Augusto Pinochet

One of the most controversial and even hated presidents of Chile was Augusto Pinochet . His regime is considered one of the most violent , strong and atrocious dictatorships in all history. Although at some point it was supported due to the increase in the economy that the country began to experience, little by little the people realized that they had plunged into the darkest part of their entire existence.

What did

Augusto Pinochet was a dictator who, after the triumph of the Popular Unity headed by Salvador Allende, was in charge of increasing the discomfort of the conservative groups of the army to take the country to the left . A man who managed to overthrow the Allende regime and who unleashed a major repression to eliminate the political opposition, leaving practically all the powers of the State in his hands. Pinochet created a new authoritarian Constitution that ensured his permanence in power until 1989, instituting an economic policy.which was based on monetarist and neoliberal principles .

Biography of Augusto Pinochet

Augusto Pinochet was born on November 25, 1915 in the city of Valparaíso , Chile . He was not a very diligent student during primary and secondary school because his main idea was to become a military man , managing to enter the military school after two failed attempts and from that moment on, he began his entire military career that led him to finally carry out a coup to seize the entire country politically and militarily.

Death

He was admitted to the Santiago Military Hospital on December 3, 2006 after suffering an acute myocardial infarction added to heart failure and edema in his lung . It was then subjected to a baipás however, a week later, on Dec. 10 , had another problem with his dying heart that day at 2:15 am . After his death, a series of conflicts arose that were stopped by the police. Nor did he have a state funeral because in reality, he had never been democratically elected as the country’s president. His funeralIt took place on December 12 and his remains rest in Los Boldos , his summer home.

Military career

His military career began when he was 18 years old. He was part of the Liberator Military School , the San Bernardo School of Weapons and the Infantry School . He held positions as an infantry lieutenant , as a second lieutenant and as a lieutenant , eventually reaching the rank of captain . He managed to reach the rank of officer of the General Staff and was later appointed as a commander in the Military School.

In 1956, he was sent to Ecuador to form, along with other officers, the Ecuadorian War Academy and when he returned to Chile he was appointed to the headquarters of the First Army Division in Antofagasta and was later appointed as deputy director of the Academy of War. In 1966, he was appointed a colonel and two years later as a brigadier general and commander of the army.

Coup d’état by Augusto Pinochet

The coup d’état carried out by Pinochet took place on September 11, 1973 . It was coordinated by Patricio Carvajal and during the offensive, Pinochet was in charge of the Army’s Telecommunications command . The fighting and bombing began and finally, the Palacio de La Moneda managed to be attacked by Pinochet’s army and, seeing the situation, President Salvador Allende decides to commit suicide . Later, he met with José Toribio Merino who was the commander of the navy to form a Military Junta. who assumed the power of the whole country.

Dictatorship

The dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet brought with it the darkest, most violent and most deadly years for Chile. It was a period that was characterized by repression , violence , authoritarian measures , social and economic transformations that the Chilean people experienced. Neoliberal policies were implemented , social inequality increased considerably , there was an increase in job instability and an incredible repression against society.

This dictatorship was a model of authoritarian government that leaned towards the extreme right , followed a series of anti-communist measures and was in charge of limiting freedom of expression . The National Congress was changed to a Governing Board and there were more than 40,000 people who were victims of this dictatorship, many assassinated , others disappeared and tortured .

A pension reform was created that only benefited the State and large companies, causing a decrease in the salary of pensioners. The labor reform that was implemented limited the unions and all these aspects caused the middle class to become precarious and there was significant labor instability , mainly in the middle and lower sectors of society. It caused what was known as the ” cultural blackout”Well, for Pinochet, cultural expressions that went against the line of his government were prohibited. The Human Rights were broken , people suffered torture , were killed or imprisoned in concentration camps.

What study

Augusto Pinochet completed his primary and secondary studies at the San Rafael Seminary located in Valparaíso . He also attended the Rafael Ariztía de Quillota Institute and later entered the Colegio de Los Padres Franceses in the same town. When he turned 18, he decided to apply and enter the Liberator Bernardo O’Higgins Military School from where he graduated as an infantry lieutenant . He entered the School of Arms of San Bernardo and shortly after, managed to obtain the rank of second lieutenant.

Ideology

His ideology was based on the principles of authoritarianism , militarism , patriotism , conservatism . Many consider that in its ideology there were also traces of Francoism , it was anti-communist and also neoliberalist . His political ideology was based on the ” Chicago Boys “, a group of economists who were oriented to the free market .

Contributions of Augusto Pinochet

The contributions that Augusto Pinochet gave to Chile were the following:

• He managed to establish an economic regime that later paid off, turning Chile into one of the countries with a good economy, improving the Gross Domestic Product .
• He founded the ISAPRES , which were a group of health institutions that were designed to provide a private alternative to health services.
• It favored the expansion of private universities .
• He was tolerant of the church and fostered industry and business in Chile to facilitate the growing prosperity of the citizens by his own means.

Physical characteristics

As a young man he was a tall man , with a thin frame , black eyes , slightly prominent ears, a small mouth and his hair was black . When she was older, her hair turned gray , she gained weight and many wrinkles could be seen on her face .

Personality

Pinochet had a quite strong personality , seen by many experts as vulgar , atrocious , criminal and even with a superior mental weakness according to several psychiatrists, this type of personality is observed in him, a person who did not have a high reasoning and who neither he could associate the correct ideas . His personality was very aggressive , cruel and at the same time full of fear .

Parents

His father, Augusto Alejandro Pinochet Vera worked as a firefighter and civil servant in a customs company while his mother Avelina Ugarte Martínez .

Relations

Augusto Pinochet met his wife Hiriart in September 1941 when he was a second lieutenant. On April 11 of the following year, he proposed marriage and contracted civil marriage on January 29 of the year 1943 and then married in the church the 30 of January of that year.

Sons

Augusto Pinochet’s children are: Lucía, Jacqueline Marie, Marco Antonio , María Verónica and Augusto Osvaldo Pinochet.

Importance of Augusto Pinochet

The importance of this president is that many historians say thanks to him, we were able to prevent the country continue polarized and an important further avoided civil war, including the economic collapse of the country, in fact, its reforms to the free market were responsible to lay all the foundations so that the country could carry out its subsequent economic prosperity .

Acknowledgments

In life, Pinochet received several recognitions throughout his career, both in the military and in the political sphere. Some of them were:

• Grand Master of the Order of Merit of Chile
• Military Star for ten years of service.
• Minerva medal.
• Decoration President of the Republic .
• Honorary President Decoration by the Chilean Red Cross.
• He was declared an ” illustrious son ” of various peoples in his country.
• Grand Knight of the Order of the Quetzal in Guatemala.
• Commander of the Order of Military Merit in Colombia .
• Grand Master of the National Order of Merit as Marshal in Paraguay

Phrases

Among his mentioned phrases can be found the following examples:

• I don’t know about human rights. What’s that?
• I get my strength from God.
• Human rights are a wise invention of the Marxists.
• We must take care of the rich so that they give more.
• I am Catholic, Apostolic and Roman, but not naive.
• In this country, a leaf does not move without my knowing it.
• This has not been a dictatorship, it has been a soft dictatorship.

Curiosities

Some curiosities of Augusto Pinochet are the following:

• Pinochet created several concentration camps where he imprisoned all those who were against him.
• The place where the National Stadium of Santiago de Chile is currently located was a place where prisoners experienced human atrocities .
• He used a series of chemical weapons to get what he wanted, these could kill a person in just seconds.
• He was inspired by the Nazis to build torture enclaves where those who went against him were punished.
• At least 0000 people disappeared during his regime.