Augusto Pinochet: A Reign of Violence

Augusto Pinochet was the president of Chile from 1973 until 1990. His rule was initiated by a military coup in 1973 which influenced his rise to power. This coup began when the major armed forces in Chile, fed up with the current Allende administration, decided to overthrow his government and shell the presidential palace, killing Allende in the assault. Although Pinochet's actual interest and involvement in the coup was questioned, as commander-in-chief of the Chilean army his significance could not be questioned. The coup was started on September 11, 1973 and very quickly dissolved the reigning governmental regime.

By September 13, a military junta had been established as the new government in Chile. Pinochet represented the army, while José Merino represented the Navy, Gustavo Leigh represented the Air Force, and César Mendoza represented the national police. Working together, the junta quickly threw out the existing Constitution and Congress, imposed censorship and a curfew on inhabitants, and halted all political activity within the country. From this point, the junta functioned as a governing body until December of 1974. The junta had originally decided to rotate control of Chile among the 4 branches, but Pinochet used his power to take absolute control of Chile and declared himself president.

After assuming control, Pinochet used the power of the junta to violently suppress all political opposition to his regime. All other political parties were eventually banned with some 2,500 people exectued and tens of thousands of others tortured during this time period. He also instituted Operation Condor, a military movement which banded together several South American countries to track down and eliminate all threats to Chile's government. Several former officials of Allende's government were killed in this manner. Several scandals occurred under this operation, however, including some cases in which Pinochet assassinated Un officials and Chilean ambassadors to the US, leading to strained ties between the two countries. Other scandals included the assassination of three members of the Communist party, which led Mendoza to resign, and two protesters being burned alive in 1986.

Ultimately, Pinochet's reign of violence changed the scope of Chile's government as well as the lives of its citizens. However, also ascribed to the Chilean president's credit is the beneficial effect of his economic policy. He began a systematic deregulation and privatization of business practices which helped spur forward the Chilean economy in the 1980s at a time when other countries in Latin America were experiencing difficulty. Despite his malevolent effect on the Chilean people and the suppression of political opposition, Pinochet's reign also helped Chile by strengthening its economic foundation.

Links for further reading:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augusto_Pinochet
http://www.mundoandino.com/Chile/History-pinochet
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6289209.stm