Under his leadership the MIR provided only critical support to the "Unidad Popular" (UP) (Popular Unity) government headed by Salvador Allende between 1970 and 1973. Highly critical of the reformist role being played by the Communist Party of Chile in the Popular Unity government, the MIR became the object of considerable criticism and attacks by both the left and right of the political establishment. The MIR vehemently attacked the reluctance of the Popular Unity government to openly utilize force to seize private property and establish a socialist regime.