Valparaíso, 1915 – Santiago (Chile), 2006
By Rodrigo Nobile
At the age of 17, the future dictator of Chile, Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte, entered a military career. His first direct participation in politics occurred during the government of the Unidad Popular when he joined the civic-military cabinet instituted by Salvador Allende as a way to alleviate the crisis, which, in fact, served to worsen it.
Using his privileged position, Pinochet learned of the convocation of a plebiscite that would guarantee an institutional transition on September 11, 1973, and brought forward the coup d’état to the same date. To achieve this, he relied on strategic support from the CIA and military backing from the United States Navy, which was stationed off the Chilean coast. He assumed the position of dictator, leading a Military Junta composed of commanders-in-chief from other sectors of the Chilean Armed Forces, establishing a regime of terror that would last seventeen years.
Pinochet’s government can be divided into two phases. The first, which lasted until 1983, after an initial economic crisis, enjoyed a favorable environment, supported by strong political repression and the implementation of neoliberal policies. In the second phase, between 1983 and 1989, the government faced an unfavorable economic situation, forcing it to implement countercyclical policies and gradually initiate an institutional transition process, which led to the end of the military regime.
Neoliberal Shock and Political Repression
Pinochet initially governed through a Military Junta, which sought to address two issues. The first, and most immediate, was to impose socioeconomic stability after a period of intense conflict and economic disorganization, largely caused by actions of the right itself. The second was to develop a new orthodox capitalist accumulation process, based on trade liberalization, reversing income distribution policies with rapid and widespread privatizations, partially rolling back the agrarian reform process initiated under Eduardo Frei Montalva’s government and deepened by the Unidad Popular, and establishing the hegemony of financial capital over productive capital. In response to persistent stagnation, in 1975, the government implemented a new shock policy, executed by Milton Friedman’s disciples from the Chicago School of Economics. This ultraliberal policy resulted in export specialization in commodities and the collapse of sectors such as textiles, household appliances, auto parts, and others. The immediate withdrawal from the Andean Pact, shortly after the military coup, supported this economic trend.
To finance the development of primary-export sectors, investments were made through international bank loans, increasing indebtedness. Other negative factors included the privatizations of banks, industrial sectors, and public services such as social security, health, and education, which favored large corporations and capital concentration.
On the labor front, the government repressed wage-earner organizations, suspended collective bargaining, and encouraged the adoption of individual and flexible contracts.
From 1977 onwards, a new growth cycle emerged, based on increased external demand. However, with the economy based on this accumulation model, only the export enclave experienced real benefits. This generated few positive externalities and increased inequality, evidenced by the proliferation of poblaciones.
As a result of international pressure, the Chilean dictatorship held a plebiscite in 1980, under a state of siege, in which a new Constitution was approved. In reality, this Constitution granted greater powers and immunity to the military, consolidated its policies, and set a new mandate for Pinochet for eight years, at the end of which another popular consultation would be held.
During this period, despite intense repression, popular movements and the left gained strength. In 1977, the first mass protests took place, reaching their peak in 1983 with a wave of protests due to the severe economic crisis that began in 1982, resulting in increased unemployment. Due to mounting debt, the government was forced to turn to the IMF, which implied more austerity and unemployment, among other hardships, and consequently increased dissatisfaction.
At the same time, the crisis destroyed the alliance between the middle and financial bourgeoisie, strengthening Christian Democracy at the center and independent right-wing groups. Armed movements, such as the Revolutionary Left Movement (MIR) and the Manuel Rodríguez Patriotic Front, originating from radicalized Communist Party dissidents, intensified their actions. The latter was accused of organizing a failed attempt to assassinate Pinochet in September 1986.
On the international stage, the agenda shifted to prioritize human rights, leading to pressure from international organizations and reduced support from the U.S. government. Additionally, in this context of change, many countries in the Southern Cone, after experiencing dictatorial regimes, underwent democratization processes.
Negotiated Transition
Although Pinochet still had the loyal support of the upper bourgeoisie, and the MIR and Communist Party were weakened by repression, Christian Democracy and socialists formed an alliance, creating internal democratic forces capable of confronting the dictator. Thus, in 1988, a popular consultation took place, monitored by international observers, in which the majority opted not to continue Pinochet’s rule.
Elections were called, and the Concertación de Partidos por la Democracia, a center-left coalition, succeeded in electing Patricio Aylwin Azócar in the first round with 55% of the votes. The candidate supported by Pinochet garnered about one-third of the votes. This fact, combined with the conservative 1980 Constitution, secured a negotiated transition that maintained military privileges and economic policies.
Unsurprisingly, Pinochet became a symbol of oppression, violence, and authoritarianism in Latin America. Unlike the dictatorships in Argentina and Brazil, the Chilean regime was instituted during a systemic economic crisis in a society where political awareness and social struggles were deeply rooted in popular culture. If Allende’s election symbolized Chilean democratic radicalization, Pinochet’s dictatorship could be seen as a counterrevolution.
In this sense, the military government promoted profound depoliticization and the elimination of public spaces previously used for collective interaction. The Armed Forces and the intelligence agency, DINA, later renamed the National Intelligence Center (CNI), organized numerous operations, such as the Caravan of Death, Operation Condor, Operation Colombo, Operation Albania, and many others, which resulted in the assassination or disappearance of thousands of people, arbitrary imprisonments, and forced exiles. Torture became a routine practice in investigations. Additionally, leftist parties were banned, the activities of others were suspended, Congress was closed, the Judiciary was intervened, and critical media outlets were banned, among other actions.
For these crimes against human rights, although Pinochet managed to live freely in Chile thanks to his position as a lifetime senator, he was arrested on his first international trip in October 1998 in London, on an order issued by Spanish judge Baltasar Garzón. Then-President Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle, pressured by followers of the former dictator, began arduous efforts to secure his release. Nevertheless, he remained detained for about five hundred days.
In addition to accusations of murder and human rights violations, Pinochet faced charges of illicit enrichment, reinforced by the discovery of multi-million-dollar accounts linked to him in foreign banks. These accounts were frozen, but even so, they were accessed. The final strategies of Pinochet’s defense to keep him free included claims of senility and poor health.
Despite being protected by immunity, investigations into the crimes and irregularities committed during his dictatorship continued. In 2005, the U.S. Senate discovered secret accounts linked to Pinochet at Riggs Bank in London and various U.S. banks, totaling nearly $20 million amassed illicitly.
Pinochet died of a heart attack on December 10, 2006, at the age of 91, in Santiago, the capital of Chile. On this occasion, by decision of Michelle Bachelet’s government, his funeral was not given state honors. The dictator left no political heirs, and even the Chilean Army decided in 2014 to remove the general’s name from a medal awarded to military academy cadets. In 2015, President Bachelet announced the beginning of the constitutional process to draft a new Charter to replace the Constitution inherited from Pinochet’s dictatorship.
