Augusto Pinochet, President of Chile, born 1915

Augusto Pinochet, President of Chile, born 1915

After seizing power in a bloody CIA-backed coup- General Augusto Pinochet ruled Chile with a rod of iron for two decades- during which human rights violations became the norm of Chilean life. Hail Contd...

After seizing power in a bloody CIA-backed coup- General Augusto Pinochet ruled Chile with a rod of iron for two decades- during which human rights violations became the norm of Chilean life.

Hailing from an upper-middle class background- Pinochet entered the military academy in Santiago at the age of 18- graduating three years later as a second lieutenant. By 1968 he had risen to the rank of brigadier general.
In 1970- Salvador Allende- a Marxist- became president of Chile with the backing of the Christian Democrats- and began restructuring Chilean society along socialist lines. In the process he expropriated the US-owned copper-mining companies- alienating the US government and foreign investors. He further annoyed Washington by establishing relations with Cuba and Communist China- which the United States did not recognise at that time. As a result- America imposed tough economic sanctions and the CIA spent millions of dollars destabilising the Allende regime- much of it going into Pinochet’s pockets.

By 1972- the Chilean economy had collapsed. With no foreign investment- production had come to a standstill. There were widespread strikes- inflation- food shortages and civil unrest. With the backing of armed forces- Pinochet staged a military coup on 11 September 1973. It was bloody even by Latin American standards. The navy seized the key port of Valparaiso- while the army surrounded the presidential palace in Santiago. Allende refused to step down. When the palace was overrun a few hours later- he was found dead. It appears that he shot himself rather than face inevitable torture and execution.
A junta took over and declared marital law. Those who violated the curfew were shot on sight. Pinochet was named president two days later. He broke off relations with Cuba – Nixon had staged his famous rapprochement with China by then – and moved against Allende’s supporters. Some 14 000 would be tried and executed or expelled from the country- while Pinochet claimed he was only trying to ‘restore institutional normality’ of Chile.
In June 1974 Pinochet assumed sole power- with the rest of the junta relegated to an advisory role. Under Pinochet’s tyrannical rule- it is estimated that 20 000 people were killed and torture was widespread.
While Pinochet continued to maintain tight control over the political opposition- he was rejected by a plebiscite in 1988. He eventually stepped down in 1990 after immunity from prosecution in Chile. He stayed on as army chief of staff. However- during a shopping trip to London in October 1998- he was arrested on a Spanish warrant charging him with murder. He was later accused of torture and human rights violations. For 16 months- he fought his extradition through the British courts- and then in January 2000- Home Secretary Jack Straw decided that he was too ill to stand trial and sent him back to Chile.

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