's health.
As a Chilean university student, Beatriz became involved in leftist politics, joining the Brigada Universitaria Socialista (BUS). Through this group, she met Renato Julio. They started dating in 1964, and would eventually wed on 6 July 1967, but by then there were rifts in their relationship. The marriage only lasted a few months.
During the 1960s, Beatriz traveled several times to Cuba. She received military training there, where she came in contact with
Che Guevara
Ernesto "Che" Guevara (14th May 1928 – 9 October 1967) was an Argentines, Argentine Communist revolution, Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla leader, diplomat, and Military theory, military theorist. A majo ...
. According to biographer Margarita Espuña, when Beatriz met Guevara, he asked her, "'So you are the daughter of Dr. Allende?' To which she answered sharply: 'I am Beatriz Allende.' And Che Guevara smiled." In 1968, she joined the "elenos" of the National Liberation Army (ELN) who wanted to follow in the footsteps of Guevara.
On one of her trips to Cuba, Beatriz met Luis Fernández Oña (also known as Rodolfo Gallart Grau), a Cuban intelligence official and diplomat. They married in September 1970.
Aiding her father
When her father was elected as the president of Chile on 4 September 1970, Beatriz became his closest advisor and collaborator, networking with elements of the Chilean and international Left. She attempted throughout his presidency to keep the Chilean left from weakening in its support of him.
Flight from Chile
During Pinochet's coup on 11 September 1973, Beatriz stayed with her father in La Moneda Presidential Palace, leaving only when President Allende ordered all women and children to evacuate. She was forced into exile with her mother, sisters, husband, and daughter Maya Alejandra Fernández Allende to
Cuba
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
. Beatriz was seven months pregnant at the time with her second child, Alejandro Salvador Allende Fernández.
Exile in Cuba
While in exile, Beatriz served as executive secretary of an anti-imperialist solidarity committee: the Comité Chileno de Solidaridad Antiimperialista, in
La Habana
Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.
In 1977, she separated from Luis. In one of her last remembered conversations from that year, she spoke of "wanting to escape her role as 'Allende's daughter' — not because she didn't love and admire him, but because his status on the Left and in Cuba prohibited her from living a 'normal' life, out of the spotlight."
Death
Four years and one month after her father died in the 1973 Chilean coup, Beatriz Allende died by suicide with a firearm on 11 October 1977. The gun used was an Uzi gifted to her by
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...
in 1971. She was said to have been "deeply scarred by what had happened in Chile, her father's death, and the dictatorship's ongoing repression of her friends. She was also increasingly pessimistic about Chile's future." Moreover, the prior year's car bombing of Orlando Letelier in Washington, D.C. had been "a devastating blow to the resistance against Pinochet and a personal loss for Beatriz."
She was buried in the Pantheon of Revolutionary Armed Forces in the Colon Cemetery in Havana.
Posthumous tributes
Women members of the Progressive Party of Chile, who call themselves the Tati Allende Progressive Women's Front, held an event to pay tribute to their namesake on 11 October 2018. It was the 41st anniversary of her death. Mónica Berríos composed a commemorative song for the event.
See also
*
History of Chile
The territory of Chile has been populated since at least 3000 BC. By the 16th century, Spanish invaders began to raid the region of present-day Chile, and the territory was a colony from 1540 to 1818, when it gained Chilean War of Independence, i ...
References
Further reading
* Álvarez, Marco (2014). Tati Allende. Una revolucionaria olvidada. La Habana: Editorial El Colectivo. ISBN 978-9561607736.
* Espuña, Margarita (2010). Tati Allende, la hija revolucionaria del presidente Chileno. Santiago: RBA Libros. ISBN 978-8498677812.
* Harman, Tanya (2020). Beatriz Allende: A Revolutionary Life in Cold War Latin America. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 978-1469654294.