Crises
Chilean Coup 1973
In 1970 Salvador Allende was elected president of Chile. Allende’s left-wing politics and sympathy towards communism became a point of contention between the country and its allies, with the US being particularly discontent with Allende’s presidency fearing a threat to democracy in not just Chile but all of Latin-America. A series of protests ensued across Chile between 1971-1973 until September of 1973 when the military, led by Augusto Pinochet, launched a successful coup against Allende.
This brings us to the start of our committee in 1974 when Pinochet was officially declared the president of Chile. What many thought was a necessary change soon sent Chile into chaos as newly appointed president Pinochet dismantled congress and outlawed numerous socialist and left-wing parties. What resulted was a series of human rights violations and targeted attacks against anyone suspected of being a socialist or leftist.
Delegates will be given a chance to represent different political factions and levels of the population and discuss food shortage, violence, foreign intervention, and the human rights violations.
Conflict in Renaissance Italy (1450’s-1490’s)
In Renaissance Italy, Italians felt a deep connection and political loyalty to their individual city-states, preventing the existence of a unified Italian state. Five powers dominated Italy and controlled the smaller city-states: Venice, Milan, Florence, the Papal States, and the kingdom of Naples. While technically under the control of several councils of state, Florence was truly run by the Medici family. Renaissance Italy was a time of luxury and artistic innovation, that is if you were wealthy or of papal power. For the working class, the Renaissance was a period of famine, poor pay, terrible jobs, and being taken advantage of, still feeling the effects of the hundred years war and black plague. However, Renaissance Italy also saw the rise of humanism and a growing debate around women’s role in society. These new ideals created tension with the wealthy ruling families and papacy.
Delegates will be given the chance to represent people from different social statuses, artists, writers, members of the clergy, and politicians, all while debating the modern views of the Renaissance, the ongoing class struggle, the religious tensions, and who should rule Florence.