◆ SpookStack

SEC T to' assist these parties elect in the municipal ~ Q lons. On 15 March 1964 a by-election was held in the province 'parties known as th' e' Demo'cratic Fx'ont. Funds were authorized O of Curico. This contest represented the only test of the respective voting strength of the FRAP, the Democratic Front, . and the PDC prior to the 4 September 1964 presidenti. al elec- tion. It was therefore billed. by the Democratic Front, which expected to win, as a "national plebiscite" which would fore- ca'st a Duran victory in September. The surprise victory of the-. FRAP candidate, with 39 5~ of the vote, proved to be a deathblow for the. Democratic Front, which fell into a state of disarray, and made Allende the clear favorite for the September election In April 1964 the Special Group approved the first install- ment of what was to develop into a $3 million dollar program to support the PD This massive effort was considered essential by the U. S. Government to prevent the accession to power of a Marxist government which would give the Communists a base of operations in the Southern Hemisphere equivalent to and potentially even more useful than Cuba in the Northern Hemisphere.