The Reign of Augusto Pinochet
Tyranny in Chile
Who was he?
Like most dictators, Augusto found his way to power through the military. By leading the junta against Allende (supported by the US) he became the new leader of Chile. People began dying quickly thereafter. Anyone who so much as glanced at the left side of the political spectrum was tortured and killed, unbiased to nationality gender or age. He used these cruel methods as well as his military experience to hold power. His military police executed thousands. After he stepped down from power he became a senator and lived in luxury until the Spanish government attempted to prosecute him for the violation of the human rights of Spanish citizens during his main cruel streak. For some time he escaped trial by being deemed mentally unfit, as well as his power as a previous leader of Chile. Eventually he was brought to trial for the defiance of human rights, tax evasion, fraud, & the disappearance of thousands but died of a heart attack in 2006 and was treated to a hero's funeral.
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The Crimes of Pinochet - Chile
Hitler is the most notorious dictator of the past few centuries. To repeat something he did, and imprison thousands of innocents is unforgivable. To have done what he did and then live the rest of his life comfortably is unbelievable. He tried people for being loosely associated with something and not even being involved in politics, And most of those people "Disappeared".
To President Pinochet
Although we have supported you in overthrowing Allende we feel the need to express our disapproval of your violent actions against some of the less active leftists. those who have little to do with the party aside from slight approval hardly deserve what you do to them. Surely you would do better to use propoganda to discoureage leftist ideals, and focus on improving the economy in your country so the citizens will have no reason to protest. You denounced the Axis powers in The great war so surely you would not want to be compared to a certain fascist leader. I will leave you at that.
Essential Question
Why do you think the rest of the world took so long to acknowledge Pinochet's Crimes?
Works Cited
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