In Peter Winn's book, The Weavers of the Revolution, the revolution from below collided with the revolution from above, producing an unexpected but catastrophic in Chile. Generally speaking, a revolution is a complete transformation of an established government or political system and a radical change in the opinions and behaviors of the population. However, a revolution from above refers to major political and social changes imposed by the government on the population. In contrast, a revolution from below occurs when the people of a nation rebel against the hierarchy to achieve a revolution. In Chile, the revolution from above was initiated by the election of Salvador Allende in 1970, but it was wrongly seen as a signal to workers "to take the revolution into their own hands and realize their historic aspirations through direct action from below” (140). By the early 1960s, widespread concern for social and economic justice and increasing levels of political participation had increased the popularity of parties advocating radical economic and social change. So in 1964, Eduardo Frei, a Christian Democrat, won an overwhelming mandate to lead a revolution in freedom. Six years later, in 1970, Salvador Allende, leader of a coalition of Marxist and social democratic parties, was elected president on a platform promising a peaceful transition to socialism. Popular Unity's program and the authors of its economic strategy "envisioned a revolution carefully controlled from above" (139), according to which radical social, political, and economic change could be brought about within the framework of the constitution and laws. According to Allende, "this required a carefully controlled and step-by-step revolutionary process, which was also necessary...... middle of paper...... and from below was also responsible for the problems that began to appear, and the that followed the spectacular fall of Allende's government in 1973. Price inflation, government deficits, consumer shortages, and the scarcity of the dollar were among the major economic problems. By mid-1972, the Allende government “was facing not only increasing economic upheaval, but also rising class conflict and political opposition” (230). The middle classes felt threatened by the social revolution from below, because it was the elite they were imitating, a result of the rise of working class power. the revolution from below not only alienated the middle class from the cause of popular unity, but also helped push it into the ranks of the Christian Democratic Party, thereby undermining the political strategy of social alliance. The democratic path to socialism seemed blocked.