The penquista Front of Patria y Libertad: a history of extremism and violence (1970-1973)

Abstract

In the aftermath of the 1970 presidential election, the Movimiento Cívico Patria y Libertad (MCPL) emerged in the country with the support of the anti-communist right to legally promote the idea of a new presidential election. This group, calling itself civic and clearly anti-Marxist, sought to prevent the full Congress from electing Allende as president of the Republic; although this objective was not achieved, those who formed the aforementioned movement, after dissolving it, promoted in a second stage the formation of the Frente Nacionalista Patria y Libertad (FNPL). This other entity was different from that one in its actions. It was a nationalist, anti-communist and anti-liberal extreme right-wing political movement that also acted violently against the Allende government, even going so far as to promote its overthrow by force. This article is aimed to examine their extreme and violent political performances in Greater Concepción: What were his activities and their political relevance? How was his work financed? These are some of the questions intended to be answered.