over 100 arrested for "war crimes" from pinochet's time
today is the anniversary of the day when pinochet took over santiago by means of a military coup 36 years ago. almost 20 years after his rule ended, under a liberal female president, the world expects chile to hold those henchmen accountable now that it is well recovered.
what does the rest of the world think? pinochet was a bad bad man who killed many people and no one likes him and they're glad he's gone.
the issue, in chile though, is much more complicated. many people here in fact loved pinochet. and at first i thought these people must be rich. in fact no, some poor people loved him too. because while they didn't necessarily benefit monetarily, the country was considered more secure after the coup took hold. people were scared of the government and certainly less "flaite," less violent.
some have suggested this mass arrest is merely a game, that the judge who issued the warrants has no real intent of throwing these people in jail; it's just a show to make chile look favorable in today's political forum. one of the proponents of this theory points out that the judges are the same ones on the bench from 30 years ago...
not everyone loves pinochet...
i wondered why then, is every sept. 11 considered to be a potentially violent day? sept. 11 is mostly when pinochet opposers protest his legacy. in the past kids have been known to cut electricity in various areas of the city, protests have erupted quickly and turned to violence. in rare occasions, people have died. but it seems to get less violent every year.
an aside- my thought is, protest violence and dictatorship with more violence?
so if sept. 11 protesters clearly have no problem with violence then what exactly are they challenging? well, the reality is that this day has become about delinquents more than anything else. many of the kids who come out to wreak havoc have in fact been born after 1990 (the last year of pinochet's rule).
according to the chileans i've spoken to; sept. 11 is more of an excuse to be rebellious and dangerous than an organized fight against "the man."
at any rate, i doubt well see much. well be out in las condes for the weekend, far away from centro, the most energetic area for protests and things.
2 comments:
I remember when Salvador Allende was overthrown and murdered and that our gov was involved.
Interesting facts about Pinochet. It makes sense that there would be diverse opinions.
I'm enjoying catching up with the blogs poco a poco BD
actually it was recently revealed by allende's doctor that he committed suicide shortly before pinochet descended onto moneda palace. at first i was skeptical about this but now i'm sure, it's not just a partisan issue...
details started to come out more after pinochet himself died of natural causes only a couple of years ago. the issue is actually really fascinating when you look at it from the typical chilean perspective.
glad you're catching up!
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