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ot "Il (On the Record) ~%sap~ Igloo yg njov i9 p'S SURIZCZ: Summary of Funds Approved by the 40 Committee for Agency Covert Action Operations in Chile Since 1962 Covert U. S. Government involvement in large-scale political action programs in Chile began with the 1964 presidential elections in response to the serious threat posed by Marxist candidate Salvador Allende, whose stated intent was to impose an "irreversible" socialist revolution on Chile. In the 1958 presidential elections Allende had polled a surprisingly strong 30': of the total vote and had actually come within 33,000 votes of winning the elec- tion in a 4-way race. As the 1964 election approached, it became clear that the Communist-dominated Popular Action Front (FRAP), a coalition of leftist parties supporting Allende's bid for the presidency, was preparing to make an all-out effort to win the 1964 elections. l In 1962 and 1963 was authorized to support the left-of-center Christian Democratic Party (PDC) in order to build up this party as a democratic alternative to the FRAP coalition. The PDC candidate for the 1964 presidential elections was then-Senator Eduardo Frei, by far the Party' s best known and most influential leader. However, in 1963@was authorized to support a coalition of centrist and rightist parties known as the Democratic Front. In March of 1964 it became obvious that the Democratic Front was in a state of disarray and that it had no chance of winning the presidency, leaving Salvador Allende as the clear favorite for the September elections. Declassified and Approved for Release July 2000 S ET/ I3 ( ]QP