Chile: the other 9/11 anniversary
The devastating legacy of Pinochet's coup of 11 September 1973 goes far beyond the economy and the armed forces
Raúl Zibechi guardian.co.uk, Saturday 11 September 2010 12.00 BST
http://static.guim.co.uk.nyud.net:8090/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2010/9/10/1284139880365/salvador-allende-suicide--006.jpgThe body of Salvador Allende is carried from the destroyed
presidential palace of La Moneda, Santiago on 11 September
1973. Allende committed suicide before he could be captured.
Photograph: El Mercurio/AP
Of the many military coups faced by the republics of Latin America, it is the coup of 11 September 1973 that has engraved itself most permanently on the collective memory. The images of the bombing of the Moneda Palace, of the despair on the face of Salvador Allende shortly before his suicide, of the defiant expression worn by Pinochet behind his dark glasses and of the public burning of books that circulated around the world and became the symbol of military brutality.
The dispersal into exile of 200,000 Chileans, most of them to Europe, added to the media images of men and women who had seen their lives destroyed by the death or disappearance of friends and relatives. The murder of thousands of political opponents and the detention and torture of people who were identified with the constitutional government isolated the military regime internationally.
The coup was supported by the US government of Richard Nixon. But after 1977, the Carter administration distanced itself from Pinochet because of his repeated violation of human rights. The regime remained in power for 16 years, becoming one of the longest lasting military dictatorships in Latin America, and it almost certainly introduced more changes than in any other country. Economic policy took a radical neoliberal turn under the influence of Milton Friedman. Allende's nationalisations were reversed and a programme of privatisations was introduced, together with the elimination of tariff barriers; this, alongside the banning of trade unions, produced a dramatic fall in real wages and an equally dramatic increase in business profits.
During Pinochet's time there was a massive influx of foreign capital, which produced both significant economic growth and widening inequalities, most notably during the crisis of 1983 when unemployment reached 30% and 55% of the population fell below the poverty line. Despite all this, it could be said that the dictatorship was successful in economic terms, reversing the balance of social forces in favour of a business sector that enjoyed the unequivocal support of the state, for example in the forestry sector.
More:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/sep/11/chile-coup-anniversary-pinochet