The winery San Pedro is still well known in Lontué and Molina 200 km south of Santiago and was founded in 1865 by the brothers Bonifacio and José Gregorio Correa Albano.

The same year he published “Historia de los Partidos Políticos Chilenos” (“History of Chilean Political Parties”) in collaboration with Albert Edwards Vives.

During these years he published three more books: “Sentido y Forma de una Política” (“Meaning and Shape of Politics”), “La Verdad Tiene Su Hora” (“Truth Has Its Time”), and “Pensamiento y Acción” (“Thought and Action”).

[citation needed] The Frei presidency did much to tackle poverty, as characterised by the growing share of wages as a proportion of GNP.

This positive redistribution of wealth was encouraged by government policies, particularly in the rural sector, where wages rose by 40% in real terms.

The social reforms introduced by Frei's government led to a huge increase in public expenditure, which rose as a proportion of GNP from 35.7% in 1965 to 46.9% in 1970.

During this time, he also visited countries in Latin America such as: Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, and Venezuela; places where he delivered important speeches on international issues.

[citation needed] On his return, he initiated important plans involving housing, education, reforestation, land reform, health, and the nationalization of copper.

[citation needed] One area of reform given high priority by the Frei Administration was the fostering of networks of local, self-help organisations (especially among the “unorganised” residents of the shantytowns), which was placed under a national supervisory council.

The number of hospitals (and beds) doubled under the PDC, and spending on education as a proportion of public expenditure rose from one-seventh to one-fifth.

In March that year, a piece of legislation creating government-sponsored health insurance for public and private salaried employees and their dependents was signed into law.

Family allowance for farmers was doubled,[12] the agricultural minimum wage was raised to the same level as its urban equivalent, and an agrarian reform law signed by Frei in July 1967 made all farms of more than eighty “basic” hectares liable to expropriation.

On 21 October 1969 the Tacnazo insurrection, occurred—a brief non-violent demonstration of the Tacna artillery regiment in Santiago, led by General Roberto Viaux.

[citation needed] In January 1967 the National Congress refused his constitutional permission to travel to the United States where he had been invited by President Lyndon B. Johnson.

[citation needed] In 1970, he was awarded with the Doctor Honoris Causa title by the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.

[citation needed] After Allende's 1970 victory, Frei became convinced of what he called a "totalitarian project" to impose a Communist tyranny.

In 1971, he gave conferences at universities in Dayton, Ohio, Boston, and the Council of the Americas in New York, denouncing in all of them the actions of the Allende government that were allegedly violating the Constitution and the laws of Chile.

They told Frei that the country was disintegrating and that if urgent measures were not taken, Chile would fall under a bloody Cuban-style Marxist dictatorship.

"[16] On 11 September 1973, during the coup d’etát President Allende died by suicide in the presidential palace, La Moneda, as the Armed Forces seized power.

[citation needed] In November 1973 Frei wrote a historic letter to Mariano Rumor, President of the International Christian Democrats, endorsing the Armed Forces intervention and denouncing what he alleged was an attempt by Allende to impose a Communist dictatorship in Chile.

As a member, he attended meetings held in Germany, Switzerland, Mali, United States, Malaysia, France, Austria, Belgium, and Great Britain.

In 1981, he was invited to the Club of Rome International Conference on the “Alternatives for Humanity: Latin America Mission” also held in Caracas.

[citation needed] In 1981, Frei was suffering from chronic acid reflux, stemming from a hiatal hernia, an unpleasant but not life-threatening condition.

It was later alleged that Frei had been poisoned by DINA, the intelligence service of the military government, with a toxin produced by biochemist Eugenio Berrios.

After it was reported that researchers from the University of Ghent in Belgium had discovered traces of mustard gas in Frei's body, the former president's family filed a lawsuit.

[20] Judge Alejandro Madrid based his decision on a report that determined that low doses of thallium and mustard gas were administered to Frei over an extended period while he was hospitalized at the Santa María Clinic in Santiago, and that these toxic substances had the effect of decreasing Frei's immune system, making him too weak to survive his surgery.

[21] The report was widely criticized by the surgical team in El Mercurio and La Segunda, newspapers owned by the Edwards family, who had brokered the coup and maintained strong ties to the CIA and Pinochet's government.

[25] On 25 January 2021, the convictions would be overturned by a Chile Appeals Court three judge panel which found that Montalva was not a homicide victim.