Movement of the Revolutionary Left

The militant Movement of the Revolutionary Left (Movimiento Izquierda Revolucionaria; MIR) began [Page 243]as a Marxist-Leninist group in Chile dedicated to popular revolution. Founded by Miguel Enriquez, a young medical student in Concepción, the MIR held its first meeting in August 1965.

The group, made up primarily of young students associated with the Young Socialist Party, grew in influence first in Chile's provinces, and later among university students in the capital, indigenous people, industrial workers, and miners. At its strongest in 1970, the MIR had some 40,000 members.

In the mid-1960s, the MIR organized the poor and homeless to take over land as squatters and to work cooperatively to build houses. By 1969, the MIR had also developed an underground structure of armed groups across the country. These groups began to rob banks; discussion was heated among the established Chilean left about MIR's evolution and tactics. Enriquez publicly claimed that the robberies funded the MIR's social programs, and it was reported that the MIR gave stolen money directly to the poor.

When socialist Salvador Allende was elected president in 1970, the MIR made an informal union with his Popular Unity Party. As the threat of a military coup increased, the MIR worked against Allende's wishes to build up an armed popular force to fight Chile's Army.

After the 1973 military takeover in which Allende was killed, Gen. Augusto Pinochet's death squads hunted down suspected MIR members, torturing and killing them in detention centers; many MIR members were murdered or exiled. Enriquez was killed in October 1974. Andres Pascal Allende, nephew of the late president, assumed leadership of MIR and continued to operate a small underground network inside Chile.

During the 1980s, the group carried out bombings and attacked targets related to the military government. The MIR claimed responsibility for the January 1988 killing of high-ranking police squad chief Julio Benimeli: The group set a booby trap with six TNT charges inside a small house. “The formation of an armed people's power is needed to overthrow the dictatorship and win freedom,” read part of the communiqué the MIR released after the blast.

In December 1989, the MIR kidnapped millionaire Brazilian businessman Abilio Diniz, abducting him in a fake ambulance. Asking a ransom of $30 million, 10 MIR members held the supermarket magnate prisoner for six days in a tiny room dug at the bottom of a well. The kidnappers equipped the room with a mattress and a portable toilet, and piped in fresh air with hoses. Among those involved in the kidnapping were long-time MIR member Sergio Uturbia and two Canadians Uturbia had met while in exile in Vancouver, David Spencer and Christine Lamont. When police burst into the house where the abductors were staying, all 10 surrendered. Officials said that the group had kidnapped Diniz to get funds to support the MIR.

Pinochet was overthrown in 1990; subsequently, the MIR greatly reduced its activities.