‘We Can Get a Coup’: Warren Nutter and the Overthrow of Salvador Allende
38 Pages Posted: 25 Jun 2019 Last revised: 27 Jan 2020
Date Written: June 19, 2019
Abstract
In 1969, Warren Nutter left the University of Virginia Department of Economics to serve as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs in the Nixon administration. During his time in the Defense Department, Nutter was deeply involved in laying the groundwork for a military coup against the democratically elected president of Chile, Salvador Allende. Although Nutter left the Pentagon several months before the successful 1973 coup, his role in Chile was far more direct than the better-known cases of Friedrich Hayek, Milton Friedman, James Buchanan, and Arnold Harberger. This paper describes Nutter’s role in Chile policymaking in the Nixon administration. It shows how Nutter’s criticisms of Henry Kissinger are grounded in his economics, and compares and contrasts Nutter with other economists who have been connected to Pinochet’s dictatorship.
Keywords: Chile, Warren Nutter, Salvadore Allende, FA Hayek, Milton Friedman, James Buchanan, Arnold Harberger
JEL Classification: B20, B25, B31, D78
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation