in october 1972, chile suffered the first of many strikes. among the participants were small-scale businessmen, some professional unions, and student groups. its leaders – vilarín, jaime guzmán, rafael cumsille, guillermo elton, eduardo arriagada – expected to depose the elected government. other than damaging the national economy, the principal effect of the 24-day strike was drawing army head, gen. carlos prats, into the government as interior minister, an appeasement to the right wing. (gen. prats had succeeded army head gen. rené schneider after his assassination on 24 october 1970 by a group led by gen. roberto viaux, whom the central intelligence agency had not attempted to discourage.) gen. prats supported the legalist schneider doctrine and refused military involvement in a coup d'état against president allende.