Competing Narratives about Sacrifice: Three Readings of the 11 September 1973 Coup in Chile and their Conflicting Constitutional Projections

This article argues that different narratives involving sacrifice compete to ascribe meaning to the 11 September 1973 coup against Socialist President Salvador Allende, and as a result, structure contemporary Chilean constitutional politics. From that event, it is contended, three competing narratives emerged, each seeking to make sense of political sacrifice, and each providing a basis for the constitutional projects of the Left, the Right, and the Center.