The Socialist Party of Chile and political violence. Between order and revolution (1933-1948)

Abstract

The Socialist Party of Chile was founded in April 1933 as the convergence of groups that actively participated in the events of June 1932, the so-called “Socialist Republic” of June 4 led by Marmaduke Grove and Eugenio Matte. This transformed the nascent organization into an alternative to existing parties, such as the Communist Party, with whom they shared their Marxist conception.

Despite sharing a common theoretical basis, the socialists created not only their own identity, but also a theoretical-political doctrine and structure that allowed them to confront the dispute of government, and of power itself. This article will focus on a relevant aspect of the doctrinal construction and political action of the socialists: the role of political violence, both revolutionary and reactionary, during the cycle 1933-1948.