Santiago de Chile, September 4 (Prensa Latina)-- As it is a tradition, political and social organizations made a pilgrimage today to the monument to Salvador Allende, in the Plaza de la Constitución, on the occasion of the 53rd anniversary of his election to the Chilean presidency.

On September 4, 1970, Allende won the elections as the candidate of the Popular Unity, a coalition made up of leftist groups, including the Socialist and Communist parties and the Unitary Popular Action Movement (MAPU).

During the thousand days of his government, important transformations were carried out in the country, such as the nationalization of copper, the deepening of the agrarian reform, the half liter of milk a day to eliminate child malnutrition and the universalization of health care.

"Allende won after four elections, it was not from one day to the next, but the result of a people who organized themselves and for the first time Socialism came to power in a democratic way," Pablo Teillier told Prensa Latina.

The son of the recently deceased president of the Communist Party of Chile (PCCh), Guillermo Teillier, participated in the pilgrimage together with the widow of the former leader of that organization, Margarita Alvarado.  "My father would surely be here, so obviously we are here on his behalf and for what the figure of Allende represents," he said.

The march passed in front of the Morandé 80 door of La Moneda Palace, where the remains of the dignitary were removed on September 11, 1973, when the coup d'état led by Augusto Pinochet took place.  In his speech at the conclusion of the pilgrimage, the secretary general of the CCP, Lautaro Carmona, recalled that in this same square, the president warned of a serious conspiracy of reactionary elements who, in order to attack the advance of the people, did not hesitate to resort to fascist practices.

He denounced that today the ultra-right is abusing its majority in the Constitutional Council in charge of drafting a new Magna Carta to replace the one in force since the time of the dictatorship (1973-1990).

If the proposal for a Constitution emanating from that council goes over the interests of the people, it will undoubtedly be rejected, said Carmona.  

Also on Monday, participants in the International Summit for Democracy and Human Rights, held in the Recoleta commune on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the coup d'état, paid homage to Allende.