“The secret of a good life in the country is simple: hard work, compliance with the law, and no communism!” (Augusto Pinochet)
He came to power as a result of a military coup on September 11, 1973, which overthrew the socialist government of President Salvador Allende, which plunged the prosperous Latin American country into a severe economic crisis. Pinochet is certainly a unique Latin American ruler. Unlike the Latin American leftist dictators who ruled at the time, he carried out very important progressive economic reforms. Augusto Pinochet firmly believed in private property and competition, and under him, private companies took their rightful place in business, and the economy grew under him, and for a long time after him.
There is nothing extraordinary about Pinochet's appearance or his habits. On the contrary, he is an ordinary person. He was always conservative, kept a strict daily routine, did not smoke or drink alcohol, did not like television and did not like the computer. In a word, a typical representative of the old generation, born in 1915, so far from us. He was neither an aristocrat, claiming by birthright a special role in society, like Mannerheim, nor a liberating hero, like de Gaulle. He was one of those people who are called an “old servant” and are forgotten on the second day after the funeral. Pinochet loved music and books and collected a large home library.
Having received a decent military education at the Supreme Military Academy of the country, supported by several important assignments abroad, he gradually, step by step, went from a junior officer, which he was in the 1940s, to the commander-in-chief of the Chilean army, which he became in August 1973. Persistence, restraint, punctuality and ambition - these are the qualities that helped him achieve such a brilliant military career.
Pinochet's military talents were complemented by his extensive knowledge of geopolitics. Of all the presidents of Chile, he was the only one who published serious books "Geopolitics" and "Essays on the Study of Chilean Geopolitics", where he outlined reasonable concept governance of the state on a national-conservative basis. In addition, he authored the study “Geography of Chile, Argentina, Bolivia and Peru” and the memoir “The Decisive Day”. He devoted part of his career to teaching at a military academy. He became a member of the National Geographic Society, although he did not win any special laurels as a scientist.
If the 1973 coup, led by Augusto Ugarte, had not happened, the world would never have known about it. By then, Pinochet was almost sixty years old, the father of five children, with grandchildren, and slowly moving up the steps of a military career, which he chose not because of his inclination to military affairs, but because of social circumstances: special talents, as he believed, he didn’t have one, but soldiers are always needed. What made this ordinary man decide to take such an incredible step as a military coup? To try to understand this, you need to go back to the very beginning of the seventies.
What was happening in the Chilean economy at that time seemed impossible even by the standards of Latin America. The administration of Salvador Allende staged a huge experiment, which at first turned out to be very effective: GDP grew, household incomes grew, and inflation decreased. However, the Chileans soon had so much money that goods began to be swept off store shelves. People became familiar with scarcity. A black market arose, where it was soon possible to purchase the bulk of goods, while the stores stood empty. Prices rose faster than the money supply. In 1972, inflation amounted to 260%, increasing 12 times compared to the previous year, and in 1973 - more than 600%. Production decreased and real income There are fewer Chileans than before Allende came to power. In 1973, the government had to cut spending on both wages and social benefits.
Of course, this situation began to fill the authorities with alarm; it was no longer possible to attribute failures in the economy to the machinations of enemies. The government began to take decisive measures, but instead of returning to the saving idea of a market economy, it resorted to purely administrative stabilization measures.
Despite the agitation for “democratic socialism,” the classics of revolutionary socialism began under Allende. Paramilitary detachments, consisting of duped workers and professional revolutionaries, occupied factories. The same detachments, only with peasants and village barefoot instead of workers, dispossessed the “landowners”: a forced redistribution of land began.
The National Secretariat for Distribution was formed, an analogue of the Soviet State Supply Agency, to which all state-owned enterprises were required to supply their products. Agreements of the same kind were imposed on private enterprises, and it was impossible to refuse them. Rationed rations were created for the population, which included 30 basic foodstuffs. To people who remember Soviet economy times of total shortage, it is clear that this should eventually lead to disaster. It was practically a disaster. However, Salvador Allende was popular, Chileans believed in him, and the economic devastation in the country seemed temporary to many. Many, but not all. The army was the first to rebel.
Even immediately after Allende’s election, in 1970, the military was divided into two camps: some were strongly against the new president, while others remained loyal. Three years later, representatives of the first camp were ripe for a coup, and the government understood this. It was necessary to put a person at the head of the army who would prevent unrest. Ironically, Salvador Allende's choice fell on General Pinochet. He became the commander-in-chief of the Chilean army and, as Allende believed, could keep the army under his control. And so it happened. But the president was wrong about something else: the general was no longer loyal to his regime.
In the summer of 1973, tensions reached insane levels, and on August 22, the Chilean Congress, in a symbolic vote, declared Allende's behavior unconstitutional. Three weeks later, the army could not stand it and moved against the socialist government. Pinochet took upon himself the coordination of the putsch, his troops arrested the communists, and by lunchtime Chilean aircraft bombarded the presidential palace in Santiago, the famous “La Moneda.” During the storming of the building by Pinochet's troops, Allende shot himself with a pistol that Fidel Castro gave him.
Power in Chile passed to a collegial governing body - the military junta. But already in next year Pinochet became the sole leader of the country: first the so-called Supreme Head of the Nation, and then simply the President.
The destruction of the direct danger - the socialist government - was followed by the fight against the remnants of the red plague in the form of countless red detachments, armed state trade unions and local analogues of food detachments. In the cities, the army quickly managed to get rid of them. Football stadiums, which have become a symbol of the eradication of communism in Chile, have become gathering places for radical leftists. The most daring communards were sentenced field vessels and were shot right in the stadiums (most of all - in the Estadio Nacional de Chile). With imported revolutionaries the matter turned out to be more complicated. They were not associated with Chile and had a wealth of experience guerrilla warfare, but the Chilean paratroopers eventually caught them even in the most inaccessible forests and mountains. Street battles with individual gangs continued for a couple more months, but on the whole communism was defeated, its back was broken, and the most violent revolutionaries were shot.
After the end of hostilities with the forces of international communism, Pinochet began to work in two directions. Firstly, repressions against the “leftist intelligentsia” began. However, no one was killed. Many of them left voluntarily. Secondly, it was necessary to repair the economy destroyed by the socialists. Economic reform became a major concern during the Pinochet era. In 1975, American economist and laureate Nobel Prize Milton Friedman visited Chile, after which the military in key government positions were replaced by young technocratic economists, nicknamed “Chicago boys” because they graduated from the forge of liberal cadres of the time - the University of Chicago. However, in fact, among them were graduates of both Harvard and Columbia University. Times were changing, and the traditional centers of American left-wing intellectualism produced some of the hardest reformers on the right.
The economy was revived according to classic recipes: free business, lifting restrictions on trade with foreign countries, privatization, balancing the budget and building a funded pension system. “Chile is a country of property owners, not proletarians” - Pinochet never tired of repeating. As a result of all these measures, Chile has become the most prosperous country in Latin America. And even the two economic crises that have occurred since then - in 1975 and 1982 - have not had such severe consequences as under the regime of Salvador Allende. Friedman himself called these processes the “Chilean Miracle”, as they turned the country into a prosperous modern state, which is still the undisputed leader among countries in all economic parameters South America. The economic miracle that occurred in Chile became the main criterion for assessing Pinochet's activities for the country's residents. Moreover, the military, in whose hands the power was, was not tainted by corruption, as happened in neighboring Argentina.
While liberal technocrats were saving the flesh of the Chilean nation, the government was taking care of its soul. Despite the state’s non-interference in the economy, it was quite interested in the ideological education of its citizens (after all, Allenda initially won “fair” elections). However, Pinochet tried not to follow the example of his South American colleagues, who became famous for mass terror and death squads in black uniforms. The ideology and culture of the junta were based on far-right conservatism with elements of fascism and Chilean nationalism. Central location Anti-communism occupied a prominent role in propaganda, and anti-liberalism also played a prominent role. Catholic and patriotic values were cultivated in every possible way in public life and culture. Pinochet was guided by classical European nationalism, publishing literature of those years and glorifying its figures. Despite the fact that the Trotskyist “International Committee of the Fourth International” considered the Pinochet regime to be fascist, most political scientists disagree with this statement. Jacobo Timerman called the Chilean army "the last Prussian army peace", describing the pre-fascist nature of the regime. In fact, Pinochet was a unique leader. Avoiding collectivism and socialism in the economy, he professed a right-wing conservative ideology that combined European republican nationalism, classical liberalism and the hierarchy of the caudilist regimes of Hispanidad. Paradoxically, Pinochet himself considered himself a democrat. He calmly stated: “Democracy in itself carries the seed of its own destruction; democracy must be bathed in blood from time to time in order for it to remain a democracy.” The general, in his own words, “put iron trousers on the nation.”
The general's democratic aspirations are supported by significant evidence. In 1978, a law on political amnesty appeared. The regime stopped the repressions and already showed that it is very different from traditional dictatorial regimes that replace one wave of terror with another. In 1980, a constitutional plebiscite was held: 67% of the population supported Pinochet's constitution, according to which he now became the legitimate president of the country, and not a usurper general.
Of course, you shouldn’t trust the results too much: many believe that falsification took place. But the fact that since 1985 an active dialogue between the authorities and the opposition began regarding further development country is an obvious fact.
The dialogue did not stop even after the assassination attempt on Pinochet in 1986, when his nine-year-old grandson, who was in the presidential car, was wounded. Pinochet did not use the assassination attempt as a pretext for a new series of repressions. “I am a democrat,” he said later, “but in my understanding of the word. It all depends on what is meant by the concept of democracy. The bride can be very pretty if she is young. And she can be very ugly if she is old and all wrinkled. But both are brides.”
Surprisingly, Pinochet proved his commitment to democracy in 1988, when a new plebiscite was held on the question of whether the general should remain president until 1997. Pinochet lost it and agreed to leave. True, he remained commander ground forces until 1998, and also a senator for life. After his resignation, he was not crowned with the laurels of the savior of the nation, but no one slighted him. And while Chileans have conflicting opinions about what Pinochet's regime was, the country has chosen to improve on its economic miracle rather than dwell on its recent past.
Pinochet differed from his South American “colleagues” by truly having an iron dictatorship of the law, insisting on the principles rule of law. Believing that sometimes the line can be crossed (“I do not threaten anyone. I warn only once. The day they attack my people, the Rule of Law is over”), he tried to avoid bloody excesses. The commission counted 2,279 victims killed under Pinochet for political reasons. This number includes, in addition to communists shot in stadiums, terrorists killed in street battles with the army and communist murderers executed for their crimes. Since it is not Pinochet’s victims that are counted, but "Victims UNDER PINOCHET", these statistics even include police officers killed by communists. Several thousand more concentration camp prisoners and forced emigrants are considered to have suffered to one degree or another.
Numbers, of course, are more convincing than words. By killing 2,000 people - most of whom attacked state representatives with weapons in their hands, being not dissidents but combatants - Pinochet saved the country from communism and secured Chile better economy on the continent. But everything, as they say, is learned by comparison. Today, Chile ranks seventh in economic freedom and has the freest economy in South America, as well as the highest standard of living in the region. GDP per capita (2016) is $12,938 (in the oil and gas Russian Federation, for comparison - $7,742) and is growing rapidly, about ten percent of the population lives below the poverty line. Of the minerals worthy of mention, Chile has only copper (however, in the 70s its importance for the economy began to decline). How does Venezuela feel after going through the socialist paradise of Chavez? 176th in economic freedom (out of 178), the most strictly planned economy in South America, one of the lowest living standards on the continent. GDP per capita is $5,908, stagnating with severe inflation. The level of intentional murders is at the level of Africa, a third of the population is below the poverty line, and at the same time there are gigantic oil reserves.
Pinochet saved Chile from this socialist happiness, but national harmony in Chile did not become an insurance for a cloudless old age for him. In the fall of 1998, he was arrested in England, where he was undergoing treatment. The campaign to prosecute the ex-president, who by that time was 83 years old, was led by the Spanish judge Garzon, who demanded the extradition of Pinochet.
Spanish Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte
Augusto Pinochet - President of Chile from December 17, 1974 to March 11, 1990
Predecessor: Salvador Allende Gossens
Chairman of the Government of the Military Junta of Chile (September 11, 1973 - March 11, 1981)
Religion: Catholicism
Birth: November 25, 1915 Valparaiso, Chile
Death: December 10, 2006 Santiago, Chile
Party: Non-Party
Military service Years of service: 1931-1998
Affiliation: Chile Rank: Captain General
Commanded by: Chilean Armed Forces
Augusto Pinochet
Augusto Pinochet Augusto Pinochet(Spanish: Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte; November 25, 1915, Valparaiso, Chile - December 10, 2006, Santiago, Chile) - Chilean statesman and military leader, captain general. Came to power as a result of a military coup in 1973 that overthrew the socialist government of President Salvador Allende.
Chairman of the Government of the Military Junta of Chile (1973-1981), President and dictator of Chile in 1974-1990. Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Armed Forces (1973-1998).
Augusto Pinochet born in one of the largest port cities in Chile - Valparaiso. His father, Augusto Pinochet Vera, was a port customs employee, and his mother, Avelina Ugarte Martinez, was a housewife and raised six children, among whom the future head of state was the eldest. Pinochet's great-grandfather, of Breton origin, moved to Latin America from France. He left considerable savings as an inheritance to subsequent generations of the family.
For Augusto, who came from the “middle classes,” the path to the top could only be opened by service in the armed forces, with which, upon reaching the age of 17, he threw in his lot by enrolling in infantry school in San Bernardo. Prior to this, he studied at the school of the Seminary of Saint Raphael and the Institute of Quillota and Colegio of the Sacred Hearts of the French Fathers of Valparaiso. The young man spent four years at the infantry school (from 1933 to 1937), graduating from the latter in junior officer rank and was sent first to the Chacabuco regiment in Concepcion, and then to the Maipo regiment in Valparaiso.
In 1948 Pinochet entered the country's Higher Military Academy, from which he graduated three years later. Now the purposeful officer alternated service in military units with teaching in army educational institutions. In 1953, Pinochet published his first book, entitled "The Geography of Chile, Argentina, Bolivia and Peru", defended thesis, received a bachelor's degree and entered the law school of the University of Chile, from which he never graduated: in 1956 he was sent to Quito to assist in the creation of the Military Academy of Ecuador.
At the end of 1959 Pinochet returned to Chile, where he commanded a regiment (and over time a brigade and a division), was engaged in staff work, served as deputy head of the Military Academy, and having received the rank of general, he published his next works - “Essay on the Study of Chilean Geopolitics” and “Geopolitics” .
In 1967, an army unit under the command of Pinochet shot at a peaceful meeting of striking miners at the El Salvador mine. As a result of the shooting, not only the workers were killed, but also several children and a pregnant woman.
In 1971, Pinochet took over as commander of the Santiago garrison, his first assignment under the Popular Unity government led by President Salvador Allende. At the beginning of November 1972, as deputy minister of the interior of General Carlos Prats, he became acting commander-in-chief of the ground forces. In August 1973, the military, led by Pinochet, organized a provocation against General Prats, who, remaining loyal to the Government of Popular Unity, unable to withstand the persecution, resigned from all posts. Allende appointed General Pinochet in his place. Carlos Prats wrote in his diary on August 23, 1973: “My career is over. Without exaggerating my role, I believe that my resignation is a prelude to a coup d’etat and the greatest betrayal... Now all that remains is to set the day of the coup...”
On September 11, 1973, a military coup took place in Chile, one of the initiators of which was A. Pinochet. This was not an ordinary garrison-type mutiny, but a well-planned military operation, in the center of which a combined attack was carried out using artillery, aircraft and infantry. The Presidential Palace was attacked with rockets. All state and government institutions were occupied by military formations. Measures were taken to prevent military units from marching in defense of the Government of Popular Unity. Officers who refused to support the putsch were shot. During the coup, the government of Popular Unity with Salvador Allende was overthrown. A military junta was formed, which included: General A. Pinochet (from the army), Admiral Jose Toribio Merino Castro (from the Navy), General Gustavo Lee Guzman (from the Air Force) and General Cesar Mendoza Duran (from the Carabinieri).
Presidency of Augusto Pinochet
Soon after the coup Augusto Pinochet stated that the armed forces remain faithful to their professional duty, that only feelings of patriotism, as well as (quote from the statement Pinochet) “Marxists and the situation in the country” forced them to take power into their own hands, that “as soon as calm is restored and the economy is brought out of a state of collapse, the army will return to the barracks.” The general even set a deadline for the implementation of these goals - about 20 years, after which Chile will return to democracy.
Until December 1974, Pinochet remained the head of the military junta, and from December 1974 to March 1990 he served as President of Chile, being at the same time the commander-in-chief of the country's armed forces. Over time, he managed to concentrate all power in his hands, eliminating all his competitors - General Gustavo Lee received his resignation, Admiral Merino, who formally remained part of the junta, was eventually deprived of all power, the Minister of the Interior, General Oscar Bonilla, died in a plane crash during unclear circumstances. In the summer of 1974, the law “On legal status government junta", in which General Pinochet was proclaimed the supreme bearer of power. He was endowed with broad powers, including the right to single-handedly declare a state of siege, approve or repeal any laws, and appoint and remove judges. His power was not limited by parliament or political parties (although it continued to be formally limited by other members of the junta). Back on September 21, 1973, according to a presidential decree-law, the National Congress of Chile was dissolved, as stated, due to the inability to “comply at the present time with the legislative requirements for the established procedure for the adoption of laws.”
From the first days of its rule, the military regime declared a state of “ internal war». General Pinochet stated: “Of all our enemies, the main and most dangerous is communist party. We must destroy it now while it reorganizes throughout the country. If we fail, it will destroy us sooner or later." Military tribunals were established, replacing civilian courts, secret torture centers were created (Londres 38, Colonia Dignidad, Villa Grimaldi) and several concentration camps for political prisoners. The executions of the most dangerous opponents of the regime were carried out - at the Santiago stadium, during Operation Caravan of Death, etc. Military intelligence services played a significant role in the first months of repression: army intelligence, naval intelligence, intelligence air force and reconnaissance of the Carabinieri corps. However, it soon became clear to the leaders of the regime that the military intelligence agencies were not coping with their assigned tasks.
In January 1974, a unified national intelligence agency began to be created. First, the National Executive Secretariat for Prisoners' Affairs was formed, and in the summer of the same year, the Directorate of National Intelligence (DINA). Its tasks included collecting and analyzing information necessary to ensure national security, as well as the physical destruction of those who opposed the regime. By the mid-70s, DINA had up to 15 thousand employees. During Operation Condor, which it initiated, the targets of the new secret service were opponents of the military government who were in exile. The first victim was General Carlos Prats, who lived in Argentina. On September 30, 1974, he and his wife were blown up in their own car right in the center of Buenos Aires. Then the hunt began for the former defense minister in the Allende government, socialist Orlando Letelier, who criticized the military regime from abroad. On September 11, 1976, he was declared an “enemy of the nation” and stripped of his Chilean citizenship, and exactly 10 days later he was killed by DINA agents in Washington. In August 1977, Pinochet issued a decree formally dissolving DINA, and the National Information Center (NIC) was created on the basis of this organization. Like DINA, the new body reported directly to Augusto Pinochet.
In 1978, Pinochet held a referendum on his credibility and received 75 percent of the vote in his favor. Observers called it a major political victory for Pinochet, whose propaganda skillfully exploited Chileans' anti-Americanism and their commitment to values such as national dignity and sovereignty. However, the possibility of falsification on the part of the regime could not be ruled out.
In August 1980, a plebiscite on the draft constitution took place. 67 percent of the votes were cast in favor and 30 percent against. Since March 1981, the constitution came into force, but the implementation of its main articles - on elections, congress and parties - was delayed for eight years. Augusto Pinochet, without elections, was declared "constitutional president for eight years with the right of re-election for a further eight years."
In 1981 - early 1982, after a short rise economic situation in the country has worsened again. At the same time, Pinochet refused to consider the “National Agreement for the Transition to Democracy.” At the beginning of July 1986, a general strike took place in Chile.
September 7, 1986 Patriotic Front named after. Manuel Rodriguez attacked the dictator, but it was unsuccessful. Having let the escort of motorcyclists pass, the guerrillas blocked the path of the president's limousine with a truck and trailer and opened fire. The partisans' weapons failed - first the grenade launcher misfired, then after the second shot the grenade pierced the glass, but did not explode. Five of the general's guards were killed during the attack. He himself called it “the finger of the Almighty” that he managed to remain unharmed. “God saved me,” he said, “so that I could continue to fight in the name of the fatherland.” By his order, the broken and burnt cars of the presidential motorcade were put on public display.
In the field of economics, Pinochet chose the most rigid and radical path of “pure” transnationalization. “Chile is a country of property owners, not proletarians,” the dictator repeated. Around him formed a group of Chilean economists, many of whom had studied in Chicago under the leadership of Nobel laureate Professor Friedman and Professor Arnold Harberger. They developed a program for the transition to a free market economy for Chile. Friedman himself attached great importance to the Chilean experiment and visited the country several times.
In August 1987, a law on political parties was adopted, which further worsened the image of the regime abroad.
An interim plebiscite, provided for by the 1980 constitution, was scheduled for October 5, 1988. After the announcement of the upcoming plebiscite, the head of the junta assured future voters that all political forces, including the opposition, would have the right to control the voting process. The authorities canceled state of emergency, were allowed to return to the country by former deputies and senators, leaders of some left parties and trade unions, who had previously announced “ state criminals" Hortensia Bussi, the widow of Salvador Allende, was also allowed to return to Chile. On August 30, members of the junta, after a short debate, unanimously named Augusto Pinochet as presidential candidate; Pinochet himself could only agree. His appointment as the only candidate caused an explosion of indignation in Chile. In clashes with the carabinieri, 3 people were killed, 25 were injured, and 1,150 demonstrators were arrested. By the time of the plebiscite, the country's opposition forces had consolidated and acted more decisively and organizedly. More than a million people gathered for the final rally on the Pan-American Highway - it was the largest demonstration in the history of Chile. As opinion polls began to predict an opposition victory, Pinochet began to show clear signs of unease. To attract voters, he announced an increase in pensions and salaries for employees, demanded that entrepreneurs reduce prices for socially important food products (bread, milk, sugar), appointed a 100% subsidy for cold water supply and sewerage, and promised to distribute to peasants those lands that were still belong to the state.
In the plebiscite on October 5, 1988, calculations showed that about 55 percent of voters cast their votes against the dictator. More than 43 percent of voters were in favor of giving Pinochet the opportunity to remain at the head of Chile for another 8 years. However, this otherwise gratifying fact (the support of more than 3 million Chileans!) this time did not satisfy the dictator. It was no longer possible not to recognize the preponderance of votes in favor of the opposition. Two weeks after the plebiscite he was removed from his post close friend and Pinochet’s ally, Sergio Fernandez, who was declared almost the main culprit for the loss of victory. Together with Fernandez, the head of the junta removed eight more ministers, thereby carrying out a major purge in the government. Speaking on radio and television, Pinochet assessed the voting results as a “mistake of the Chileans,” but said that he recognized the verdict of the voters and would respect the results of the vote.
Pinochet family
In 1943 Pinochet married 20-year-old Lucia Iriart Rodriguez. She served as the First Lady of Chile from 1973 to 1990. They had five children - three daughters and two sons.
With Augusto Pinochet After leaving the presidency
On March 11, 1990, a democratic government led by Patricio Aylwin came to power. Pinochet resigned as president, but remained commander-in-chief of the ground forces and retained his influence in the political life of the country. Authority Augusto Pinochet continued to fall. A public opinion poll conducted in 1992 showed that only 20 percent of those surveyed voted for him, Aylwin received 70% of the votes. The general also had problems abroad. In 1991, his European tour was disrupted because at the very beginning, when Augusto Pinochet was in Great Britain, none of the official representatives received him. Meanwhile, the Aylwin government continued Pinochet course to the neoliberal modernization of the country. The new president has repeatedly noted that military dictatorship left his government with not the best economic legacy: high budget deficit, inflation, unemployment, low standard of living. At the same time, they paid tribute to the changes for the better in the economy that Augusto Pinochet was able to achieve.
In 1994, Christian Democrat Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle took office as president - the son, according to one version, of the dictator Eduardo Frei Montalva, who was poisoned on the orders of dictator. During his reign, the military, led by Pinochet, continued to enjoy considerable influence. One of the ministers in the Frey government told a Chicago Tribune correspondent: “Pinochet and the military are listened to. They are very powerful and play an important role.”
At the beginning of 1998, Pinochet resigned as commander of the ground forces, but remained, in accordance with the constitution, a senator for life.
Military career of Augusto Pinochet
Criminal prosecution of Augusto Pinochet in 1998-2005
In October 1998 Augusto Pinochet went for an operation in one of the private clinics in London, where he was arrested on suspicion of murder on the basis of a warrant issued by the court of Spain: hundreds of citizens of this country were killed or disappeared without a trace in Chile during his reign Augusto Pinochet. The Spanish side demanded the extradition of the former dictator, but the London court recognized that Pinochet, being a lifelong senator of Chile, enjoys immunity. The House of Lords overturned this decision and declared the arrest legal. The Chilean side insisted on the illegality of both the arrest itself Pinochet, and his extradition to Spain.
At the end of October 1998, a London court granted Pinochet's lawyers' request for his release on bail. At the same time, the court imposed a number of restrictions, according to which the former head of Chile had to remain in one of the London hospitals under constant police protection.
On March 24, 1999, the House of Lords issued a final verdict that Pinochet should not be held responsible for crimes committed before 1988, but would not be immune from prosecution for crimes committed later. This ruling allowed up to 27 charges on the basis of which Spain sought Pinochet's deportation to be thrown out.
On March 2, 2000, Pinochet's 16-month house arrest ended and, according to the decision of British Home Secretary Jack Straw, based on the results of a medical examination, the general flew to Chile, where he was placed in a military hospital in Santiago.
In August 2000, the Supreme Court of Chile deprived Pinochet senatorial immunity, after which he was prosecuted on more than 100 counts of murder, as well as kidnapping and torture. However, in July 2001, the court recognized Pinochet as suffering from senile dementia, which was the reason for his release from criminal liability.
On August 26, 2004, the Supreme Court of Chile deprived Pinochet immunity from prosecution, and on December 2 of the same year, the country's Court of Appeal decided to begin the trial of the former dictator, accused of complicity in the murder of the commander ground forces General Carlos Prats.
January 21, 2005 vs. Pinochet was charged with the 1977 murder of members of the Left Revolutionary Movement Juan Ramirez and Nelson Espejo.
On July 6, 2005, the Court of Appeal of Chile deprived Pinochet immunity from prosecution on charges of involvement in the extermination of political opponents of the regime as part of the so-called Operation Colombo (which was part of the large-scale Operation Condor).
On September 14, 2005, the Supreme Court of Chile again deprived Pinochet immunity from criminal prosecution which he enjoyed as a former head of state.
On November 23, 2005, he was accused of corruption, and the next day - of involvement in kidnappings and murders during Operation Colombo.
On October 30, 2006, charged with 36 counts of kidnapping, 23 counts of torture and one murder at Villa Grimaldi.
Also Pinochet accused of drug trafficking, arms trafficking and tax evasion.
Death
December 3, 2006 Pinochet suffered a severe heart attack, on the same day, due to the danger of life, the Sacrament of Unction and Communion was performed on him. He died on December 10, 2006 in a Santiago hospital. According to reports, his body was cremated and there was no state funeral or mourning (he was given only military honors). After the death of the former dictator, Chilean society found itself in in a certain sense divided: December 11, 2006 in Santiago was marked by crowded jubilant demonstrations of opponents Pinochet on the one hand, and no less crowded mourning meetings of supporters of the deceased, on the other.
Performance evaluations Augusto Pinochet
Economic achievements of Pinochet: Chile's GDP (blue) compared to Lat. America as a whole (orange), 1950-2008. The period of his presidency is highlighted in gray.
Activity Pinochet the leadership of the country is assessed ambiguously. For example, Russian liberal politician Boris Nemtsov noted:
Pinochet is a dictator. On his conscience are thousands of killed Chileans and a huge number of repressed... But Pinochet- a unique dictator. He carried out very important liberal economic reforms... Augusto Pinochet He firmly believed in private property and competition, and under him, private companies took their rightful place in business, and the economy grew both under him and after him...
On the other side, Pinochet has been criticized for human rights violations and economic policy. Russian left-wing sociologist Alexander Tarasov noted:
At Pinochet Chile experienced its deepest recession to occur in Peaceful time in Latin American countries of the 20th century... A tenth of the population - 1 million people - left Chile. The overwhelming majority were qualified specialists: the peasants simply could not leave.
Publicist Roy Medvedev testified in his memoirs:
The military coup in Chile also received an unexpected response among (Soviet) dissidents, as a result of which some of the communists and socialists there were physically destroyed, and the government came to power Augusto Pinochet. Some of the most radical Western human rights activists said among themselves that the only way to deal with the communists was as in Chile.
At the beginning of January 2012, the National Council of Education of Chile decided to amend the Chilean school books. Governing body Augusto Pinochet is now designated not as a “dictatorial regime”, but as a “military regime”.
The image of Augusto Pinochet in popular culture
Sting's song "They dance alone" is dedicated to women whose husbands disappeared in Pinochet's prisons.
English mathcore band Down I Go have a song called "Augusto Pinochet". It was included in the album Tyrant, dedicated to dictators of all times and peoples.
Mentioned in the lyrics of the song “Forces of Victory” by the American group Gogol Bordello:
My dear good friend Let’s not forget That we can take down Pinotchet
Mentioned in the song "Empire" by the Vyborg group Last Tanks in Paris (P.T.V.P.)
The work of Boris Ekimov is “Pinochet”.
In the video game Tropico 3 Augusto Pinochet may be El Presidente Tropico.
Coup Pinochet described in the novel “The House of the Spirits” by Isabel Allende and the film adaptation of the same name, as well as in the Chilean film “Machuka” (Machuka, 2004).
The events that took place on the day of Pinochet’s military coup were filmed in the famous film “It’s Raining in Santiago.”
Documentary film “Chronicle of events in Chile / Acta General de Chile” (1986), directed by Miguel Littin.
“No” is a film directed by Pablo Larraín about the events of 1988, when A. Pinochet announced a referendum on the extension of his presidential powers.
Literature about Augusto Pinochet
Shevelev V. Morning of Augusto Pinochet.// Dictators and gods. Rostov-on-Don: Phoenix, 1999.
Gabriel García Márquez - “The Secret Adventures of Miguel Littín in Chile” (Spanish: La aventura de Miguel Littín clandestino en Chile).
The general promised to restore order in the country after 20 years of dictatorship and then return to democracy. MIR 24 correspondent Gleb Sterkhov made a historical excursion.
September 11, 1973, Santiago is on fire. The capital of Chile, just the day before democratic republic with socialist dreams gone to waste. The army, led by the top generals, storms the presidential palace. Tanks, aircraft and navy - everything is thrown into a military coup in the country.
Those who burst into the office of the legitimate president were already shooting his corpse - the socialist Salvador Allende managed to shoot himself. From a Kalashnikov assault rifle, given to him by Fidel Castro. From this moment on, the country is ruled by the Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces, an ardent anti-communist and liberal, Augusto Pinochet.
“I signed a decree: from today on, I declare a state of siege throughout the country,” the leader of the military coup said then.
A state of siege in Spanish-speaking countries is called martial law. A civil war actually began in the republic: street battles and executions on the streets without trial or investigation, the central stadium for 80 thousand people was converted into a concentration camp. Tens of thousands of people will die or disappear.
“They resorted to destroying the bodies of the dead, throwing them into the sea to be eaten by sharks or throwing them into volcano craters and the like. Therefore, we are unlikely to ever know how many people actually died there,” said Alexander Kharlamenko, director of the Scientific Information Center of the Institute of Latin America of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
There was also a plan code name"Condor" is about the elimination of Chilean emigrants abroad and dissenting foreigners within the country. During the regime, about a million people fled Chile for their lives. The innocuous Spanish word “junta,” meaning “council” or “collegial body,” begins to carry a different meaning.
And soon the “Pinochet junta” began to be called fascist. The Nazis, who fled to the south of Chile after World War II, helped. Their colony was called Dignidad, which translated from Spanish means "Dignity".
“There was a center for homosexual pedophilia with the destruction of victims after their use. As it now turns out, it was headed by former SS man Walter Rauf. He took an active part in the preparations for Pinochet's coup. After which the Dignidad colony turned into one of the main centers of torture and extrajudicial killing of victims of the regime,” Kharlamenko noted.
The Pinochet regime lasted 17 years. The country announced total privatization, abolished trade unions, pensions and healthcare from the state. It was only in 1998 that the US National Security Agency declassified documents from the coup in Chile and the Pinochet regime. General Augusto himself later admitted in his memoirs: “A lie is revealed in a glance, and I lied so much that I did not take off my dark glasses.”
After his resignation, he was arrested several times in Chile and abroad, but was never convicted due to senile dementia. He died surrounded by loved ones at the age of 91. In Chile, every September 11th, blood flows in the streets.
Every anniversary of the coup, the country splits into those who idolize Pinochet as a liberal reformer and those who hate him as a bloody tyrant. On this day always happen mass riots. Those who carry portraits of their dead and missing relatives through the streets now officially have no one to blame.
After all, the doctrine is different now. Even the history textbooks of Chilean schoolchildren have recently been republished. Pinochet's rule is no longer called a “dictatorship”, but a “military regime”. Nor is there his phrase: “Democracy must be bathed in blood from time to time in order for it to remain a democracy.”
“If you think about it and weigh it, then I’m good. “I have no grudges and I have kindness,” - this is how a handsome gray-haired old man spoke about himself in his declining years, in whom few could recognize a gloomy figure in military uniform, which became a symbol of state terrorism and lawlessness of the 1970s and 1980s.
Augusto Pinochet, who has long been gone from this world, still causes sincere delight among some, and hatred among others. On the day of his death, some wore mourning, while others danced and drank champagne.
His path to fame and fame began on November 25, 1915 in Valparaiso, Chile. Father - Augusto Pinochet Vera- was a port customs officer, and his mother - Avelina Ugarte Martinez- a housewife, she raised six children, among whom the future head of Chile was the eldest.
For a person from the middle class, the path to the elite of Chilean society was through military service. At the age of 17, after graduating from school at the Seminary of Saint Raphael and the Institute of Quillota and Colegio of the Sacred Hearts of the French Fathers of Valparaiso, Augusto entered the infantry school in San Bernardo.
After graduating from college, Pinochet, with the rank of junior officer, was sent first to the Chacabuco regiment in Concepción, and then to the Maipo regiment in Valparaiso.
In 1948, Pinochet entered the Higher military academy country, which he graduated from three years later. Now the purposeful officer alternated service in military units with teaching in army educational institutions. In 1953, Pinochet published his first book, entitled “The Geography of Chile, Argentina, Bolivia and Peru,” defended his dissertation, received a bachelor’s degree, and then entered the law school of the University of Chile. True, he never had to complete his studies: in 1956 he was sent to Quito to assist in the creation of the Ecuadorian Military Academy.
Dr. Allende against jamon lovers
Upon his return to Chile in 1959, Pinochet steadily pursued career ladder upward, in 1971 with the rank of general, taking over the post of commander of the Santiago garrison.
This was Pinochet's first appointment in the government of a socialist president. Salvador Allende.
An amazing thing - General Pinochet, until September 11, 1973, was considered one of the most loyal representatives of the Chilean military command to Allende.
Augusto Pinochet, 1973. Photo: www.globallookpress.com
“A lie is revealed in a glance, and since I lied many times, I wore dark glasses,” Pinochet said about himself. Indeed, black glasses have become integral part Pinochet's image. And behind them he successfully hid his real thoughts and views.
The government of Salvador Allende began to carry out reforms unprecedented in Chile - the construction of affordable housing for the poor, providing people from working-class families with the opportunity to receive education and medical care, and so on. Socially oriented policies were accompanied by large-scale nationalization, including in the extractive industries, where Allende “stepped on the tail” of representatives of foreign businesses, including American ones.
After this, a large-scale campaign was launched against the Allende government both within the country and abroad. Chile was under economic pressure, right-wing groups launched a terrorist war, and “empty pot marches” took place through the streets of Santiago. These marches were attended not by representatives of the poor, but by angry ladies from the “middle class”.
Traitor in black glasses
But also bigger problem Opposition sentiments in the Chilean army, where the positions of right-wing radicals and conservatives have historically been strong, became a concern for the authorities. The threat of a military coup in Chile became more and more obvious every day.
These sentiments, however, were restrained by the commander-in-chief of the Chilean army Carlos Prats. This military leader, respected in the army, declared loyalty to the president and thereby stood in the way of supporters of the military action. Pinochet was believed to share Prats's views.
On June 29, 1973, the first military coup attempt was made in Santiago, called the Tanquetazo. This rebellion was suppressed under the leadership of Prats with the active participation of Pinochet.
On August 22, 1973, the wives of generals and officers under Prats' command staged a rally outside his home, accusing him of failing to restore civil peace in Chile. This event convinced Prats that he had lost support among his fellow officers. The next day, he resigned as Minister of the Interior and Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Army.
Prats was replaced in his post by Pinochet, who was considered, as already mentioned, a figure absolutely loyal to the president.
The general’s eyes were not visible behind the black glasses, but a lot could be read in them that day. For example, the fact that preparations for this military action have been going on for several months, that representatives of the CIA and American diplomats are actively participating in it, that Pinochet is not just a participant, but the leader of a conspiracy. Many years later he would claim that he joined the protest at the last moment in order to save the country. However, declassified CIA archives will show that Pinochet was involved in the conspiracy as early as early stages his preparation, at the same time when he was appointed commander of the garrison of Santiago.
“Democracy needs to be bathed in blood from time to time”
On September 11, 1973, a coup d'état took place in Chile. Allende's supporters in the army and navy were the first to die - they were identified in advance in order to be eliminated at the very beginning. Then army units began to seize government buildings.
Military coup in Chile. Photo: www.globallookpress.com
President Allende, who was in the La Moneda presidential palace, was presented with an ultimatum: he was asked to resign and leave the country on a special plane with his family and associates.
Allende refused, and then the military began storming the palace. After a five-hour battle, the presidential palace fell. President Salvador Allende shot himself in his office, not wanting to fall into the hands of the rebels. The military burst into the palace and found Allende's body at his workplace. Either without realizing that the president was dead, or out of hatred, the rebels shot the already dead head of state, pumping more than a dozen bullets into him.
“A democracy must be bathed in blood from time to time in order for it to remain a democracy,” said Augusto Pinochet, who became the leader of the military junta after the overthrow of Salvador Allende.
President of Chile Salvador Allende. Photo: www.globallookpress.com
He confirmed his words with deeds - during the first month the junta was in power, several thousand people were killed. In Chile, to this day they do not know exactly how many - sources loyal to Pinochet talk about 3,000 killed, his opponents argue that this number should be at least multiplied by 10.
More than 40 years after the coup, it remains unknown fate thousands of people missing during Pinochet's rule. Witnesses said that at the Santiago stadium, which had been turned into a concentration camp for opponents of the junta, the corpses of those killed were stacked in piles. The bodies of the victims floated down the Mapocho River, some of the remains were taken out by military helicopters and dumped into the ocean.
Terror without borders
Among the victims of political terror were ordinary Chileans and celebrities. To the famous Chilean poet and musician, theater director Victor Khare the punishers broke his arms, tortured him with electric shocks, and then, after much torment, shot him, firing 34 bullets at him.
Nobel Prize winner in literature died during the coup Pablo Neruda. For a long time it was believed that Neruda, a close friend of Allende, died of natural causes, but in 2015 the Chilean authorities admitted that the famous Chilean may have been killed.
Nobel laureate Pablo Neruda. Photo: www.globallookpress.com
The military did not seek to understand who was to blame for what. Employee of the Catholic publication Carmen Morador, who was not a supporter of Allende, was arrested “just like that.” She spent seven hours on the rack, was raped multiple times, was starved and beaten, had her legs broken, was tortured with electric shocks, was burned with cigarettes, and was subjected to the most sophisticated and disgusting abuse. Her relatives managed to free her, but she soon died from the torture she endured.
The Directorate of National Intelligence (DINA) was created to pursue political opponents of the Pinochet regime. political police, which was very soon dubbed the “Chilean Gestapo.” DINA agents hunted for opposition members outside of Chile. In 1974, as a result terrorist attack organized by DINA employees in Argentina, the general was killed Carlos Prats and his wife. In 1976, in Washington, DINA assassins killed the former Minister of Foreign and Internal Affairs in the Allende government Orlando Letelier.
Hundreds of thousands of Chileans passed through the dungeons of the Pinochet regime, and about a million went into forced emigration. Among the victims of the Chilean junta were dozens of citizens of other countries who were in Chile at the time of the coup in September 1973. This circumstance will lead to prosecution of Pinochet abroad.
The country is not for proletarians
“Everything that we, the military, did, we did for Chile, and not for ourselves, and we are not ashamed,” is another statement by Pinochet, which leaves no doubt about his confidence in the rightness of his cause.
But what real, besides rivers of blood, did the Pinochet regime give Chile? What was his famous “economic miracle”?
The ultra-liberal model was taken as the basis for economic reforms under Pinochet, the adherents of which were Chilean economists, many of whom studied in Chicago under the leadership of Nobel laureate Professor Friedman And Professor Arnold Harberger. Therefore, Chilean reformers went down in history under the name “Chicago boys.”
Within the framework of this model, the country carried out so-called “shock therapy”, large-scale privatization of state property, adopted a strictly balanced budget, removed all restrictions on trade with foreign countries, and introduced a funded pension system.
In the new conditions, foreign investment poured into the country, cooperation with international financial institutions. As a result, the economy began to grow rapidly under Pinochet.
However, excellent macroeconomic indicators do not reflect the picture of life in the country. Chile became a paradise for employers, because under Pinochet trade unions were crushed and banned, but workers were completely powerless and did not have the slightest protection from arbitrariness. Against the backdrop of the rapidly growing central quarters of Santiago, its working-class outskirts languished in poverty.
Against the backdrop of a fabulously rich elite, two thirds of Chileans remained below the poverty line. Unemployment among the economically active population of the country under Pinochet reached 30 percent, and in terms of total production and average wages, Chile reached the level of the early 1970s only at the time of the transfer of power to a civilian government.
“We are trying to turn Chile into a country of owners, not proletarians,” - with this phrase the head of the junta explained the essence of his economic policy.
And most importantly, the real Chilean economic miracle began not under Pinochet, but after the democratic system was restored in the country.
Pinochet in Madrid, 1975. Photo: www.globallookpress.com
How Pinochet was prevented from “shaking the old days”
It is customary to talk about Augusto Pinochet as the leader of a military junta, although formally he has not been one since 1974, when he took the post of president of the country. In 1980, he held a plebiscite, which adopted a new constitution for the country. It, in particular, assumed free elections, the activities of political parties and trade unions. However, it was stipulated that the entry into force of these articles of the constitution was delayed for 8 years.
In the 1980s, Pinochet, with the help of the United States and Great Britain, tried to get rid of the stigma of a bloody dictator and become a respected government leader. It turned out badly - it was impossible to forget what Pinochet did. This was not helped by the outright anti-Semitism of Pinochet himself and his entourage, because of which a mass exodus of Jews began from Chile. But in Chile, Nazi criminals who were on the run found refuge and were welcomed in every possible way, who helped the Chilean special services fight dissidents.
In the second half of the 1980s, the Chilean regime began to pursue more liberal policies. An interim plebiscite scheduled for October 5, 1988, which would decide whether the president would remain in office for another eight years, was supposed to ensure international recognition for Pinochet.
Confident of success, Pinochet allowed mass protests by his opponents and allowed the opposition to count the votes.
On the eve of the plebiscite, more than a million people gathered at the final rally on the Pan-American Highway - it was the largest demonstration in the entire history of Chile.
A multimillion-dollar rally on the eve of the 1988 plebiscite. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org / Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional
The first results of the expression of will on October 5, 1988 showed that a sensation was imminent - Pinochet was losing. But then the transmission of data from the sites stopped, and there was a pause for several hours.
Pinochet's supporters do not like to remember this situation, preferring to argue that the dictator voluntarily gave up power. But in fact, the fate of Chile on October 5 was decided not only at the polling stations, but also in the La Moneda palace, where Pinochet gathered members of the junta and army generals.
He proposed canceling the results of the plebiscite, introducing martial law, banning the activities of the opposition - in general, Augusto Pinochet decided to shake off the old days, remembering September 1973.
But here, to his surprise, he encountered fierce resistance from his comrades. Chilean generals told Pinochet: new revolution no one in the world will support it, and the country will finally turn into an outcast.
After several hours of bickering, Pinochet gave in. In the morning the country learned that the dictator would leave.
Dementia in the name of freedom
Augusto Pinochet took care of his safety. Having resigned as president in 1990 and transferring power to civilians, he remained commander of the ground forces, thereby maintaining real influence in the country. Only eight years later, Pinochet left this post, becoming a senator for life, which freed him from the threat of criminal prosecution.
Augusto Pinochet, 1995. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org / Emilio Kopaitic
Confidence in one's safety played a cruel joke on Pinochet. In 1998, he went to London for treatment, where he was suddenly arrested. The arrest warrant was issued by a Spanish court, dozens of whose citizens became victims of political terror in Chile.
A desperate struggle began between prosecutors who demanded Pinochet's extradition to Chile, and defenders who considered it necessary to show mercy to the elderly retired dictator and release him.
After 16 months of house arrest in London, Pinochet was finally released home. However, his detention in the UK became the impetus for the initiation of criminal prosecution in Chile.
Augusto Pinochet spent his last years fighting for his own freedom. In August 2000, the Supreme Court of Chile stripped Pinochet of his senatorial immunity, after which he was prosecuted on more than 100 counts of murder, kidnapping and torture. In 2001, lawyers obtained release from liability for the client, but with a humiliating wording - “due to senile dementia.”
“My fate was exile and loneliness”
However, not everyone believed in dementia. On August 26, 2004, the Supreme Court of Chile deprived Pinochet of immunity from prosecution, and on December 2 of the same year, the country's Court of Appeal decided to begin the trial of the former dictator, accused of complicity in the murder of the former commander of the ground forces, General Carlos Prats.
In 2005-2006, new charges began to grow like a snowball. Yesterday's associates of Pinochet, those who were still alive, one by one found themselves behind bars. Former head intelligence services DINA Manuel Contreras, sentenced to life imprisonment, died in prison in the summer of 2015. Pinochet's favorite, brigadier general of the Chilean army, son of a Russian collaborator Semyon Krasnova Miguel Krasnov and is still serving today prison term for participating in numerous tortures and murders of Chileans and foreign citizens.
Pinochet himself, who, among other things, was accused of embezzlement, tax evasion, drug trafficking and arms trafficking, avoided such a fate.
He died on December 10, 2006 after a severe heart attack in a Santiago hospital. As soon as the news of this spread throughout the country, festivities and celebrations began on the streets. For this reason, it was decided to abstain from national mourning and state funerals. After giving military honors the body was cremated and the ashes were secretly buried.
Two weeks after his death, the Pinochet Foundation published it Farewell letter to compatriots, written in 2004 - when, according to lawyers, former dictator suffered from dementia. The letter, however, was written by a man of common sense. Like all last years life, Pinochet tried to justify what he did: “It was necessary to act with maximum severity in order to avoid an escalation of the conflict.”
“There is no place in my heart for hatred. My fate was exile and loneliness - something I never imagined and least wanted,” lamented Augusto Pinochet.
But it’s unlikely that these words could move anyone to pity. After all, reading these lines of the posthumous address, no one will be able to look Pinochet into his eyes, which he so carefully hid from the whole world.
On September 11, 1973, a military coup was carried out in Chile, as a result of which the Popular Unity government was overthrown.
Three years before this event, on September 4, 1970, presidential elections were held in Chile, in which the candidate of the left Popular Unity bloc, socialist Salvador Allende, won.
The new leader set himself the task of making Chile a socialist country. To achieve this, the nationalization of private banks, copper mines and some industrial enterprises was carried out. Were installed diplomatic relations with Cuba, China and other communist countries.
By September 1973, there were over 500 enterprises in the public sector and under state control, which accounted for about 50% of gross industrial output; the state owned 85% railway network. 3.5 thousand land holdings with a total area of 5.4 million hectares were expropriated, which were distributed among landless and land-poor peasants. About 70% of foreign trade transactions were under state control.
The civil opposition sharply criticized the administration for its intention to switch to a planned economy. There was a growing wave of terrorism and armed conflicts between left-wing and right-wing groups in the country. After unsuccessful attempt After the military coup in June 1973, a series of strikes took place under anti-government slogans.
On September 11, 1973, the armed forces, led by Allende's newly appointed new commander-in-chief, Augusto Pinochet, carried out a military coup.
The coup began in the early morning of September 11, when ships of the Chilean Navy, participating in the joint Unides maneuvers with the US Navy, taking place off the coast of Chile, shelled the port and city of Valparaiso. The landing troops captured the city, the headquarters of parties belonging to the People's Unity bloc, radio stations, a television center and a number of strategic objects.
Radio stations broadcast the rebels' statement about the coup and the creation of a military junta consisting of the commander of the ground forces, General Augusto Pinochet, the commander of the Navy, Admiral José Merino, the commander of the Air Force, General Gustavo Lee, and the acting director of the Carabinieri corps, General Cesar Mendoza.
The rebels began shelling and assaulting presidential palace"La Moneda", which was defended by about 40 people. The assault was carried out with the participation of tanks and aircraft. The rebels' offer to surrender in exchange for permission to leave Chile freely was rejected by the defenders of La Moneda. The putschists seized the building of the presidential palace. Salvador Allende refused to resign as president and submit to the putschists. For a long time it was believed that he died in battle, but in 2011 a special forensic examination found that the ex-president of Chile was killed before mutinous soldiers broke into the presidential palace.
As a result of the 1973 coup, a military junta came to power. In accordance with the junta decree of December 17, 1974, General Augusto Pinochet Ugarte became president of the republic. He exercised executive power, and the junta as a whole exercised legislative power.
All leftists were banned political parties, trade unions, strikes are outlawed. In 1975, a law was passed allowing the closure of newspapers and radio stations whose messages could be considered "unpatriotic." Elected local councils and organs local government were abolished and replaced by officials appointed by the junta. Universities were purged and placed under military supervision.
According to official data, during the years of Pinochet's rule in Chile from 1973 to 1990, almost 1.2 thousand went missing, and about 28 thousand people were tortured.
In 1991, a year after the end of the dictatorship, in Chile, which was collecting information about those killed or missing during military rule. She reported 3,197 dead and missing during the dictatorship.
Tens of thousands of Chileans went through prisons, and about a million ended up in exile. One of the most famous and irrefutable examples of the brutality of the putschists was the murder of the singer and composer, an adherent of communist views, Victor Jara in 1973. As the investigation established, over the course of four days, Haru at the Chile stadium (since 2003, the stadium has been named after Victor Hara), firing 34 bullets at him.
The Chile Stadium and the National Stadium in Saniago were turned into concentration camps. All murders committed during the 1973 military coup were covered by the amnesty announced by Pinochet in 1979.
Augusto Pinochet ruled the country until 1990, when he handed over power to elected civilian President Patricio Aylwin, remaining as army commander. On March 11, 1998, he resigned to become a senator for life. After repeated attempts to bring Pinochet to trial, he was found guilty of two murders in 2006. On December 10, 2006, at the age of 91, the former dictator died in the Military Hospital of Santiago. His death was marked by numerous demonstrations - both by his opponents and supporters.
In December 2012, Chile's Court of Appeal ordered the arrest of seven retired military personnel involved in the killing of singer Victor Jara during the 1973 military coup. Previously, retired army lieutenant colonel Mario Manriquez, who led the concentration camp at Chile Stadium in Santiago, was found responsible for the brutal crime.
The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources