Chile and Pinochet's Military Rule

Chile experienced one of the most brutal military dictatorships beginning in 1973 to 1989. General Augusto Pinochet took control of Chile on September 11, 1973, after initiating a military-coup. The current president of that time was President Allende of the Unidad Popular and called himself the first ‘Marxist.’ He made a lot of progress in terms of making the economy stronger, such as nationalizing certain industries and providing a better education system for the people. Allende was truly a hero for the poor and working classes of Chile. However, Allende and the UP began to change directions and started to give back those same industries to their previous owners and decreased his support for the poor. The public was still loyal to him though, even when the economy really started to take a turn for the worse and the United States CIA was supporting Pinochet. Six days before the military coup lead by Pinochet, citizens were even saluting Allende and asking for arms to protect their government against the coup.
When Pinochet did succeed with his coup, President Allende killed himself and all of those citizens that had supported him were going to be in huge trouble with this new government. Pinochet has been accused of hundreds of human rights violations for murders, beatings, and disappearances of citizens throughout Chile during his rule. Besides his very brutal dealings, Pinochet was known to promote free trade and the regime also slashed government expenditures, eliminated price controls and regulatory functions.
Pinochet left his position after an election in 1989 and losing to a Democratic-Christian. He did however remain behind the scenes in Chilean politics. After securing legal immunity from all of the acts he committed during his rule, he was selected to become a ‘life-long’ senator without the need to be elected. However, in 2000, the Chilean Supreme Court decided to remove his congressional immunity with the opportunity to have lawsuits raised against him. In December 2006, General Pinochet died from heart problems.