The military regime of Pinochet. Eyes full of lies
After the military coup September 11, 1973., committed with the help of the CIA, the military junta dissolved the National Congress (Parliament) and local authorities (municipalities), civil democratic freedoms were abolished, political parties that were part of the Popular Unity bloc were banned, the activities of other parties were suspended, the Unified Trade Union Center of Workers was dissolved ( KUT), a state of siege was introduced, terror was unleashed for political reasons.
For the state-political structure of Chile 1973-1989. characterized by a strong personalization of power in the person of the key central figure, General Pinochet. In December 1974 he was appointed President of Chile.
Pinochet eliminated competitors, introduced the irremovability of his post as commander in chief of the army. None of the political, military and economic factions of the ruling bloc had full power, so Pinochet became a kind of arbiter standing over them. In the 1978 referendum, 75% of those who voted expressed their agreement with the power of the military, the Pinochet regime began to seem legitimate. The peculiarity of the formation of state-legal forms of Chile under the Pinochet regime was that they were created and evolved not before, but after economic changes.
Another feature is the gradual institutionalization of the regime: in the period 1974-1979. Legislative acts were adopted that reflected the evolution from a repressive dictatorship to a stable authoritarianism that allowed, albeit limitedly, the existence of representative institutions.
Under the name "protected democracy" without pluralism and political parties, this was enshrined in the new constitution of 1980. The military elite, close to the new right, developed an economic strategy designed for the long term.
Its goal is to create a model of a free market economy. The neoliberal model for stabilizing and modernizing the Chilean economy assumed free private initiative and private enterprise in the manufacturing and financial sectors as the basis for economic prosperity; increasing the competitiveness of the national Chilean economy in the world market; rejection of protectionism; creating optimally favorable conditions for attracting and operating foreign capital on the basis of direct investment and granting the private sector the right to receive external loans; reducing direct government intervention in the economy; deductions by the upper strata of "surpluses" in favor of the poor and the removal of social tension.
The beginning of stabilization took place in conditions of hyperinflation, a deficit in the balance of payments, and an unfavorable external economic situation.
But no one wanted to retreat, it was decided to achieve stabilization at any cost, specifically with the help of “shock therapy” recommended by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). public demand, halving public investment, deploying privatization.
With the help of privatization, it was supposed to increase the efficiency of national production and modernize it, as well as to support the national currency and make regular payments to repay the external debt. Privatization, which became the cornerstone of the neoliberal course, took place in the 70s. in two forms: reprivatization and sale of state property to private individuals. The famous copper mines, nationalized at the time by the National Unity, formally continued to remain state-owned, but large compensation was paid for their nationalization, and the management and operation of the mines were transferred into the hands of TNCs, which also strengthened control over the sale of copper, supplies of equipment and spare parts.
As a result, by 1983, copper production increased by 70%, and the number of employees decreased by one third. Part of the copper mines was bought up by American capital. Thus, the role of the public sector has turned from the main to the auxiliary one. By early 1977, the privatization of state property was largely completed. And although Chile imported military equipment and equipment, the local military-industrial complex itself was engaged in the production and export of weapons.
This initiative, supported by NATO and the United States, has made Chile the third largest exporter of weapons and military equipment in Latin America (after Brazil and Argentina). Refusing to recognize the legitimacy of the agrarian reforms of the CDA and Popular Unity governments, the Pinochet regime returned 2.8 million hectares of land to the former owners, more than one-third of the peasants who received land plots before the 1973 military coup went bankrupt. The development of agriculture was based on the principle of "comparative advantage", which meant the preferential production of such goods for which Chile had optimal natural and climatic conditions compared to other countries.
The export production of fruits (apples, strawberries, grapes, kiwi - by 600%), wines, fish products, woodworking products expanded, which made Chile a world exporter of these products. market. Customs tariffs were reduced. This immediately led to an increase in the flow of imported goods, a significant part of which were consumer durables, electronic equipment, and fashionable clothes.
The share of imports in domestic consumption doubled. The neoliberal model specifically provided for the introduction into the mass psychology of the Chileans of the ideals and standards of a highly developed Western consumer society.
However, the style of life in the best European and North American traditions, available to the Chilean elite, was beyond the reach of the middle strata, let alone the lower categories of society.
So the expansion of the consumer market did not at all mean an expansion of the opportunity to use its services for the majority of the country's population. The most important principle of an open economy is the encouragement of foreign capital. The Law "On the regime of foreign investments" (1974) lifted all restrictions on the export of profits from the country. This dramatically increased the interest in the Chilean economy from foreign public, private and international capital.
Moreover, the interest of foreign investors in the Chilean manufacturing industry was small (only 6.4% of the total investment), but credit and banking became a profitable area for the application of foreign capital: by 1980, the development of a free market economy in Chile led to changes in the social structure: decreased the number of employees in industry and agriculture.
The curtailment of the manufacturing industry of the public sector caused the marginalization of employees.
At the same time, democratic values were seen as secondary to personal prosperity. Due to the terror and repressions of the initial period of the dictatorship, which had a great psychological effect, a phenomenon arose - a "culture of fear", which meant people's distrust of each other, fear of communication, silence, apathy, emigration. , loneliness.
Nevertheless, the reforms in Chile made people talk about the Chilean “economic miracle. The crisis of 1981-1983, which engulfed all sectors of the Chilean economy, stopped the first stage of Pinochet's economic reforms. The national income decreased, unemployment covered up to 35% of the economically active population, the country's financial system was on the verge of collapse. It became clear that for the progressive successful development of the Chilean economy, the return to a purely monetarist model and the course towards an “open” market economy needed to be adjusted.
The second stage of Pinochet's reforms (1982-1989) begins. The emergence of a more flexible "reasonable monetarism" is associated with the name of the Minister of Finance of Chile, E. Bihi. To combat the crisis, the Chilean government decided to continue privatization, provide subsidies to the private sector and use methods of direct government intervention in the economy.
In the second stage of privatization, state-owned enterprises in the mining industry, copper and steel industries, communications systems were transferred to private hands, and technological modernization of the privatized industries was carried out. At the same time, the so-called transnationalization of the new Chilean economic elite groups took place, i.e. joint control of Chilean and transnational owners over privatized enterprises was established.
The results of anti-crisis measures in the 80s.
were impressive: inflation fell to the world average - 9-15%, unemployment fell to 6%, managed to pay $ 2 billion on external debt. The Chilean economy was recognized as the most "healthy", "dynamic" and "exemplary" among the countries of Latin America . Pinochet's activity is subjected to comprehensive criticism. The threat of isolation of the dictator appears on the horizon, and he takes a course towards gradual political liberalization: he allows the activities of parties loyal to the dictatorship.
By the mid 80s.
two poles of attraction develop in the opposition: one around the People's Democratic Movement led by the Communist Party (they recognized any form of struggle, up to an armed uprising), the other, moderate, around the CDA (for the gradual path of civil disobedience).
Pinochet was firmly convinced that the differences and disagreements in the ranks of the opposition were practically insurmountable and, therefore, it did not pose a serious threat. However, in 1985, all opposition parties managed to work out and sign the document "National Accord on the Transition to Full Democracy." It contained demands for the legalization of political parties, amnesty, the return of emigrants, and most importantly, the holding of free presidential and parliamentary elections.
As part of the nationwide days of protest, the left wing of the opposition used violent forms of struggle, and since 1986 it has completely relied on an armed uprising. The discovery of the arms depots and the unsuccessful attempt on Pinochet again caused a state of emergency and discredited the idea of an armed uprising.
The merit of the right-wing and centrist opposition figures was that they were able to isolate the Marxist parties and form a broad political consensus. In December 1989, the CDA leader won the presidential election Patricio Aylvin, to which March 11, 1990
Pinochet handed over power.
Read also:
Pinochet's dictatorship in Chile (1973-1989)
After the military coup of September 11, 1973, carried out with the help of the CIA, the military junta dissolved the National Congress (parliament) and local authorities (municipalities), civil democratic freedoms were abolished, political parties that were part of the Popular Unity bloc were banned, and the activities of the rest were suspended. parties, the Unified Trade Union Center of Workers (KUT) was dissolved, a state of siege was introduced, terror was unleashed for political reasons.
For the state-political structure of Chile 1973-1989. characterized by a strong personalization of power in the person of the key central figure, General Pinochet. In December 1974 he was appointed President of Chile. Pinochet eliminated competitors, introduced the irremovability of his post as commander-in-chief of the army, established his direct control over the political secret police of DINA.
None of the political, military and economic factions of the ruling bloc had full power, so Pinochet became a kind of arbiter standing over them. In the 1978 referendum, 75% of those who voted expressed their agreement with the power of the military, the Pinochet regime began to seem legitimate.
The peculiarity of the formation of state-legal forms of Chile under the Pinochet regime was that they were created and evolved not before, but after economic changes. Another feature is the gradual institutionalization of the regime: in the period 1974-1979. Legislative acts were adopted that reflected the evolution from a repressive dictatorship to a stable authoritarianism that allowed, albeit limitedly, the existence of representative institutions.
Under the name "protected democracy" without pluralism and political parties, this was enshrined in the new constitution of 1980. Such political success was based on the economic successes of the "Chicago neoliberal model", the defeat of the opposition movement, and the conformity of society.
Closer to the new right, the military elite developed an economic strategy designed for the long term.
pinochet regime in chile
Its goal is to create a model of a free market economy. Young doctors of economic sciences, who studied at the University of Chicago, followers of M. Friedman, became economic advisers in government agencies, ministries and banks. The military, on the other hand, guaranteed political stability and social peace for the neoliberal economic experiment.
The neoliberal model for stabilizing and modernizing the Chilean economy assumed free private initiative and private enterprise in the manufacturing and financial sectors as the basis for economic prosperity; increasing the competitiveness of the national Chilean economy in the world market; rejection of protectionism; creating optimally favorable conditions for attracting and operating foreign capital on the basis of direct investment and granting the private sector the right to receive external loans; reducing direct government intervention in the economy; deductions by the upper strata of "surpluses" in favor of the poor and the removal of social tension.
At the first stage of the development of the Chilean economy, the neoliberal model was applied practically in its "pure" form.
Chile began to be spoken of as a testing ground for Chicago School economists. The beginning of stabilization took place in conditions of hyperinflation, a deficit in the balance of payments, and an unfavorable external economic situation. But no one wanted to retreat, it was decided to achieve stabilization at any cost, specifically with the help of “shock therapy” recommended by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). public demand, halving public investment, deploying privatization.
With the help of privatization, it was supposed to increase the efficiency of national production and modernize it, as well as to support the national currency and make regular payments to repay the external debt.
Privatization, which became the cornerstone of the neoliberal course, took place in the 70s.
in two forms: reprivatization and sale of state property to private individuals. In 1974-1978. 294 previously nationalized industrial enterprises were returned to their former owners.
200 enterprises were sold at auctions at reduced prices. Only 20 companies remained under state control, of which 5 were industrial. The famous copper mines, nationalized at the time by the National Unity, formally continued to remain state-owned, but large compensation was paid for their nationalization, and the management and operation of the mines were transferred into the hands of TNCs, which also strengthened control over the sale of copper, supplies of equipment and spare parts.
As a result, by 1983, copper production increased by 70%, and the number of employees decreased by one third. Part of the copper mines was bought up by American capital. Thus, the role of the public sector has turned from the main to the auxiliary one. By early 1977, the privatization of state property was largely completed.
As a result of privatization, large Chilean financial and oligarchic groups - the "family clans" Alexandri, Edwards, Matte, Yarura - received a solid benefit.
New clans appeared - Crusat-Larrena, Vialya, Angelini, Luksic, who controlled the 250 largest private enterprises, as well as the local loan capital market. The positions of the largest national groups in the military-industrial complex were strengthened. And although Chile imported military equipment and equipment, the local military-industrial complex itself was engaged in the production and export of weapons. This initiative, with the support of NATO and the United States, brought Chile to third place in Latin America (after Brazil and Argentina) in the export of weapons and military equipment (which brought the country in 1985-1986.
foreign exchange income in the amount of $100 million). The government protected the interests of these financial and industrial groups. For example, K. Cardoen's firm, the largest private arms exporter, received a loan from the state in the amount of $4.6 million in the crisis year of 1981. At the same time, the national production mechanism was undermined: production and the share of manufacturing enterprises in the GDP - machine-building, chemical, textile, leather and footwear, which turned out to be uncompetitive in a free market.
Refusing to recognize the legitimacy of the agrarian reforms of the CDA and Popular Unity governments, the Pinochet regime returned 2.8 million hectares of land to the former owners, more than one-third of the peasants who received land plots before the 1973 military coup went bankrupt.
During 1976-1980. the area under 14 major food crops has been declining annually, which has led to an increase in imports, such as wheat, by $300 million. The basis for the development of agriculture was the principle of "comparative advantage", which meant the preferential production of those goods for which Chile had optimal natural -Climatic conditions compared to other countries.
The export production of fruits (apples, strawberries, grapes, kiwi - by 600%), wines, fish products, woodworking products expanded, which made Chile a world exporter of these products.
The main thing was that Chilean exports, where the largest share was occupied by copper and saltpeter, managed to be diversified and, therefore, made less vulnerable to fluctuations in the world market.
The reduction of customs tariffs and the rejection of protectionism, carried out in accordance with the course towards an open economy, contributed to the destruction of the national industry.
Customs tariffs were reduced from 94% in 1973 to 10% in 1979. This immediately led to an increase in the flow of imported goods, a significant part of which were consumer durables, electronic equipment, and fashionable clothes. The share of imports in domestic consumption doubled, and the value of imports in 1981 alone amounted to 1.8 billion dollars, which is equivalent to 25% of the value of all products of the national manufacturing industry.
The neoliberal model specifically provided for the introduction into the mass psychology of the Chileans of the ideals and standards of a highly developed Western consumer society. However, the style of life in the best European and North American traditions, available to the Chilean elite, was beyond the reach of the middle strata, let alone the lower categories of society. So the expansion of the consumer market did not at all mean an expansion of the opportunity to use its services for the majority of the country's population.
The most important principle of an open economy is the encouragement of foreign capital.
The Law "On the regime of foreign investments" (1974) lifted all restrictions on the export of profits from the country. This dramatically increased the interest in the Chilean economy from foreign public, private and international capital.
Moreover, the interest of foreign investors in the Chilean manufacturing industry was small (only 6.4% of the total investment), but credit and banking became a profitable area for the application of foreign capital: by 1980, 19 foreign banks were operating in the country (against one in 1974 ). Only the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) and the World Bank in 1976-1982. provided Chile with 46 loans worth $3.1 billion.
The costs of the transition to a neoliberal economy contributed to an increase in the country's external debt to $20 billion 690 million.
(1986) versus $3.3 billion (1973). In the mid 90s. external debt stabilized at the level of 17.5-18.5 billion dollars. The Pinochet government spent 62% of export earnings on servicing external debt (the Allende government - 12%). Economists' calculations make illusory the idea of the possibility of paying off the external debt under the existing conditions. One thing is certain: for decades, Chile will have to work for its creditors.
The development of a free market economy in Chile led to changes in the social structure: the number of employees in industry and agriculture decreased.
The curtailment of the manufacturing industry of the public sector caused the marginalization of employees. Taking into account the reduction in the number of civil servants and the ruin of small entrepreneurs, the share of the marginalized amounted to more than one third of the workforce.
The unemployment rate rose from 3.8% in 1972 to 18% EAN.
Pinochet's social policy was based on the rejection of the principle of social justice, the principle of freedom of choice and "equal opportunities" was affirmed.
The socio-psychological consequence of the economic reforms and social policy of Pinochet can be considered the formation of a new mentality of society based on the principles of individualism, pragmatism and self-interest.
At the same time, democratic values were seen as secondary to personal prosperity. The society of apolitical conformists - subjects of a new mentality became the basis of the political model of the Pinochet regime. Good employees should be interested exclusively in the professional sphere. Only this type of political activity was allowed, such as the activities of youth, women's associations, neighborhood councils, etc.
The paternalistic nature of the Pinochet regime was combined with the frank isolation of the elite from other strata of society.
The spiritual life of the Chileans was strictly regulated, strictly controlled and censored, which allows us to speak about the emergence of the phenomenon of the so-called "cultural eclipse", the meaning of which is the absence of an alternative to the official course of cultural life.
At the same time, because of the terror and repressions of the initial period of the dictatorship, which had a great psychological effect, a phenomenon arose - a "culture of fear", which meant people's distrust of each other, fear of communication, silence, apathy, emigration, loneliness.
The "culture of fear", as well as other forms of mass psychology, contributed to the political stability of society and the introduction of a neoliberal economic model.
Nevertheless, the reforms in Chile have led to talk about the Chilean "economic miracle".
The “economic miracle” should be understood as a steady GDP growth rate (about 6% per year), a threefold reduction in the balance of payments deficit, the elimination of the state budget deficit, a delay in inflation to 30% per year, the modernization of the state apparatus along the path of efficient management and a reduction in the number of people employed in him officials. In general, successes were related to macroeconomic factors.
At the same time, the price of the “miracle” meant an increase in external debt by almost 5 times, a reduction in public investment below the level of the 1960s, the maintenance of a fairly high inflation ceiling, the undermining of national industry and especially its manufacturing industries below the level of 1973, and the infringement of traditional entrepreneurial circles, high unemployment (up to 18%), a drop in average wages below the level of 1970, marginalization and impoverishment of the population (over 40% of Chileans lived below the poverty line, the income of 80% of Chileans did not reach the national average of $ 1,510).
in year). Society could pay such a high "social price" only within the framework of a dictatorial regime.
The crisis of 1981-1983, which engulfed all sectors of the Chilean economy, stopped the first stage of Pinochet's economic reforms.
The national income decreased, unemployment covered up to 35% of the economically active population, the country's financial system was on the verge of collapse.
It became clear that for the progressive successful development of the Chilean economy, the return to a purely monetarist model and the course towards an “open” market economy needed to be adjusted. The second stage of Pinochet's reforms (1982-1989) begins.
The emergence of a more flexible "reasonable monetarism" is associated with the name of the Minister of Finance of Chile, E. Bihi, whose activities, unlike his predecessors, were characterized by greater balance, realism, and flexibility.
To combat the crisis, the Chilean government decided to continue privatization, provide subsidies to the private sector and use methods of direct government intervention in the economy. Saving, for example, the banking system, the state intervened in the management of 13 banks and established direct control over two more banks, in addition, the state took upon itself the payment of the external debt of private banks. In the second stage of privatization, state-owned enterprises in the mining industry, copper and steel industries, communications systems were transferred to private hands, and technological modernization of the privatized industries was carried out.
At the same time, the so-called transnationalization of the new Chilean economic elite groups took place, i.e. joint control of Chilean and transnational owners over privatized enterprises was established.
The results of anti-crisis measures in the 80s. were impressive: inflation fell to the world average - 9-15%, unemployment fell to 6%, and it was possible to pay $ 2 billion on external debt.
The Chilean economy was recognized as the most "healthy", "dynamic" and "exemplary" among the countries of Latin America.
Crisis of 1981 - 1983
marked the beginning of the "cooling off" of Pinochet's dictatorship. Economic difficulties stimulated the activity of various opposition currents - from the new right to the extreme left.
The opposition begins resistance to the dictator. On May 11, 1983, the so-called National Protest Day takes place for the first time. The question of overthrowing the dictatorship and restoring democracy is on the agenda. Pinochet's activity is subjected to comprehensive criticism.
The threat of isolation of the dictator appears on the horizon, and he takes a course towards gradual political liberalization: he allows the activities of parties loyal to the dictatorship.
By the mid 80s. two poles of attraction develop in the opposition: one around the People's Democratic Movement led by the Communist Party (they recognized any form of struggle, up to an armed uprising), the other, moderate, around the CDA (for the gradual path of civil disobedience).
Pinochet was firmly convinced that the differences and disagreements in the ranks of the opposition were practically insurmountable and, therefore, it did not pose a serious threat. However, in 1985, all opposition parties managed to work out and sign the document "National Accord on the Transition to Full Democracy."
As part of the nationwide days of protest, the left wing of the opposition used violent forms of struggle, and since 1986
completely relied on an armed uprising. The discovery of the arms depots and the unsuccessful attempt on Pinochet again caused a state of emergency and discredited the idea of an armed uprising.
The merit of the right-wing and centrist opposition figures was that they were able to isolate the Marxist parties and form a broad political consensus.
The result of the evolution of the Pinochet regime was a referendum in October 1988, which raised the issue of granting Pinochet presidential powers for another 8-year term. 53% of Chileans voted against the dictator.
In December 1989, the CDA leader Patricio Aylvin won the presidential election, to whom Pinochet transferred power on March 11, 1990.
Aylwin's coalition center-left government entered a period of transition from dictatorship to democracy. Military tribunals were abolished, investigations were launched into financial irregularities and corruption of officials during the dictatorship, and political prisoners were amnestied.
The National Commission for Truth and Reconciliation investigated human rights violations, confirming the fact that over 2,000 people died during the dictatorship (their relatives received compensation). The former neo-liberal economic course of Pinochet was corrected in the direction of abandoning the "shock therapy" and attracting methods of state regulation. The government has doubled spending on social programs.
Managed to reduce unemployment and halve inflation. Chile restored diplomatic relations with the USSR, Cuba, Vietnam and North Korea, became more actively involved in inter-American cooperation, and expanded relations with the countries of the Asia-Pacific region.
In December 1993, Eduardo Frei (son of former president E. Frei) won the general presidential election. His rule. The government continued Aylwin's course, maintaining a social focus and expanding support for the national business community.
26 years after the death of S. Allende, the socialist Ricardo Lagos took the presidency. This meant the real political death of Pinochet and the end of the transition period from dictatorship to democracy in Chile.
The new president faces serious economic problems: the need to pay off the external debt, which amounted to 45% of Chile's GDP in 1999, and to overcome the decline in economic growth that emerged in 1999. R. Lagos believes that it is impossible to build a market society in a pure that the market cannot solve all problems.
It is necessary to develop a development strategy taking into account the positive historical experience of state regulation.
One of the toughest politicians of the 20th century, General, Commander-in-Chief, who seized power as a result of a military coup, Augusto Pinochet went down in world history not only as the President of Chile, who ruled the country for 16 years, but also as an executioner and tyrant. His name has become a household name when characterizing people who are cruel and aggressive. On November 25, Augusto Pinochet would have turned 98 years old. By this date, let's talk about his dictatorial career.
The future leader and "benefactor" of the Chilean people came from a poor middle-class family. His father was a port employee, his mother was a housewife, raising six children, the eldest of whom was Augusto. And the best way in life for the guy was a military career. In 1933, at the age of less than 18, he entered the infantry school in San Bernardo, from which he graduated in 1937 with the rank of junior officer. The young lieutenant heads to Chacabuco, where, 36 years later, one of the darkest concentration camps of the Pinochet dictatorship will be located. In the meantime, the future ruler is gaining military experience, changing regiments and improving his skills in schools, serving in provincial garrisons.
In 1948, he entered the Higher Military Academy, after which in 1951 he was awarded the qualifications of "general staff officer" and "teacher of military geography and logic." Since 1954, he has been teaching at this educational institution. He managed to publish the book "Geography of Chile, Argentina, Bolivia and Peru" and entered the law school at the University of Chile, which he did not manage to finish.
In 1956, Augusto Pinochet was sent on a Chilean military mission to the United States. The army then reigned "inconceivable servility" to everything American. In Quito, he was supposed to help create the Military Academy of Ecuador. In 1959, Pinochet returned to Chile, where he first tried on the epaulettes of a general, first commanding a regiment, then a brigade and a division, heading the headquarters and actually leading the military academy. In the position of Deputy Director (1964), he writes "An Essay on the Study of Chilean Geopolitics" and the book "Geopolitics".
The first bloody bell was the suppression of a rally of striking workers at the El Salvador mine in 1967. Then the regiment under the command of Pinochet shot not only the miners who spoke, but also civilians, among whom were children and a pregnant woman.
Democratic leader Salvador Allende
In 1971, Pinochet led the Santiago garrison, President Salvador Allende had high hopes for him. The general, being a disciplined military man and a qualified specialist, was able to win the trust of the Popular Unity government. In early November 1972, Pinochet was assigned the duties of commander-in-chief of the ground forces, which later untied his hands.
Already in August 1973, he organized a provocation against the Minister of the Interior, General Prats, whose deputy he himself was. He resigned, unable to withstand the persecution, and the then President of Chile, Allende, a staunch Marxist who intended to lead the country along the communist path, signed his own verdict with his own hands, putting General Pinochet at the head.
On September 11, 1973, there was a military coup in Chile, sanctioned by Pinochet and supported by the United States. A carefully planned strategy for the capture of the presidential palace, with a complete blockade of escape routes, the use of aviation, armored vehicles and infantry. The Allende regime was overthrown, the president and his supporters were shot. The "junta of four" came to power, in which the future dictator at first did not play a leading role. However, it was he who in 1974 became the sole ruler of a country in which a temporary tightening of the regime was announced. Pinochet calculated his term for 20 years. He was a little mistaken - the dictator's reign ended in 1990, but he was a general until 1997.
Once at the helm, Pinochet concentrated all power in his hands, cracking down on competitors: General Gustavo Lee was dismissed, Admiral Merino was also removed from business, Interior Minister General Oscar Bonilla died in a plane crash under unclear circumstances. In the summer of 1974, the law "On the legal status of the government junta" was adopted, in which General Pinochet was proclaimed the supreme bearer of power. From now on, his actions were not limited to either parliament or political parties. Pinochet declared the communists his main enemy and dealt with them with all cruelty.
For this purpose, military tribunals were established in the country and torture centers and concentration camps were organized. To carry out repressive measures, a national intelligence body with an extensive network of agents was created, and literally six months later it grew into the National Intelligence Directorate (DINA). The main task of the employees (and there were about 15 thousand of them) was to search for and destroy supporters of the views of Allende who emigrated from the country. One of them, Antonio Vias, recalls: “It was necessary to hide in order not to be found. When all the worst was already behind me, I managed to escape - they still continued to look for me. My comrades who were caught were killed.” More than 40 thousand people were shot. And ordinary adherents of communist views were fired from their jobs and expelled from educational institutions.
In addition to repression, Pinochet pursued a new economic, trying to bring the country out of the crisis. He stopped the nationalization and introduced the free trade principles of the American Milton Friedman. The free economy model was based on the rejection of all forms of state regulation, giving freedom of action to private national and foreign capital, liberalizing imports and actively attracting external financing. As a result of this policy, the middle class disappeared in the country, society was divided into rich and poor, however, we must give it its due, and horrendous poverty was eliminated.
In 1977, the Pinochet clique announced the dissolution of the National Intelligence Agency, which terrified the country's population with barbaric torture and massacre. Just on that day, US Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs T. Todman, the first high-ranking envoy of the Carter administration, arrived in Chile from Washington. The fascist regime of Pinochet was widely condemned in the world, and it was important for America to establish official relations between countries. This performance was staged especially for the distinguished guest to show that the junta "is beginning to respect human rights."
The Directorate of National Intelligence was reorganized into the National Information Center, but only the name changed, the essence remained the same. In September 1977, The Times of London wrote: “After four years of fascist-type dictatorship, the Pinochet regime shows no inclination to change course. It is only sustained by terror."
In 1978, in a referendum, General Pinochet, playing on the feelings of ordinary Chileans, promising them freedom, received 75% of the votes in his support, which marked a major political victory for the tyrant. The Constitution was even promulgated in 1981, but the implementation of its main provisions in life dragged on for a long 8 years. All this time, the powers of Congress were carried out by a military junta. Augusto Pinochet without elections was declared "constitutional president for 8 years with the right of re-election for the next 8 years."
When Pinochet refused to consider the National Agreement for the Transition to Democracy in 1986, the movement of the opposition began to grow: a wave of strikes swept and an armed attack on the dictator was sanctioned. Pinochet miraculously survived, but five of his bodyguards died. This circumstance increased the hatred of democracy: "Those who talk about human rights will be expelled from the country or sent to jail" - such was the verdict of the "lord".
In 1988, Pinochet was again named the only candidate for the presidency of the country. He promised that all political forces, including the opposition, would have the right to control the voting process. The authorities lifted the state of emergency, allowed former deputies and senators, leaders of some leftist parties and trade unions, who had previously been declared "state criminals" to return to the country. It was allowed to return to Chile and the widow of Salvador Allende. But the results of the plebiscite were not what Pinochet expected: about 55% of voters voted against Pinochet. Speaking on radio and television, Pinochet described the results of the vote as "the mistake of the Chileans."
Two years later, democracy in the country won, and on March 11, 1990, Augusto Pinochet resigned, but remained commander-in-chief of the ground forces and retained his influence in the political life of the country. But this circumstance still could not stop the negative attitude towards Pinochet in the world. In 1991, his European tour broke down, because already at the very beginning, when Pinochet was in the UK, none of the official representatives accepted him.
In October 1998, Pinochet was accused of state crimes: hundreds of Spaniards were killed or disappeared without a trace in Chile during Pinochet's rule. Spain demanded the extradition of the former dictator, but since Pinochet was Chile's senator for life, he was covered by the immunity law. The House of Lords declared the decision to arrest legal, while Chile insisted on the illegality of both the arrest of Pinochet and his extradition to Spain. At the end of October 1998, Pinochet was released on bail.
The forces were no longer the same - the 83-year-old dictator assured that he wanted to end his days in Chile "in peace and tranquility", taking political responsibility "for what happened during the years of the dictatorship" with the proviso: "Everything I did was done for the good of the native country.
Pinochet is a criminal, he violated human rights, but he was never convicted. He was put under house arrest five times, but was released for health reasons and due to insufficient evidence. So he died without a guilty verdict. The cruel ruler died in 2006. He bequeathed his body to be cremated, as he feared that his grave would be defiled.
“The secret of a good life in the country is simple: hard work, observance of the law, and no communism!” (Augusto Pinochet)
He came to power as a result of a military coup on September 11, 1973, which overthrew the socialist government of President Salvador Allende, which plunged the prosperous Latin American country into a severe economic crisis. Pinochet is certainly a unique Latin American ruler. Unlike the then ruling Latin American left dictators, he carried out very important progressive economic reforms. Augusto Pinochet was a firm believer in private property and competition, and under him private companies took their rightful place in business, and the economy grew under him, and for a long time after him.
There is nothing extraordinary about Pinochet's appearance or his habits. On the contrary, he is an ordinary person. He was always conservative, followed a strict daily routine, did not smoke or drink alcohol, did not like TV and could not stand the computer. In a word, a typical representative of the old generation, born in 1915, so far from us. He was neither an aristocrat who by right of birth claimed a special role in society, like Mannerheim, nor a hero-liberator, like de Gaulle. He was one of those who are called "old campaigner" and forgotten on the second day after the funeral. Pinochet loved music and books, collected a large home library.
Having received a decent military education at the country's Higher Military Academy, supported by several important missions abroad, he gradually, step by step, went from a junior officer, whom he was in the 1940s, to the commander-in-chief of the Chilean army, whom he became in August 1973. Persistence, restraint, punctuality and ambition - these are the qualities that helped him to carry out such a brilliant military career.
Pinochet's military talents were complemented by his extensive knowledge of geopolitics. Of all the presidents of Chile, he was the only one who published serious books "Geopolitics" and "An Essay on the Study of Chilean Geopolitics", where he outlined a reasonable concept of government on a national conservative basis. In addition, he wrote the study "Geography of Chile, Argentina, Bolivia and Peru" and the memoir "Decisive Day". He devoted part of his career to teaching at the military academy. He became a member of the National Geographic Society, although he did not win special laurels as a scientist.
Without the 1973 coup led by Augusto Ugarte, the world would never have known about it. By this time, Pinochet was almost sixty years old, the father of five children, had grandchildren, and was slowly moving up the steps of a military career, which he chose not because of his propensity for military affairs, but because of social circumstances: special talents, as he believed, he did not have, and soldiers are always needed. What made this ordinary person decide to take such an incredible step as a military coup? To try to understand this, you need to go back to the very beginning of the seventies.
What was happening at that time in the Chilean economy seemed impossible even by the standards of Latin America. The administration of Salvador Allende set up an experiment of a huge scale, which at first turned out to be very effective: GDP grew, incomes of the population grew, and inflation decreased. However, soon the Chileans had so much money that the goods began to be swept away from store shelves. People are familiar with scarcity. A black market arose, in which it was soon possible to purchase the bulk of goods, while the shops were empty. Prices rose faster than the money supply. In 1972, inflation was 260%, having increased 12 times over the previous year, and in 1973 it was over 600%. Production has declined, and the real incomes of Chileans have become less than before Allende came to power. In 1973, the government had to cut spending on both salaries and social benefits.
Of course, this situation began to inspire anxiety in the authorities, it was no longer possible to write off economic failures as the machinations of enemies. The government began to take drastic measures, but instead of returning to the saving idea of a market economy, it resorted to purely administrative stabilization measures.
Despite the agitation for "democratic socialism", the classics of revolutionary socialism began under Allende. Paramilitary detachments, consisting of brainwashed workers and professional revolutionaries, occupied the enterprises. The same detachments, only with peasants and village squalor instead of workers, dispossessed the "landlords": a forcible redistribution of land began.
The National Secretariat for Distribution was formed, an analogue of the Soviet Gossnab, where all state-owned enterprises had to supply their products without fail. Agreements of the same kind were imposed on private enterprises, and it was impossible to refuse them. Rated rations were created for the population, which included 30 basic foodstuffs. People who remember the Soviet economy during the times of total deficit understand that this was bound to lead to disaster over time. It was practically a disaster. However, Salvador Allende was popular, the Chileans believed in him, and the economic ruin in the country seemed to many temporary. Many, but not all. The army was the first to rebel.
Even immediately after the election of Allende, in 1970, the military was divided into two camps: some were strongly opposed to the new president, the latter remained loyal. Three years later, the representatives of the first camp were ripe for a coup, and the government understood this. It was necessary to put a man at the head of the army who would not allow unrest. Ironically, the choice of Salvador Allende fell on General Pinochet. He became the commander-in-chief of the Chilean army and, as Allende believed, could keep the army under his control. And so it happened. But the president made a mistake in something else: the general ceased to be loyal to his regime.
In the summer of 1973, tensions reached insane levels, and on August 22, the Chilean Congress, in a symbolic vote, declared Allende's behavior unconstitutional. Three weeks later, the army could not stand it and opposed the socialist government. Pinochet took over the coordination of the putsch, his troops arrested the communists, and by lunchtime the Chilean aircraft fired on the presidential palace in Santiago, the famous "La Moneda". During the storming of the building by the Pinochet detachments, Allende shot himself with a pistol that Fidel Castro gave him.
Power in Chile passed to a collegial governing body - the military junta. But the very next year, Pinochet became the sole leader of the country: first the so-called supreme head of the nation, and then just the president.
The destruction of the direct danger - the socialist government - was followed by the fight against the remnants of the red plague in the face of countless red detachments, armed state trade unions and local analogues of food detachments. In the cities, the army quickly managed to get rid of them. Football stadiums, which have become a symbol of the eradication of communism in Chile, have become a gathering place for radical left figures. The most daring Communards were sentenced by field courts and shot right in the stadiums (most of all in the Estadio Nacional de Chile). With imported revolutionaries, things turned out to be more complicated. They were not connected with Chile and had rich experience in guerrilla warfare, but the Chilean paratroopers eventually got them even in the most inaccessible forests and mountains. Street battles with individual gangs continued for a couple more months, but on the whole, communism was defeated, its backbone was broken, and the most violent revolutionaries were shot.
After the end of hostilities with the forces of international communism, Pinochet began to work in two directions. First, repressions began against the "left intelligentsia". However, no one was killed. Many of them left voluntarily. Secondly, it was necessary to repair the economy ruined by the socialists. Economic reform became a major concern during the Pinochet era. In 1975, the American economist and Nobel laureate Milton Friedman visited Chile, after which the military in key government positions were replaced by young technocratic economists, nicknamed "Chicago boys" because they graduated from the forge of liberal cadres of that time - the University of Chicago. However, in fact, among them were graduates of both Harvard and Columbia University. Times were changing, and the traditional centers of American left-wing intellectualism produced the hardest right-wing reformers.
The economy was reanimated according to the classic recipes: free business, removal of restrictions on trade with foreign countries, privatization, a balanced budget and the construction of a funded pension system. “Chile is a country of owners, not proletarians” Pinochet never tired of repeating. As a result of all these measures, Chile became the most prosperous country in Latin America. And even the two economic crises that have occurred since then - in 1975 and 1982 - did not have such dire consequences as under the regime of Salvador Allende. Friedman himself called these processes the "Chilean Miracle", as they turned the country into a prosperous modern state, which is still the undisputed leader among the countries of South America in all economic parameters. The economic miracle that occurred in Chile became the main criterion for assessing the activities of Pinochet for the inhabitants of the country. In addition, the military, in whose hands the power was, did not stain themselves with corruption, as happened in neighboring Argentina.
While the liberal technocrats saved the flesh of the Chilean nation, the government took care of his soul. Despite the non-interference of the state in the economy, it was quite interested in the ideological education of its citizens (after all, initially Allenda won the "fair" elections). However, Pinochet tried not to follow the example of his South American colleagues, who became famous for mass terror and death squads in black uniforms. The ideology and culture of the junta was based on far-right conservatism with elements of fascism and Chilean nationalism. Anti-communism occupied a central place in propaganda, and anti-liberalism also played a prominent role. Catholic and patriotic values were cultivated in every possible way in public life and culture. Pinochet was guided by classical European nationalism, publishing the literature of those years and glorifying its leaders. Despite the fact that the Trotskyist "International Committee of the Fourth International" considered the Pinochet regime to be fascist, most political scientists disagree with this statement. Jacobo Timerman called the Chilean army "the last Prussian army in the world", describing the pre-fascist nature of the regime. In fact, Pinochet was a unique leader. Avoiding collectivism and socialism in the economy, he professed a right-wing conservative ideology that combined European republican nationalism, classical liberalism and the hierarchy of the Caudilist regimes of Hispanidad. Paradoxically, Pinochet himself considered himself a democrat. He stated coolly: "Democracy bears within itself the seed of its own destruction, democracy needs to be bathed in blood from time to time in order for it to remain a democracy." The general, in his own words, "put iron pants on the nation."
The general's democratic aspirations are supported by weighty evidence. In 1978, a law on political amnesty appeared. The regime stopped the repressions and by this already showed that it is very different from the traditional dictatorial regimes that replace one wave of terror with another. In 1980, a plebiscite was held on the constitution: 67% of the population supported Pinochet's constitution, according to which he now became the legitimate president of the country, and not a usurper general.
Of course, you should not trust the results too much: many believe that falsification took place. But the fact that since 1985 an active dialogue has begun between the authorities and the opposition regarding the further development of the country is an obvious fact.
The dialogue did not stop even after the assassination attempt on Pinochet in 1986, when his nine-year-old grandson, who was in the presidential car, was wounded. Pinochet did not use the assassination attempt as a pretext for a new series of repressions. “I am a democrat,” he later said, “but in my understanding of the word. It all depends on what is invested in the concept of democracy. The bride can be very pretty if she is young. And it can be very ugly if old and wrinkled. But both are brides.”
Surprisingly, Pinochet proved his commitment to democracy in 1988, when a new plebiscite was held on whether the general should remain president until 1997. Pinochet lost it and agreed to leave. True, he remained commander of the ground forces until 1998, as well as a life senator. After his resignation, he was not crowned with the laurels of the savior of the nation, but no one treated him. And while Chileans have opposing views about what Pinochet's regime was like, the country has chosen not to plunge into battles about its recent past, but to perfect an economic miracle.
Pinochet differed from his South American "colleagues" in a truly iron dictatorship of the law, insisting on the principles of the rule of law. Believing that it was sometimes possible to overstep the line (“I don’t threaten anyone. I only warn once. The day they attack my people, the Rule of Law is over”), he tried to avoid bloody excesses. The commission counted 2,279 victims killed under Pinochet for political reasons. This number includes, in addition to the communists shot at the stadiums, the terrorists who died in street battles with the army and the murderous communists executed for their crimes. Since it is not Pinochet's victims that count, but "Victims under Pinochet", even the policemen killed by the communists are included in these statistics. Several thousand more concentration camp prisoners and forced emigrants are considered victims in one way or another.
Numbers are certainly more persuasive than words. By killing 2,000 people - most of whom attacked representatives of the state with weapons in their hands, being not dissidents, but combatants - Pinochet saved the country from communism and provided Chile with the best economy on the continent. But everything, as they say, is known in comparison. Today, Chile ranks seventh in terms of economic freedom and has the freest economy in South America, as well as the highest standard of living in the region. GDP per capita (2016) is $12,938 (in the oil and gas Russian Federation, for comparison, $7,742) and is growing rapidly, about ten percent of the population live below the poverty line. Of the minerals worth mentioning, Chile has only copper (however, in the 70s its importance for the economy began to decline). And how does Venezuela feel, having passed through Chavez's socialist paradise? 176th in economic freedom (out of 178), South America's strictest planned economy, one of the lowest living standards on the continent. GDP per capita - $ 5908, stagnating with severe inflation. The level of intentional homicides at the level of Africa, a third of the population below the poverty line, at the same time - gigantic oil reserves.
Pinochet saved Chile from this socialist happiness, but the national accord in Chile did not become insurance for a cloudless old age for him. In the autumn of 1998, he was arrested in England, where he was being treated. The campaign to prosecute the ex-president, who by that time was 83 years old, was led by the Spanish judge Garzon, who demanded the extradition of Pinochet.
"If you think about it and weigh it, then I'm good"
“If you think about it and weigh it, then I’m good. I have no resentment and I have kindness, ”this is how a handsome, gray-haired old man spoke of himself in his declining years, in whom few could recognize a gloomy figure in military uniform, who became a symbol of state terrorism and lawlessness of the 1970-1980s.
Augusto Pinochet, which has long been gone from this world, still causes sincere admiration for some, and hatred for others. On the day of his death, some wore mourning, while others danced and drank champagne.
His path to fame and fame began on November 25, 1915 in Valparaiso, Chile. Father - Augusto Pinochet Vera- was an employee of the port customs, and his mother - Avelina Ugarte Martinez- a housewife, she raised six children, among whom the future head of Chile was the eldest.
For a middle-class man, the path to the elite of Chilean society lay through military service. At the age of 17, after graduating from school at the Seminary of St. Raphael and the Quillot Institute and the Colegio of the Sacred Hearts of the French Fathers of Valparaiso, Augusto entered the infantry school in San Bernardo.
After graduating from college, Pinochet, as a junior officer, was sent first to the Chacabuco regiment in Concepcion, and then to the Maipo regiment in Valparaiso.
In 1948, Pinochet entered the country's Higher Military Academy, from which he graduated three years later. Now the service in military units alternated with a purposeful officer with teaching in army educational institutions. In 1953, Pinochet published his first book, called The Geography of Chile, Argentina, Bolivia and Peru, defended his thesis, received a bachelor's degree, after which he entered the law school of the University of Chile. True, he never had to finish this study: in 1956 he was sent to Quito to assist in the creation of the Military Academy of Ecuador.
Dr. Allende vs Jamon Lovers
Upon returning to Chile in 1959, Pinochet steadily climbed the career ladder, in 1971, with the rank of general, he assumed the position of commander of the Santiago garrison.
This was Pinochet's first appointment in the government of a socialist president. Salvador Allende.
An amazing thing - until September 11, 1973, General Pinochet was considered one of the most loyal representatives of the military command of Chile to Allende.
Augusto Pinochet, 1973 Photo: www.globallookpress.com
“Lies are revealed in the look, and since I lied many times, I wore dark glasses,” Pinochet said about himself. Indeed, black glasses have become an integral part of Pinochet's image. And behind them he successfully hid his real thoughts and views.
The government of Salvador Allende began to carry out reforms unprecedented in Chile - the construction of affordable housing for the poor, the provision of education and medical care for people from working families, and so on. The socially oriented policy was accompanied by large-scale nationalization, including in the extractive industries, where Allende "stepped on the tail" of representatives of foreign business, including American.
After that, a large-scale campaign was launched against the Allende government both within the country and abroad. Economic pressure was exerted on Chile, right-wing radical groups unleashed a terrorist war, and "marches of empty pots" passed through the streets of Santiago. These marches were not attended by the representatives of the poor, but by angry ladies from the "middle class".
Traitor in black glasses
But an even greater problem for the authorities was opposition sentiment in the Chilean army, where right-wing radicals and conservatives have historically been strong. The threat of a military coup in Chile became more and more obvious every day.
These sentiments, however, were restrained by the commander-in-chief of the Chilean army Carlos Prats. This military commander, respected in the army, declared his loyalty to the president and thus stood in the way of the supporters of military action. Pinochet was thought to share Prats' views.
On June 29, 1973, the first attempted military coup was made in Santiago, called "Tanquetaso". This rebellion was put down under the leadership of Prats with the active participation of Pinochet.
On August 22, 1973, the wives of the generals and officers under Prats's command staged a rally outside his home, accusing him of failing to restore civil peace in Chile. This event convinced Prats that he had lost support among his fellow officers. The next day, he resigned from the posts of Minister of the Interior and Commander-in-Chief of the Army of Chile.
Prats was replaced in his post by Pinochet, who was considered, as already mentioned, a figure absolutely loyal to the president.
The general's eyes were not visible behind the black glasses, and one could read a lot in them that day. For example, the fact that the military has been preparing for a real speech for several months now, that representatives of the CIA and American diplomats are actively involved in it, that Pinochet is not just a participant, but the leader of the conspiracy. Many years later, he will claim that he joined the speech at the last moment in the name of saving the country. However, the declassified CIA archives will show that Pinochet was involved in the plot in the early stages of its preparation, at the very time when he was appointed commander of the Santiago garrison.
"Democracy needs to be bathed in blood from time to time"
On September 11, 1973, a coup d'état took place in Chile. Allende's supporters in the army and navy were the first to die - they were identified in advance in order to be eliminated at the very beginning. The army units then proceeded to seize government buildings.
Military coup in Chile. Photo: www.globallookpress.com
President Allende, who was in the presidential palace "La Moneda", was presented with an ultimatum: he was asked to resign and leave the country on a special plane with his family and associates.
Allende refused, and then the military began to storm the palace. After a five-hour battle, the presidential palace fell. President Salvador Allende shot himself in his office, not wanting to fall into the hands of the rebels. The military who broke into the palace found the body of Allende at his workplace. Either they did not figure out that the president was dead, or out of hatred, the rebels shot the already dead head of state, putting more than a dozen bullets into him.
“Democracy needs to be bathed in blood from time to time so that it remains a democracy,” said Augusto Pinochet, who became the leader of the military junta after the overthrow of Salvador Allende.
Chilean President Salvador Allende. Photo: www.globallookpress.com
He backed up his words with deeds - in the first month the junta was in power, several thousand people were killed. In Chile, to this day, they do not know exactly how many - sources loyal to Pinochet speak of 3,000 killed, his opponents argue that this number should be at least multiplied by 10.
More than 40 years after the coup, the fate of the thousands of people who went missing during Pinochet's rule remains unknown. Witnesses said that at the Santiago stadium, turned into a concentration camp for opponents of the junta, the corpses of those killed were stacked. The bodies of the victims floated along the Mapocho River, some of the remains were taken out by military helicopters and dumped into the ocean.
Terror without borders
Among the victims of political terror were both ordinary Chileans and celebrities. Famous Chilean poet and musician, theater director Victor Hare the punishers broke his arms, tortured him with electric current, and then, after much torment, shot him, firing 34 bullets at him.
In the days of the coup, the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature died Pablo Neruda. For a long time it was believed that Neruda, a close friend of Allende, died of natural causes, but in 2015 the Chilean authorities admitted that the famous Chilean could have been killed.
Nobel laureate Pablo Neruda. Photo: www.globallookpress.com
The military did not seek to understand who and what is to blame. Catholic publication contributor Carmen Morador, who was not a supporter of Allende, was arrested "just like that." She spent seven hours on the rack, was repeatedly raped, starved and beaten, her legs were broken, she was tortured with electric shocks, burned with cigarettes, and the most sophisticated and disgusting bullying was used. Relatives managed to free her, but she soon died from the suffering she had endured.
To prosecute political opponents of the Pinochet regime, the National Intelligence Agency (DINA) was created - the political police, which was very soon dubbed the "Chilean Gestapo". DINA agents hunted oppositionists outside of Chile as well. In 1974, as a result of a terrorist attack organized by DINA employees in Argentina, General Carlos Prats and his wife. In 1976, in Washington, DINA assassins killed the former minister of foreign and internal affairs in the Allende government. Orlando Leteliera.
Hundreds of thousands of Chileans passed through the dungeons of the Pinochet regime, about a million went into forced emigration. Among the victims of the Chilean junta were dozens of citizens of other states who were in Chile at the time of the coup in September 1973. This circumstance will cause Pinochet to be prosecuted abroad.
The country is not for the proletarians
“Everything that we, the military, did, we did for Chile, and not for ourselves, and we are not ashamed,” is another statement by Pinochet that leaves no doubt about his confidence in the rightness of his cause.
And what is real, besides the rivers of blood, gave Chile the Pinochet regime? What was his famous "economic miracle"?
As a basis for economic reforms under Pinochet, an ultra-liberal model was taken, the adherents of which were Chilean economists, many of whom studied in Chicago under the guidance of a Nobel laureate Professor Friedman And Professor Arnold Harberger. Therefore, the Chilean reformers went down in history under the name of "Chicago boys."
Within the framework of this model, the so-called “shock therapy” was carried out in the country, large-scale privatization of state property, a strictly balanced budget was adopted, all restrictions on trade with foreign countries were removed, and a funded pension system was introduced.
Under the new conditions, foreign investments poured into the country, cooperation with international financial institutions was resumed. As a result, the economy under Pinochet began to grow rapidly.
However, excellent macroeconomic indicators do not reflect the picture of life in the country. Chile became a paradise for employers, because trade unions were crushed and banned under Pinochet, but the workers turned out to be completely powerless and did not have the slightest protection from arbitrariness. Against the background of the rapidly growing central quarters of Santiago, its working outskirts vegetated in poverty.
Against the backdrop of a fabulously wealthy elite, two-thirds of Chileans remained below the poverty line. Unemployment among the economically active population of the country under Pinochet reached 30 percent, and in terms of total output and average wages, Chile reached the level of the early 1970s only by the time the transfer of power to a civilian government.
“We are trying to turn Chile into a country of owners, not proletarians,” with this phrase the head of the junta explained the essence of his economic policy.
And most importantly, the real Chilean economic miracle did not begin under Pinochet, but after the democratic system was restored in the country.
Pinochet in Madrid, 1975 Photo: www.globallookpress.com
How Pinochet was not allowed to "shake the old days"
It is customary to talk about Augusto Pinochet as the leader of the military junta, although formally he has not been such since 1974, having taken the post of president of the country. In 1980, he held a plebiscite, which adopted a new constitution for the country. In particular, it provided for free elections, the activities of political parties and trade unions. However, it was stipulated that the entry into force of these articles of the constitution was postponed for 8 years.
In the 1980s, Pinochet, with the help of the United States and Great Britain, tried to get rid of the stigma of a bloody dictator and become a respected state leader. It turned out badly - it was impossible to forget what Pinochet had done. The outright anti-Semitism of Pinochet himself and his entourage did not contribute to this either, because of which a mass exodus of Jews from Chile began. But in Chile, Nazi criminals who were on the run, who helped the Chilean special services to fight dissidents, found refuge and were welcomed in every possible way.
In the second half of the 1980s, the Chilean regime began to pursue a more liberal policy. To ensure international recognition of Pinochet was an interim plebiscite scheduled for October 5, 1988, which decided whether the president would remain in office for another eight years.
Confident of his success, Pinochet allowed the mass actions of his opponents and allowed the opposition to count the votes.
On the eve of the plebiscite, more than a million people gathered for the final rally on the Pan American Highway - it was the largest mass demonstration in the history of Chile.
A multi-million dollar rally on the eve of the 1988 plebiscite. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org / Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional
The very first results of the will on October 5, 1988 showed that a sensation was close - Pinochet was losing. But then the transmission of data from the sites stopped, and there was a pause for several hours.
Pinochet's supporters do not like to recall this situation, preferring to claim that the dictator voluntarily gave up power. But in fact, the fate of Chile on October 5 was decided not only at the polling stations, but also in the La Moneda Palace, where Pinochet gathered members of the junta and army generals.
He proposed canceling the results of the plebiscite, introducing martial law, banning the activities of the opposition - in general, Augusto Pinochet decided to shake the old days, remembering September 1973.
But here, to his surprise, he stumbled upon the fierce resistance of his comrades-in-arms. The Chilean generals told Pinochet that no one in the world would support the new coup, and the country would finally turn into a pariah.
After several hours of bickering, Pinochet gave in. In the morning, the country learned that the dictator would leave.
Dementia in the name of freedom
Augusto Pinochet took care of his own safety. After leaving the presidency in 1990 and transferring power to civilians, he remained the commander of the ground forces, thereby retaining real influence in the country. Only eight years later, Pinochet also left this post, while becoming a senator for life, which saved him from the threat of criminal prosecution.
Augusto Pinochet, 1995 Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org / Emilio Kopaitic
Confidence in their safety played a cruel joke on Pinochet. In 1998, he went to London for treatment, where he was suddenly arrested. The arrest warrant was issued by a Spanish court, dozens of whose citizens became victims of political terror in Chile.
A desperate struggle began between the accusers, who demanded the extradition of Pinochet to Chile, and the defenders, who considered it necessary to show mercy to the aged retired dictator and set him free.
After 16 months of house arrest in London, Pinochet was finally allowed to go home. However, his detention in the UK was the impetus for the start of criminal prosecution in Chile.
Augusto Pinochet spent his last years fighting for his own freedom. In August 2000, the Supreme Court of Chile stripped Pinochet of senatorial immunity, after which he was prosecuted for more than 100 episodes related to murders, as well as kidnappings and torture of people. In 2001, lawyers obtained for the defendant exemption from liability, but with a humiliating wording - "due to senile dementia."
"My fate was exile and loneliness"
In dementia, however, not everyone believed. On August 26, 2004, the Supreme Court of Chile deprived Pinochet of immunity from prosecution, and on December 2 of the same year, the country's Court of Appeal decided to start a trial in the case of the former dictator accused of complicity in the murder of the former commander of the ground forces, General Carlos Prats.
In 2005-2006, new allegations began to snowball. Yesterday's associates of Pinochet, those who were still alive, one by one found themselves behind bars. Former head of the DINA intelligence agency Manuel Contreras, sentenced to life imprisonment, died in prison in the summer of 2015. Pinochet's favorite, brigadier general of the Chilean army, son of a Russian collaborator Semyon Krasnov Miguel Krasnov and to this day is serving a prison sentence for participating in numerous tortures and murders of Chileans and foreign citizens.
Pinochet himself, who, among other things, was accused of embezzlement, tax evasion, drug trafficking and arms trafficking, escaped such a fate.
He died on December 10, 2006 after a severe heart attack in a Santiago hospital. As soon as the news about this spread throughout the country, festivities and festivities began on the streets. For this reason, it was decided to abstain from national mourning and state funerals. After giving military honors, the body was cremated, and the ashes were secretly buried.
Two weeks after his death, the Pinochet Foundation published his farewell letter to his compatriots, written in 2004, when, according to lawyers, the former dictator suffered from dementia. The letter, however, was written by a man of common sense. As in all the last years of his life, Pinochet tried to justify what he had done: "It was necessary to act with the utmost severity in order to avoid an escalation of the conflict."
“There is no place in my heart for hatred. My fate was exile and loneliness - something that I never imagined and least of all wanted, ”complained Augusto Pinochet.
But it is unlikely that these words were able to pity at least someone. After all, reading these lines of a posthumous address, no one will be able to look Pinochet into his eyes, which he so diligently hid from the whole world.
Author winning asked a question in Society, Politics, Media
what is the Pinacheto regime, and who was he, what did he fight for? and got the best answer
Answer from Berrrek[guru]
General Pinochet is a recently deceased former dictator and president of Chile, who saved his country from socialism and communism, a follower of the famous Spanish dictator F. Franco, who did the same for the Spanish people. This is Kornilov or Denikin, only Chilean and victorious.
Answer from gibberish[guru]
Pinochet was engaged in military history, geopolitics and in all his writings he constantly turned to Mein Kampf and the experience of the Second World War. In Geopolitics (1968), he lamented the failure of the Nazi Drang nach Osten policy, lamenting that Hitler had failed to impose his regime on the Soviet Union.
Pinochet followed the theory of “constant biological struggle”, in which states are born, grow and die, explained the legitimacy of the violent death of the state, thereby justifying, so far only in theory, the overthrow of the constitutional government.
On the morning of September 11, 1973, the Armed Forces mutinied, with the support of the secret services and the US government, as a result of a bloody military coup, they overthrew the legitimate government of President Salvador Allende, establishing a military dictatorship. All the most important government facilities were taken by storm. Allende, along with a group of supporters, died fighting off attacks on the presidential palace "La Moneda". Power was taken over by a military junta consisting of commanders of three branches of the armed forces and a corps of carabinieri led by Augusto Pinochet. After the assassination of Allende, Pinochet violated the oath and spitting on the constitution, took the posts of president and head of state.
Most of his reign was accompanied by mass terror, in Chile the secret police DINA was in charge. At the hands of her executioners, according to official figures, 30 thousand people died. It is curious that, perhaps, the most secretive organization in the country, the Dignidad (Dignity) colony, located not far from Santiago, willingly cooperated with Pinochet. It was founded in 1961 by the fugitive Nazi Paul Schaefer.
"Digidad" is spread over tens of thousands of square kilometers, surrounded by barbed wire. It was impossible to get in. Under the pretext of humanitarian, charitable activities, the leaders of the colony lured orphans, who were turned into slaves. Schaefer and his associates were accused of pedophilia. With the coming to power of the authoritarian regime, the "German enclave" kindly offered him his services. "Digidad" was turned into one of the centers where more than 1200 Chileans disappeared. Both DINA employees and General Pinochet personally often visited the possessions of the "Fuhrer" Schaefer.
Chile's current president, Bachelet, was herself a victim of torture during the Pinochet era. And her father was killed by the dictator's henchmen, he was a military man. According to Michelle Bachelet, Chileans should not forget what happened under Pinochet. "Only then will we have a constructive vision for our future that will guarantee respect for the fundamental rights of all Chileans," the president said.
The Pinochet regime has been repeatedly condemned by the UN and human rights organizations for the use of torture against detainees.
Pinochet's coming to power was absolutely necessary for the United States. For a decade and a half, Chile plunged into the darkness of a fascist dictatorship. Augusto Pinochet turned out to be a worthy son of a bitch, whom the Americans love so much. Agents of the Chilean intelligence services of the Pinochet era carried out dozens of special operations, the purpose of which was to eliminate opponents of the regime.
Tens of thousands of opponents of the regime will find their death in the dungeons of Pinochet. Oppositionists will be subjected to humiliation and sophisticated torture in special prisons. In this case, Pinochet's henchmen will show real class, because Chile will become a haven for Nazi war criminals persecuted around the world. Torture masters of Hitler, in gratitude for the shelter, will share with the Chileans the secrets of their skills.
Answer from mate[guru]
Pinochet Ugarte Augusto (b. 1915), President of Chile in December 1974-89, general. In 1973-74, chairman of the military junta, which seized power in September 1973 as a result of a military coup; established a dictatorial regime. In 1973-74 and in 1989-98 Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces.
Answer from Bunny Jonathan Livingston[guru]
The man who brought order to the country, brought "to the handle" by the communists and liberals. Raised the standard of living. But he acted tough, so there were claims against him. You can't compare with us. We don't do anything. Not particularly bad or good. We are a semi-finished product.