Word: gonz
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...fiery President Gabriel González Videla was concerned, the Communists had asked for it. They had struck Chile's coal mines; he had expelled a Yugoslav diplomat on charges of pulling the strings (TIME, Oct. 20). And last week, when his troops were restoring order in the Lota coal fields, 2,000 Communist-dominated last-ditchers barricaded themselves in a mine tunnel and set off dynamite charges in front of advancing Chilean soldiers...
Nobody was hurt, and tear gas soon routed the miners. But it was the perfect cue for González to strike still harder at his late allies and their international tutors. That afternoon he summoned his Cabinet. Then, charging that the Soviet Union had "inspired grave attempts against the political independence of the republic," he sent a curt note to Russia's Ambassador Dimitri Zhukov, breaking off diplomatic relations. For good measure, he broke with Czechoslovakia...
That night González' press secretary called in newspapermen. The Government statement noted the rebirth of the Comintern, accused Cunja of plotting against Chile's independence and meddling in its internal affairs. Visitor Jakasa was pictured as an instruction-bearer from the Yugoslav Minister in Buenos Aires...
Give & Take. Soon trans-Andean telephone wires were humming. González spent an hour telling President Perón about the plot. Perón quickly sent to Santiago for more details. When Cunja and Jakasa deplaned at Mendoza, Argentine police hustled them away. Perón's Government announced that both would return to Yugoslavia...
...Santiago, but many a Chilean thought he would not stay long. Two days after the Yugoslavs got the gate, his windows were peppered by machine-gun bullets from unknown attackers. Chile promptly expressed regret. The Soviet Union just as promptly called the shooting "a shocking infringement upon diplomatic immunity." González Videla was moving into the big time...