Pinochet and the Military Rule in Chile

Pinochet and the military rule in Chile

For a substantial part of the twentieth century, elections in Chile were highly ideological transactions that gave voters a clear philosophical choice between left, right, and center. At least twice before, these bitterly contested affairs saw left-wing coalitions edge into office: in 1938, with the victory of the Popular Front, and in 1970, with Salvador Allende's Popular Unity. The typically narrow margin could generally be attributed to the Chilean electorate's even division among these ideological orientations.

The Pinochet dictatorship of 1973-1990, however, changed the nature of both the state and politics in Chile. By destroying the so-called "three-thirds" system (which Pinochet and the right blamed for authorizing Allende's election) and replacing it with a binomial system, Pinochet hoped to promote the creation of large electoral blocs intended to increase the chance of center-right success at the polls.

In 1970, Senator Salvador Allende won. Allende was a Marxist and a member of Chile's Socialist Party, who headed the "Popular Unity" (UP or "Unidad Popular") coalition of the Socialist, Communist, Radical, and Social-Democratic Parties, along with dissident Christian Democrats, (Movimiento de Action Popular Unitaria or MAPU), and AcciÐ"Ñ-n Popular Independiente (Popular Independent Action).

Allende's program included advancement of workers' interests; a thoroughgoing implementation of agrarian reform; the reorganization of the national economy into socialized, mixed, and private sectors; a foreign policy of "international solidarity" and national independence; and a new institutional order (the "people's state" or "poder popular"), including the institution of a unicameral congress. The Popular Unity platform also called for nationalization of foreign (U.S.) ownership of Chile's major cooper mines.

An economic depression that began in 1967 peaked in 1970, exacerbated by capital flight, plummeting private investment, and withdrawal of bank deposits by those opposed to Allende's socialist program. Production fell and unemployment rose. Allende adopted measures including price freezes, wage increases, and tax reforms, which had the effect of increasing consumer spending and redistributing income downward.

The coup of September 11, 1973, brought to a close the deep economic, social, political, and constitutional crisis that followed Salvador Allende's 1970 election as president and the Popular Unity government's attempt to lay the foundations of socialism through democracy.

The intervention was extremely violent from the very beginning. The rebels surrounded the La Moneda Palace with tanks and infantry troops and bombed it with Hawker Hunter fighter jets. The president and some of his aides were besieged in the palace. Allende refused to surrender, and addressed the nation for a last time in a potent farewell speech. The armed forces deposed Allende, declared a state of siege, imposed military control throughout the country, dissolved Congress, and initiated a vicious crackdown on government officials, leftist parties, and social organizations.

The worst violence occurred in the first few months after the coup, with the number of suspected leftists killed or "disappeared" soon reaching into the thousands. In the days immediately following the coup, the National Stadium was used as a concentration camp holding 40,000 prisoners. The armed forces arrogated the supreme command of the nation and constituted a new junta.

The original creation of this Government Junta can be traced to an Act of Constitution signed on September 11, 1973. The new junta was made up of General Gustavo Leigh representing the Air Force, General Augusto Pinochet representing the Army, Admiral Jose Toribio Merino representing the Navy, and General Cesar Mendoza representing the Carabineros (uniformed police).

Government Junta of Chile (1973-1990) was the organization established to rule Chile following the overthrow of President Salvador Allende, in the Chilean coup of 1973. It was the executive and legislative branch of government until December 17, 1974. After that date, it functioned strictly as a legislative body until the return to democracy in 1990.

The chilean armed forces came to power with no recent governing experience and reled at first with no clear definition of specific powers or procedures. By mid 1975, this informal powersharing gave way to rules that defined the nature and powers of the presidency and institudet an elaborate system for legislating and modifying the constitution.

The first step was the 1974 definition of the nature of the presidency, that put an end to the initial idea of an anually rotating presidency. Unlike Admiral Merino and General Leigh, Pinochet was in a relatively weak position but he soon consolidated his control, first retaining sole chairmanship of the military junta, and then being proclaimed President on June 27, 1974. Pinochet quickly attained preeminence over the army and the original junta and emerged as the most powerful figure in the regime.

The other military dictatorships from Latin America (Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay), except Chile, instituded mechanisms to prevent the emergence of a man above the armed forces. As president of the repubic, commander-in-chief of the chilean army, and general of the chilean armed forces, Pinochet achieved a position of preeminence unrivaled by any of his recent counterparts in Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay.

The first years of the regime were marked by serious human rights violations. On October 1973, at least 70 persons were murdered by the Caravan of Death. At least a thousand people were executed during the first six months of Pinochet in office, and at least two thousand more were killed during the next sixteen years, as reported by the Rettig Report. Some 30,000 were forced to flee the country, and tens of thousands of people were detained and tortured, as investigated by the 2004 Valech Commission.

In 1974 and early 1975, Pinochet attempted to concentrate under his commmald the executive and legislative power, followed by naval and air force opposition. On both occasions, the navy and the air force objected and demanded a separation of power. Finally, the legislative procedures were organized aroud four legislative commissions. The commanders of the navy, air force, and Carabineros each presided over their own commission. National defence matters were handled by a joint commission. No legislative commission was created for Pinochet.

In 1977 Pinochet dashed the hopes of those Chileans still dreaming of an early return to democracy when he announced his intention