Popular movements and its political outcomes in the Southern Cone during the 1970s: the Frente Amplio's Base Committees in Uruguay and the Committees of the Chilean Unidad Popular in a comparative perspective

In this article, I propose a comparison between the experiences of the Frente Amplio's Base Committees in Uruguay and the Committees of Chilean Unidad Popular in the early 1970s. Both the FA and the UP constituted mass movements, that used a strategy of political mobilization through committees which had a broad popular basis. Since they were multiparty alliances, the committees of the Frente Amplio and of the Unidad Popular were frequented by militants and sympathizers of different forces, which sometimes caused friction and controversy. To carry out this comparison, I analyzed internal documentation of the political movements and press releases on them, as well as interviews with some of their former members. I could identify some polemics about these organizations real importance and its place in the party's structure, revealing different positions within the left-wing forces in Uruguay and Chile.