Tuesday 6 December 2011

Chile: Call to exhume Neruda

The Chilean Communist Party has asked for the remains of the poet Pablo Neruda to be exhumed due to allegations that he may have been poisoned. Neruda died, apparently from prostate cancer, shortly after the 1973 coup, but his former driver alleges that he was given a suspicious injection which could have induced a heart attack.
The Pablo Neruda Foundation, which guards the poet's legacy, said in a statement in May that there is "no proof whatsoever that suggests Pablo Neruda died of causes other than cancer". (BBC)
I'm not giving much credence to these allegations at this point, I think that it probably was just a coincidence that Neruda's death occurred so soon after the coup, but given some the circumstances, his fame and the long uncertainty surrounding the fate of Salvador Allende, it's hardly surprising that some questions can resurface.

Chile Communists request poet Pablo Neruda's exhumation (BBC)
Party asks to exhume Neruda's remains in Chile (AP)

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