Decisive Passages of Diplomacy: Some Actions in Relation to Chilean Asylum

Interview with the eminent ambassador Raúl Valdés, who in 1973 served as general director of the Diplomatic Service of the Mexican Foreign Ministry. In this capacity, Ambassador Valdés was responsible for coordinating the exodus of Chilean refugees that Mexico welcomed after the coup that Augusto Pinochet carried out against the Popular Unity government headed by Salvador Allende. In his chronicle, our interlocutor frames the context in which this historical episode took place and narrates in detail the adventures that the first Mexican mission sent by President Luis Echeverría went through to rescue personalities who were in a situation of vulnerability, linked to the government and Dr. Allende's own family. Towards the end of his evocation, Ambassador Valdés evaluates the exemplary asylum policy that Mexico exercised with respect to Chile during the months following the military coup. Interview conducted by Mr. Miguel Ángel Guerrero Lechón. It took place at the Matías Romero Institute of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on February 12, 2008.