History UsefulNotes / AugustoPinochet

* Miguel Serrano's ''The Final Avatar'' contains a long chapter about how much the author despised Pinochet and considered him to be "worse than Hitler."
** However, miguel serrano was an outspoken supporter of nazism, so calling him "worse than hitler" may not be as offensive.

* In ''Series/BreakingBad'', it's implied Gustavo "Gus" Fring (a Chilean national) might have some ties to the Pinochet regime. The Chilean government has [[TheSpook no records of Fring prior to his immigration to Mexico in 1986]], which Gus [[UnreliableExpositor claims]] to Hank is a result of the dictatorships poor record keeping. In a flashback, Hector Salamanca calls Fring "Gran Generalissimo" and Don Eladio notes that while they are "not in Chile anymore", he will spare Fring since he knows who he really is. If all of this is taken together and at face value, Fring might have been a high ranking military officer in Pinochet's regime, or perhaps even involved in military intelligence.

* In ''Series/BreakingBad'', it's implied Gus Fring (a Chilean national) might have some times to the Pinochet regime. Gus claims to Hank that the latter's unreliable records are why [[ConvenientlyUnverifiableCoverStory there are no traces of Fring prior to his immigration to Mexico in 1986]]. In a flashback, Hector Salamanca calls Fring "Gran Generalissimo" and Don Eladio notes that while they are "not in Chile anymore", he will spare Fring since he knows who he really is, which if taken at face value, means Fring might have been a high ranking military officer.

Born in 1915, Pinochet rose slowly through the ranks of the Chilean Army, reaching the position of Commander-in-Chief in 1973, following the Resignation of his predecessor and mentor, Carlos Prats (he was unwilling to join a coup and was later assassinated in Buenos Aires). He ascended to the post in the midst of considerable national turmoil. Allende’s Marxist-Social Democratic coalition government had narrowly won office in a three-way election promising a sweeping platform of land reform and nationalization. Attempts at carrying out those promises had been met with considerable opposition and outright sabotage from Chilean landowners and the bourgeoisie, amply represented in the majority-conservative Chilean congress. In addition to the mounting economic and constitutional crisis, he faced a quiet undercurrent of discontent within large parts of the military, which believed Allende was going to lead Chile down the path of a Marxist Revolution. His actions, which culminated in a month-long visit by Fidel Castro in 1971, had also alarmed the Nixon Administration, and in particular Henry Kissinger, who saw Allende as a personal enemy. With this in mind, the USA imposed sanctions to asphyxiate Chile's economy ("Make it scream" - in Nixon's words), though not far-reaching ones: the U.S. remained the main buyer of Chilean copper. The true death blow came in 1973, when Allende's drastic overspending on social programs led to a massive deficit and runaway inflation. This was merely the most severe issue on the horizon, but lesser ones had already been apparent for years: [[https://www.economist.com/news/2008/07/03/the-end-of-allende production immediately slumped]] following Allende's (technically illegal) confiscation of private farms and factories, and losses in state-run industries far exceeded their gains. All of this resulted in instability and discontent. Seeing an opportunity, the U.S. lent its support to Admiral José Toribio Merino and Air Force General Gustavo Leigh’s plot to remove Allende, a plan which was altered at the last minute to include Pinochet, who Allende had appointed Commander in Chief of the military the previous year. On September 11th the military surrounded and bombarded the Presidential Palace. Allende killed himself and the junta assumed control of Chile, establishing the precedent that 9/11 is a bad day for democracy the world over.

Many of the victims simply disappeared into the ether, never to be seen again, enduring their prolonged confinement, torture, and executions out of the public eye. Not content with savaging his own population, Pinochet lent the services of his secret police force, the DINA, to the Pan-South American ''Operation: Condor'', a joint operation launched by Pinochet himself between the [[UsefulNotes/NationalReorganizationProcess Argentine]], Paraguayan, Uruguayan, Brazilian, Bolivian, Peruvian, and Chilean juntas that aimed to stamp out Communist activity (violent and peaceful alike) all across the continent (there were much larger and deadlier communist insurgencies ongoing in Peru and Argentina, compared to Chile). Estimates as to the deaths caused by this politicide vary, with some reaching 60,000.

Despite this, Pinochet remained popular with the prosperous conservative sectors of society, who strongly disagreed with the left-wing reforms of Allende's presidency which they identified as a chaotic regime. This may have led him to believe that he had enough support to continue governing, now through democratic means. In 1988, he held a referendum on the dictatorship, and to his surprise, lost. He was forced to step down as President, though he continued on as Commander-in-Chief of the Army until 1998, when he retired to become a Senator-for-Life. Having pardoned himself of all charges, Pinochet was immune from prosecution on all human rights violations. The subsequent centrist governments would maintain and even expand his economic policies, including regimes led by Allende's own Socialist Party. While he was put under house arrest on a trip to Britain in 1998, he made it home in 2000… only to be arrested on seventy-five charges of kidnapping from which he had not pardoned himself. The new government believed Pinochet’s return had damaged the country’s reputation, and pressed on with the case. Pinochet’s lawyers put up a strong defense, claiming the general was senile and could no longer remember the crimes he had committed. Before the case could actually reach trial, Pinochet died on the 10th of December, 2006, at the age of 91. He remains a controversial figure to this day; while most people across the left side of the political spectrum revile him, he has many defenders both within Chile and without, who argue that his regime was a necessary evil or even a positive good.

(In recent years, he got a fandom among right wing and libertarian circles. )

Initially power was shared among the members of the junta, but within a year Pinochet, the last man to join the coup d’état, managed to maneuver his way into the Presidency, eventually ousting the other junta leaders. An arch-conservative and proponent of laissez-faire economics, Pinochet reimposed social order through strict authoritarian controls, put the army in charge of all government positions, and handed control of the Chilean economy over to a group of US-educated economists known as the “Chicago boys”. Fans of Pinochet will point to the substantial economic growth as proof that his rule was not all bad. Non-fans will point out that Chile's economic growth lagged somewhat behind the South American average throughout Pinochet's term in office (partially but perhaps not entirely attributable to the decline in the price of the main export, copper, as well as a 1980 currency peg that his economists specifically advised ''against''), suffered two economic crises, and also to the severely increased poverty, inequality and social exclusion that his policies created. A communist insurgency partly led by the deceased Allende's nephew sprung up during Pinochet's rule, reaching its height in the early 1980s, but unlike neighboring Peru (which would see thousands of deaths per year well into the 2000s), Chile was able to contain and then crush it with the tried and true methods of overwhelming force (the 1981 Valdivia offensive saw a special forces brigade deployed to smash probably no more than a few hundred guerrillas) and brutal suppression. Predictably, prisoners of war usually didn't survive.

Of course, no amount of economic growth can cover the fact he implemented incredibly harsh anti-opposition laws during his regime. According to a government commission report after his regime's fall, Pinochet's government killed 3,197 of its citizens, interned up to 80,000 without trial, and tortured up to 29,000. Detention and torture followed by release was a much more common punishment for dissidents than execution, a fate mostly reserved for guerrillas past the first six months of Pinochet's rule. Over two-thirds of the killings happened in 1973, with most of those killed in the remaining years ''[[ProperlyParanoid actually]]'' being violent Marxists (according to Revolutionary Left Movement commander Andrés Pascal Allende, in all some 1,500-2,000 RLM guerrillas were killed or forcefully disappeared under the Chilean military regime, not counting guerrillas from the [[WeAreStrugglingTogether various other Marxist groups like the FPMR).

Born in 1915, Pinochet rose slowly through the ranks of the Chilean Army, reaching the position of Commander-in-Chief in 1973, following the Resignation of his predecessor and mentor, Carlos Prats (he was unwilling to join a coup and was later assassinated in Buenos Aires). He ascended to the post in the midst of considerable national turmoil. Allende’s Marxist-Social Democratic coalition government had narrowly won office in a three-way election promising a sweeping platform of land reform and nationalization. Attempts at carrying out those promises had been met with considerable opposition and outright sabotage from Chilean landowners and the bourgeoisie, amply represented in the majority-conservative Chilean congress. In addition to the mounting economic and constitutional crisis, he faced a quiet undercurrent of discontent within large parts of the military, which believed Allende was going to lead Chile down the path of a Marxist Revolution. His actions, which culminated in a month-long visit by Fidel Castro in 1971, had also alarmed the Nixon Administration, and in particular Henry Kissinger, who saw Allende as a personal enemy. With this in mind, the USA imposed sanctions to asphyxiate Chile's economy ("Make it scream" - in Nixon's words) and lent its support to Admiral José Toribio Merino and Air Force General Gustavo Leigh’s plot to remove Allende, a plan which was altered at the last minute to include Pinochet. On September 11th the military surrounded and bombarded the Presidential Palace. Allende killed himself and the junta assumed control of Chile, establishing the precedent that 9/11 is a bad day for democracy the world over.

Initially power was shared among the members of the junta, but within a year Pinochet, the last man to join the coup d’état, managed to maneuver his way into the Presidency, eventually ousting the other junta leaders. An arch-conservative and proponent of laissez-faire economics, Pinochet reimposed social order through strict authoritarian controls, put the army in charge of all government positions, and handed control of the Chilean economy over to a group of US-educated economists known as the “Chicago boys”. Fans of Pinochet will point to the substantial economic growth as proof that his rule was not all bad. Non-fans will point out that Chile's economic growth lagged somewhat behind the South American average throughout Pinochet's term in office (partially but perhaps not entirely attributable to the decline in the price of the main export, copper), suffered two economic crises, and also to the severely increased poverty, inequality and social exclusion that his policies created.

Of course, no amount of economic growth can cover the fact he implemented incredibly harsh anti-opposition laws during his regime. Between 1,200–3,200 people were believed killed, up to 80,000 were interned, and up to 30,000 were tortured by his regime.

Many of the victims simply disappeared into the ether, never to be seen again, enduring their prolonged confinement, torture, and executions out of the public eye. Not content with savaging his own population, Pinochet lent the services of his secret police force, the DINA, to the Pan-South American ''Operation: Condor'', a joint operation launched by Pinochet himself between the [[UsefulNotes/NationalReorganizationProcess Argentine]], Paraguayan, Uruguayan, Brazilian, Bolivian, Peruvian, and Chilean juntas that aimed to stamp out Communist activity (violent and peaceful alike) all across the continent. Estimates as to the deaths caused by this politicide vary, with some reaching 60,000.

Of course, no amount of economic growth can cover the fact that Pinochet was a nasty, ''nasty'' individual, who implemented incredibly harsh anti-opposition laws during his regime. Between 1,200–3,200 people were killed, up to 80,000 were interned, and up to 30,000 were tortured by his regime, including women and children.

Much of what went on in Pinochet's prisons was utterly ''sickening'', with stories of dogs being trained to rape prisoners, and rats being inserted into the vaginas and anuses of detainees not being the worst of them. The "parrilla" ("electric grill"), which involved prisoners being strapped to tables and tortured with electric shocks, was so ubiquitous that President Michelle Bachelet admitted she was treated better than other detainees because she was not subject to them. Other inhuman acts included dragging half-dead victims into parking lots and running them over with trucks repeatedly, throwing people into vats of human sewage, flogging people to death with chains and the technique known as the "telephone", which involved slamming hands on the victim's ears until they were deaf.

Despite this, Pinochet remained popular with the prosperous conservative sectors of society, who strongly disagreed with the left-wing reforms of Allende's presidency which they identified as a chaotic regime. This may have led him to believe that he had enough support to continue governing, now through democratic means. In 1988, he held a referendum on the dictatorship, and to his surprise, lost. He was forced to step down as President, though he continued on as Commander-in-Chief of the Army until 1998, when he retired to become a Senator-for-Life. Having pardoned himself of all charges, Pinochet was immune from prosecution on all human rights violations. The subsequent centrist governments would maintain and even expand his economic policies, including regimes led by Allende's own Socialist Party. While he was put under house arrest on a trip to Britain in 1998, he made it home in 2000…only to be arrested on seventy-five charges of kidnapping from which he had not pardoned himself. The new government believed Pinochet’s return had damaged the country’s reputation, and pressed on with the case. Pinochet’s lawyers put up a strong defense, claiming the general was senile and could no longer remember the crimes he had committed. Before the case could actually reach trial, Pinochet died on the 10th of December, 2006, at the age of 91. He remains a controversial figure to this day; while most people across the political spectrum revile him he has defenders both within Chile and without, who argue that his regime was a necessary evil or even a positive good.

(In recent years, he got a somewhat misaimed fandom among right wing and libertarian circles. )

** One of ''Diablo'''s artists and who also works for ''TabletopGames/MitosYLeyendas'', Juan Vásquez, made the ''1986'' series, a 2-issue collection: the first issue is a compilation of anti-Pinochet stories he made during the dictatorship in TheEighties, the second one (also called as ''El Canto del Delirio''[[note]]The Delirium Song[[/note]]) is a GraphicNovel made during the TurnOfTheMillennium that continued what the first issue left.

* Miguel Serranos The Final Avatar contains a long chapter about how much the author despised Pinochet and considered him to be WorseThanHitler.

Of course, no amount of economic growth can cover the fact that Pinochet was a nasty, ''nasty'' individual, who implemented incredibly harsh anti-opposition laws during his regime. Between 1,200–3,200 people were killed,(though to be fair many of them were communists) up to 80,000 were interned, and up to 30,000 were tortured by his regime, including women and children.

Of course, no amount of economic growth can cover the fact that Pinochet was a nasty, ''nasty'' individual, who implemented incredibly harsh anti-opposition laws during his regime. Between 1,200–3,200 people were killed, up to 80,000 were interned, and up to 30,000 were tortured by his regime, including women and children.

* Many alt right parody songs are about Pinochet or feature him in some way or another.

[[folder: Web Original]]
* In recent years, Pinochet and his alleged killings of communists via throwing them out of Helicopters were subject of MemeticMutation and a frequent topic of jokes within libertarian and alt right circles. Usually used in conjunction with Hans Hermann Hoppes "in a libertarian society, there can't be any tolerance towards democrats and communists. they need to be physically removed, so to speak" line.
** There was a demonstration of trump supporters chanting "Pinochet". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0w7rp6mZ2ik
** AscendedMeme: Hans Hermann Hoppe himself was caught doing Pinochet jokes after a fan gave him a toy helicopter.
[[/folder]]

'''Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte''', better known to the rest of the world as Augusto Pinochet, was the dictator of Chile, reigning as president of the Government Junta of Chile from 1973 to 1990. He was the commander in chief of the Chilean army from 1973 through 1998. He assumed power in a coup d'état on 11 September 1973, overthrowing the Unidad Popular government of Salvador Allende and ending civilian rule a week before its 48th anniversary.

* "Mothers of the Disappeared" from Music/{{U2}}'s album ''Music/TheJoshuaTree'' commemorates the "Madres de Plaza de Mayo", a group of women who protested in the streets and whose children had been "disappeared" by the dictatorial regimes of Pinochet in UsefulNotes/{{Chile}} and Jorge Rafaele Videla in UsefulNotes/{{Argentina}}. The song also criticizes the [[UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan Reagan]] administration for backing these regimes.

Born in 1915, Pinochet rose slowly through the ranks of the Chilean Army, reaching the position of Commander-in-Chief in 1973, following the Resignation of his predecessor and mentor, Carlos Prats (he was unwilling to join a coup and was later assassinated in Buenos Aires). He ascended to the post in the midst of considerable national turmoil. Allende’s Marxist-Social Democratic coalition government had narrowly won office in a three-way election promising a sweeping platform of land reform and nationalization. Attempts at carrying out those promises had been met with considerable opposition and outright sabotage from Chilean landowners and the bourgeoisie, amply represented in the majority-conservative Chilean congress. In addition to the mounting economic and constitutional crisis, he faced a quiet undercurrent of discontent within large parts of the military, which believed Allende was going to lead Chile down the path of a Marxist Revolution. His actions, which culminated in a month-long visit by Fidel Castro in 1971, had also alarmed the Nixon Administration, and in particular Henry Kissinger, who saw Allende as a personal enemy. With this in mind, the USA imposed sanctions to asphyxiate Chile's economy ("Make it scream" - in Nixon's words) and lent its support to Admiral José Toribio Merino and Air Force General Gustavo Leigh’s plot to remove Allende, a plan which was altered at the last minute to include Pinochet. On September 11th the military surrounded and bombarded the Presidential Palace. Allende killed himself (or was shot, accounts vary) and the junta assumed control of Chile, establishing the precedent that 9/11 is a bad day for democracy the world over.

** Also, in ''Diablo: Crónicas'', Alex himself goes to Pinochet's house to make a visit in the time he was ill (in late 90s, implied after he returned to Chile after being judged in England).

** "One Tree Hill", from the same album, references the Chilean political activist and folk singer Víctor Jara, who was tortured and murdered when dictator Pinochet took over Chili in 1973.

* ''The House of the Spirits'', a critically panned AllStarCast film (Creator/AntonioBanderas, Creator/MerylStreep, JeremyIrons, WinonaRyder, and so on) based on [[Creator/IsabelAllende Isabel Allende]]'s [[Literature/TheHouseOfTheSpirits novel of the same name]].

* The Academy Award-nominated Chilean film ''No'' (2012), starring Gael García Bernal, chronicles the attempts of Chile's opposition parties to oust Pinochet in 1988 and 1990, with the focus being on the media battle that was waged against him. Pinochet himself is not portrayed by any actor--rather old footage of him is used.

->''"By the end, Chileans had become wearily used to the way in which [[ThanatosGambit he fell dramatically ill]] whenever the workings of justice took a step nearer to his archives or his bank accounts. Like [[UsefulNotes/FranciscoFranco Franco]], he long outlived his own regime and survived to see his country outgrow the tutelage to which he had subjected it. And, also like Franco, he earned a place in history as a treasonous and ambitious officer who was false to his oath to defend and uphold the constitution. His overthrow of civilian democracy, in the South American country in which it was most historically implanted, will always be remembered as one of the more shocking crimes of the 20th century."''

** One of ''Diablo'''s artists and who also works for ''TabletopGames/MitosYLeyendas'', Juan Vásquez, made the ''1986'' series, a 2-issue collection: the first issue is a compilation of anti-Pinochet stories he made during the dictatorship in TheEighties, the second one ( called also as ''El Canto del Delirio''[[note]]The Delirium Song[[/note]]) is a GraphicNovel made during the TurnOfTheMillennium that continued what the first issue left.