Health Care and Socialism in Chile

The problems that the Unidad Popular (UP) government faced in its attempts to restructure the Chilean health system mirrored many of the conflicts and contraindications which led to its downfall. Our purpose in this report is to analyze the changes that occurred in health care during the UP period, the political and economic constraints that limited the viability of the socialized health system, and the dismantling of the health system that has occurred under Chile's present totalitarian regime. We conclude with a brief discussion of the broader relationships between health care and revolutionary social change.This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.