Allende’s speeches were said to be very radical (extreme) and Allende’s vision for Chile seemed completely different to the Chile that most people were familiar with. For example: Allende was said to be an atheist and Marxist. He was a non- practicing Catholic This was considered odd in a country that was very catholic, held traditional family values, and in which people were taught that political freedoms (the freedom to elect politicians from different parties) was more important than solving problems such as extreme poverty or economic inequality (division between the poorest and the wealthiest people).