Movimiento de la Izquierda Revolucionaria

(MIR)

   / Movement of the Revolutionary Left

   Also known as the Movimiento Izquierdista Revolucionario. A leftist urban guerrilla organization in Chile. The MIR was formed in 1965 by a youthful faction that split from the Partido Socialista (PS, Socialist Party). Led by Miguel Enríquez, the group focused on grassroots political activities in the poblaciones (shantytowns), as opposed to the progressive reform programs undertaken by the government of Eduardo Frei Montalva (1964–1970). When the Unidad Popular (UP, Popular Unity) government of Salvador Allende Gossens began in 1970, the MIR agreed with much of the UP agenda—particularly land redistribution and the takeover of manufacturing concerns—but rejected the government’s main goal of achieving social reforms through democratic means. Like other urban guerrilla organizations in the Southern Cone, the MIR viewed itself as a revolutionary vanguard and advocated armed resistance against government oppression. Yet President Allende Gossens, eager to build a leftist coalition, formally recognized the group and opened a line of communication with its leaders, one of them his own nephew, Andrés Pascal Allende. By 1973 the MIR openly supported the PS and UP. In the violence and chaos that accompanied severe economic recession, however, the MIR went underground, prepared to take up arms. It resisted the coup of 11 September 1973 but was no match for the military. Once in power, the junta singled out the MIR for destruction. By 1974 the MIR was decimated—its leaders dead or in exile.