Chilean dictator (197390), born in Valparaíso, C Chile. A career army officer, he led the military coup overthrowing the Allende government in 1973, establishing himself at the head of the ensuing military regime. In 1980 he enacted a constitution giving himself an eight-year presidential term (19819). A plebiscite held in 1988 rejected his candidacy as president beyond 1990, but he retained his post as commander-in-chief of the army until 1998. In October that year he became the centre of international attention when he was arrested in London, following a request from Spain for his extradition to stand trial for crimes of genocide and terrorism, in which some of the victims had been Spanish nationals. The arrest caused tension between the UK and Chile, and civil unrest in Chile between Pinochet supporters and opponents. At the beginning of 2000, he remained under house arrest in the UK, pending the outcome of legal procedures, but the UK government returned him to Chile on the grounds of ill health. Chile's Court of Appeal decided to strip him of immunity from prosecution, and he was later ordered to stand trial. In 2001 a Santiago appeals court voted in favour of suspending proceedings against him on the grounds that he was mentally unfit to stand trial, and in 2002 the Chilean Supreme Court ruled that proceedings against him be suspended for good. However, in 2004 the Court of Appeal stripped him of immunity from prosecution, thus paving the way for a trial on charges of human rights abuses during his rule. The case was ongoing at the time of his death from a heart attack.
| Augusto Pinochet Ugarte | |
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| 30th President of Chile | |
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In office September 11, 1973 – March 11, 1990 |
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| Preceded by | Salvador Allende |
| Succeeded by | Patricio Aylwin |
| President of Government Junta | |
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In office September 11, 1973 – March 11, 1981 |
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| Preceded by | None |
| Succeeded by | José Toribio Merino |
| Born |
November 25, 1915 Valparaíso |
| Political party | none (military) |
| Spouse | Lucía Hiriart Rodríguez |
Augusto Pinochet Ugarte (born November 25, 1915) was head of the military junta that ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990, and which came to power in a coup which deposed the marxist President Salvador Allende.
Early career
Pinochet was born in Valparaíso on November 25, 1915, the son of Augusto Pinochet Vera (descendant of Breton immigrants who arrived in Chile during the 18th century) and Avelina Ugarte Martínez.
After obtaining the title of Officer Chief of Staff, in 1951, he returned to teach at the Military School.
In 1956, Pinochet was chosen, together with a group of other young officers, to form a military mission that would collaborate in the organization of the War Academy of Ecuador in Quito, which forced him to suspend his law studies.
At the end of 1959, he returned to Chile and was sent to General Headquarters of the I Army Division, based in Antofagasta.
In 1968, he was named Chief of Staff of the II Army Division, based in Santiago, and at the end of that year, he was promoted to Brigadier General and Commander in Chief of the VI Division, garrisoned in Iquique.
In January 1971, he rose to Division General, and was named General Commander of the Santiago Army Garrison. With rising domestic strife in Chile, Pinochet was appointed Army Commander in Chief on August 23, 1973 by President Salvador Allende, his masonic brother of the same lodge, just the day after Parliament voted a resolution calling Allende's removal, by force if necessary.
Military coup of 1973
Pinochet came to power in a coup d'état on September 11, 1973 after the Chamber of Deputies in its Resolution of August 22, 1973 declared that Allende had violated the Constitution.
In his memoirs, Pinochet affirms that he was the leader of the coup, and used his position as Commander-in-chief of the Army to coordinate a far-reaching scheme with the other two branches of the military and the national police. In recent years, however, high military officials from the time have said that Pinochet reluctantly got involved only a few days before it was scheduled to occur and followed the lead of other branches (especially the Navy) as they triggered the coup.
Military Junta
A Military junta was established inmediately following the coup, made up of General Pinochet representing the Army, Admiral José Toribio Merino representing the Navy, General Gustavo Leigh representing the Air Force, and General César Mendoza representing the Carabineros (uniformed police).
Administration
Once the Junta was in power, Pinochet soon consolidated his control, first retaining sole chairmanship of the military junta, and then being proclaimed President on June 27, 1974.
During 1977 and 1978, Chile was on the brink of war with Argentina (also ruled by a military government) over a disagreement regarding the ownership of the strategic Picton, Lennox and Nueva islands at the southern tip of South America.
In 1981, he promoted himself to the supreme army rank of Capitán General (literally Captain General), previously borne by colonial governors and by Bernardo O'Higgins, a hero of Chile's war of independence.
Economic policy
By mid 1975, Pinochet set about making economic reforms variously called "neoliberal" or sometimes "free market" by its supporters.
Suppression of communists
After the military's seizure of power, Pinochet destroyed the insurgency linked to the defeated Popular Unity (PU) government. It is not known exactly how many people were killed by government and military forces during the 17 years that he was in power, but the Rettig Commission listed 2,095 deaths, with the vast majority of victims coming from the opposition to Pinochet at the hands of the state security apparatus.
Pinochet's rule was frequently made unstable by protests and isolated violent attacks.
In contrast to most other nations in Latin America, prior to the coup Chile had a long tradition of democratic civilian rule;
The situation in Chile came to international attention in September 1976, when Orlando Letelier, a former Chilean ambassador to the United States and minister in Allende's cabinet, was assassinated in Washington, D.C. General Carlos Prats, Pinochet's predecessor and army commander under Allende, who had resigned rather than support the moves against the democratic system, was assassinated under similar circumstances in Buenos Aires, Argentina, two years earlier.
Chilean foreign relations under Pinochet
The new junta quickly broke off the diplomatic relations with Cuba that had been established under the Allende government.
Under Pinochet, Chile along with Colombia, were the only countries in Latin America not to support Argentina in its war with the U.K.
Pinochet's government received tacit approval and material support from the United States. (See U.S. role in 1973 Coup, U.S. intervention in Chile and Operation Condor for more details.)
End of the Pinochet regime
In 1980, a new constitution was approved, which prescribed a single-candidate presidential plebiscite in 1988, and a return to civilian rule in 1990.
In September, weapons from the same source were used in an unsuccessful assassination attempt against Pinochet by the FPMR.
Lost referendum and return to civilian rule
According to the transitional provisions of the 1980 Constitution, approved by 75% of voters in what has been said to be "a highly irregular and undemocratic plebiscite.", a plebiscite was scheduled for October 5, 1988, to vote on a new eight-year presidential term for Pinochet.
Pinochet lost the 1988 referendum, where 55% of the votes rejected the extension of the presidential term, against 42% for "Sí", and, though a plebiscite is technically non-binding, this one triggered multi-candidate presidential elections in 1989 to choose his replacement. Pinochet left the presidency on March 11, 1990 and transferred power to Patricio Aylwin, the new democratically elected president.
Due to the transitional provisions of the constitution, Pinochet remained as Commander-in-Chief of the Army, until March 1998.
Arrest and trial
Legacy
Chileans remain deeply divided on his legacy.
This debate was revisited after Pinochet's arrest in 1998. When in power, however, Pinochet gave a series of speeches that rather clearly indicated that the 1973 coup targeted not only Allende's Popular Unity government, but Chilean democracy itself, which the General saw as hopelessly flawed. In wording that Pinochet repeated several times in various speeches, he claimed that Chile had been “slave and victim of the Congress since 1925, and slave and victim of the political parties.” Arguing for an "organic" type of democracy, Pinochet argued “Merely formal democracy dissolves itself, victim of a demagogy that substitutes simple, unattainable promises for social justice and economic prosperity.” Democracy would inevitably result in a marxist dictatorship, according to his analysis. were given proof under the Marxist regime of their impotence and incomprehensible lack of vision.” (Pinochet, “Patria y Democracia”, 1983, Santiago, Andres Bello)
There have been several detailed reports which describe the human rights abuses carried out by the Pinochet regime. Lucía Pinochet Hiriart, Augusto Pinochet's eldest daughter, said the use of torture during his 1973–90 regime was "barbaric and without justification", after seeing the Valech Report.
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Preceded by: Salvador Allende |
President of Chile 1974-1990 |
Succeeded by: Patricio Aylwin |
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Preceded by: None |
President of Government Junta 1973-1981 |
Succeeded by: José Toribio Merino |
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Preceded by: Carlos Prats |
Army Commander-in-chief 1973-1998 |
Succeeded by: Ricardo Izurieta |
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