100 PHOTOGRAPHS 39
Salvador Allende was the first democratically elected
Marxist head of state, and he assumed the presidency of
Chile in 1970 with a mandate to transform the country. He
nationalized U.S.-owned companies, turned estates into
cooperatives, froze prices, increased wages and churned
out money to bankroll the changes. But the economy fal-
tered, inflation soared, and unrest grew. In late August
1973, Allende appointed Augusto Pinochet as commander
of the army. Eighteen days later, the conservative general
orchestrated a coup. Allende refused to leave. Armed with
an AK-47 and protected only by loyal guards at his side, he
broadcast his final address on the radio, the sound of gun-
fire audible in the background. As Santiago’s presidential
palace was bombarded, Luis Orlando Lagos, Allende’s of-
ficial photographer, captured one of his final moments.
Not long after, Allende committed suicide—though for de-
cades many believed he was killed by the advancing troops.
Fearing for his own life, Lagos fled. During Pinochet’s
nearly 17-year rule, 40,000 Chileans were interrogated,
tortured, killed or disappeared. Lagos’ picture appeared
anonymously. It won the 1973 World Press Photo of the Year
award and became revered as an image that immortalized
Allende as a hero who gladly chose death over dishonor. It
was only after Lagos’ death in 2007 that people learned the
photographer’s identity.ALLENDE’S LAST STAND Luis Orlando Lagos, 1973