Every September 11, Chileans commemorate the anniversary of the 1973 coup d'état that deposed President Salvador Allende and initiated a seventeen-year military dictatorship led by General Augusto Pinochet. Allende, the first Marxist elected president in Latin America, faced opposition from right-wing parties and a tense relationship with the United States, particularly after nationalizing copper mines. The coup was marked by the military's control over communication networks and the bombing of La Moneda, where Allende ultimately took his own life. The anniversary is observed with various commemoration events and protests organized by political and social groups across the country, highlighting the human rights abuses and crimes committed during Pinochet's regime. Notable commemorations have included symbolic acts, such as hundreds of people posing as dead in Santiago to honor the victims of the dictatorship.