{"id":219648,"date":"2010-01-23T21:24:37","date_gmt":"2010-01-24T02:24:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/globalvoicesonline.org\/?p=119219"},"modified":"2010-01-23T21:24:37","modified_gmt":"2010-01-24T02:24:37","slug":"chile-pineras-victory-raises-questions-about-pinochets-influence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/219648","title":{"rendered":"Chile: Pi\u00f1era’s Victory Raises Questions About Pinochet’s Influence"},"content":{"rendered":"

On January 17, 2010 Sebasti\u00e1n Pi\u00f1era was elected Chile's next president, following twenty years of a left-leaning government that symbolized the transition to democracy after Augusto Pinochet\u2019s<\/a> dictatorship. Spanish-speaking bloggers and online newspapers have commented on the relationship between the president-elect and the deceased dictator; many of these observations arose from the public support showed to Pinochet after Pi\u00f1era\u2019s victory.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

A Pi\u00f1era voter shows his support for dictator Augusto Pinochet. Photo taken by Darcy Vergara, Flickr user darcy_vergara, and used under a Creative Commons license<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Commenting on the Pinochet followers the day of the final vote, Luis Ramirez [es]<\/a> wrote on his blog:<\/p>\n

\n

S\u00ed, ya es un hecho: Los Pi\u00f1eristas Pinochetistas est\u00e1n entre nosotros.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Yes, it is a fact: The Pi\u00f1eristas Pinochetistas (Pinochet supporters) are among us.<\/div>\n

Pictures like the one above and videos like the one below that show Chileans yelling \u201cGeneral Pinochet, this victory is for you\u201d and \u201cChi Chi Chi le le le, long live Chile and Pinochet\u201d have been passed around the internet to the bewilderment of some, and the indifference of others who say that this is nothing new in the country.<\/p>\n

Video by REMP81<\/a>:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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Regarding these chants and signs, the online newspaper La Alternativa [es]<\/em><\/a> explains that:<\/p>\n

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El hecho caus\u00f3 estupor en varios adherentes del propio empresario, as\u00ed como tambi\u00e9n en medios internacionales, incluso aquellos ligados a la derecha, quienes consideran al fallecido dictador en un nivel similar a Hitler Mussolini o Francisco Franco. La noche del domingo 17 de enero ser\u00e1 recordada como el momento en que muchos aduladores del gobierno militar \u201csalieron del closet\u201d y expresaron p\u00fablicamente que la ret\u00f3rica del emprendimiento, el futuro, la reconciliaci\u00f3n y la esperanza, no eran m\u00e1s que vac\u00edas frases de campa\u00f1a para \u201cenchular\u201d a una derecha.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The event caused stupor in various people close to the businessman, and also in the international media, even those tied to the right, who consider the deceased dictator on a similar level to Hitler, Mussolini or Francisco Franco. The night of Sunday, January 17th will be remembered as the moment when many adulators of the military government \u201ccame out of the closet\u201d and expressed publicly that the rhetoric of progress, of the future, and of reconciliation and hope, is nothing more than hollow campaign phrases to improve the right.<\/div>\n

In a blog called \u201cCuesti\u00f3natelo Todo [es]<\/em>\u201d<\/a> (\u201cQuestion everything\u201d) the author rejects what many have expressed about the positive state of Chilean democracy, and says that Pi\u00f1era\u2019s victory is actually a step backward for democracy in Chile:<\/p>\n

\n

Su triunfo representa una resurrecci\u00f3n del pinochetismo [\u2026] Pinochet nunca murio realmente, y el triunfo de Pi\u00f1era solo significa la consecuencia natural de una transici\u00f3n que nunca fue tal cosa, sino simplemente la continuaci\u00f3n de lo mismo con rostros aparentemente mas amables.\u2028\u2028El triunfo del partido de Pi\u00f1era es un paso atras en el avance hacia la democracia chilena,<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

His triumph represents a resurrection of \u201cpinochetismo,\u201d [\u2026] Pinochet never really died, and Pi\u00f1era\u2019s victory is only the natural consequence of a transition that never happened and the simple continuation of the same thing with faces that appear friendlier. The triumph of Pi\u00f1era\u2019s party is a step backward for Chilean democracy.<\/div>\n
\"Man<\/a><\/p>\n

Man trying to take down Pi\u00f1era electoral sign during Victor Jara's funeral, who was killed during the Pinochet dictatorship. Photo taken by Flickr user Amable Odiable and used under a Creative Commons license<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

However, others see the outcome of this election as a sign that Chileans have put Pinochet and his dictatorship behind them, and that the left, who will become the opposition on March 11, will have to look for new ways to gain support from voters. Peruvian blogger Alejandro Lostaunau Neira [es]<\/a> writes:<\/p>\n

\n

Esta situaci\u00f3n ha brindado la oportunidad para que los partidos que apoyaron la candidatura del exitoso empresario se desprendan de una vez por todas del fantasma de Augusto Pinochet. [\u2026] S\u00f3lo este triunfo sobre la Concertaci\u00f3n de Partidos por la Democracia puede desligar el fantasma del amado y odiado militar, fallecido en diciembre de 2006.[\u2026] La centro izquierda siempre ten\u00eda ventaja porque una manera de bajarse al contrincante era recordar los momentos de oscuridad de la dictadura. Ahora todo eso ya no ser\u00e1 posible porque el pueblo chileno ha legitimado a los hasta ahora opositores.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This situation has given an opportunity to the parties that supported the candidacy of the successful businessman to once and for all disconnect themselves from the ghost of Augusto Pinochet [\u2026] Only this victory over the Concertaci\u00f3n de Partidos por la Democracia can disconnect the ghost of the beloved and hated military man, who died December of 2006. The center left always had an advantage because one way of putting the opposition down was to remember the dark times of the dictatorship. Now all that is not possible anymore because the Chilean people have legitimized the until-now opposition.<\/div>\n

Luis Mendez, a Chilean who runs the blog Adictos 2.0 [es] <\/em><\/a>sees Pi\u00f1era\u2019s victory as an end to 37 years of division between the Chilean people on the issue of Pinochet. He ends his post with encouraging words for Pi\u00f1era, and he calls for a future where Chileans will finally turn the page on the military coup and the Pinochet dictatorship:<\/p>\n

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Ojala que por el bien de todos, a Sebastian Pi\u00f1era le vaya bien, ya que de una vez queremos que los que paso el 11 de septiembre de 1973 quede en la historia de Chile y no siga siendo presente, ya que las nuevas generaciones queremos un viva Chile presente y futuro!!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Hopefully for the good of everyone, Sebasti\u00e1n Pi\u00f1era will do well, because we want what happened September 11, 1973<\/a> to stay behind in Chile's history and not remain the present, because new generations want a \u201clong live Chile\u201d in the present and future!!<\/div>\n

The fact that Pi\u00f1era tried so hard to disassociate himself from Pinochet during the campaign speaks positively of the majority of Chileans who see the dictatorship as a grim part of their history. As reported from an interview in the Mexican newspaper Informador<\/em><\/a>, when the then-candidate Pi\u00f1era was asked about the influence of the dictator in the elections, he answered, “Pinochet is part of the past. We want to construct a future of national unity, of greater prosperity and greater justice for everyone.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On January 17, 2010 Sebasti\u00e1n Pi\u00f1era was elected Chile's next president, following twenty years of a left-leaning government that symbolized the transition to democracy after Augusto Pinochet\u2019s dictatorship. Spanish-speaking bloggers and online newspapers have commented on the relationship between the president-elect and the deceased dictator; many of these observations arose from the public support showed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4355,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-219648","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219648","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4355"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=219648"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219648\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=219648"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=219648"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=219648"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}