Pinochet's coup, some Chileans remember the brutal dictatorship fondly
Sep 5, 2023 1:59 PM EDT
SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — The world remembers Gen. Augusto Pinochet as the dictator whose regime tortured, killed and disappeared 3,065 people in the name of fighting communism.
But as Chile marks the 50th anniversary next Monday of the coup that brought Pinochet to power for almost 17 years, many in the country don’t see it as a dark day. Amid a weak economy and a surge in violent crime, recent polls show that many Chileans don’t think human rights are as much of a priority.
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They are grappling with what they see as Pinochet’s complicated legacy at a time when a large number have told pollsters they are losing faith in democracy.“Before, there wasn’t as much wickedness as there is now,” said Ana María Román Vera, 62, who sells lottery tickets. “You didn’t see as many robberies.”
A July poll by the Center for Public Studies, a Chile-based foundation, found that 66 percent of respondents agreed with the statement that rather than worry about the rights of individuals, the country needs a firm government. That is more than double the 32 percent who agreed with the statement fewer than four years ago.
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Pinochet led the coup at a time when the country was mired in an economic crisis that included scarcity of food and galloping inflation that reached an annual rate of 600 percent. When the military took over it implemented a free-market economy that suddenly meant those with means could go on a consumerism binge even as the poverty rate soared.
More:
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/a-half-century-after-pinochets-coup-some-chileans-remember-the-brutal-dictatorship-fondly
Dead Pinochet fan kissing coffin, wearing US flag.
Other dead Pinochet fans giving a fond Nazi dead guy salute goodbye