40 Years After Pinochet, Chilean Right Remains A Dangerous Influence
40 Years After Pinochet, Chilean Right Remains A Dangerous Influence
by Nick MacWilliam
4 September 2013
As we approach the 40th anniversary of Augusto Pinochet's military coup in Chile, the current right-leaning Piñera government remains in thrall to the human rights abuses of its past.
The current Chile government of Sebastián Piñera has found itself trying to perform a balancing act recently as it seeks to tactfully address the upcoming fortieth anniversary of the military coup d’état in Chile while also remaining firmly focused on November’s general election. The Piñera administration, Chile’s first right-wing government since the Pinochet dictatorship, will stage commemorations to mark the coup while trying not to alienate its political base, the conservative upper-classes, many of whom supported and continue to revere General Pinochet.
On the 11th September 1973, the socialist government of Salvador Allende was overthrown by the Chilean armed forces in a bloody coup which resulted in the death of Allende, the world’s first elected socialist president, and established a dictatorship that became globally notorious for repression and systematic human rights abuses. Over 3,000 people were killed by the authorities while thousands more were imprisoned and tortured, and for the surviving victims and the families, the anniversary is a poignant time for remembrance.
There remains, however, a distinct group that views the events of 1973 and the subsequent establishment of military rule in an altogether different light. Following its election in 1970, the Allende administration implemented socialist policies that sought to redistribute wealth amongst the population, through such schemes as the nationalisation of foreign firms and the breakup of large, privately-owned estates to be handed over to poorer families.
The right argue that the coup was necessary in order to depose of the communist system that was destroying the country. Furthermore, they claim that Chile’s modern prosperity and economic success are further evidence of the necessity of removing Allende, as neo-liberal policies implemented by the military regime opened up national markets to foreign investment.
More:
http://sabotagetimes.com/reportage/40-years-after-pinochet-chilean-right-remains-a-dangerous-influence/
