25 Years Later: Moving Forward From the Pinochet Regime

What is your country’s and region’s most challenging task in the 21^st century?

Augusto Pinochet (theredphoenixapl.org)

  The biggest ongoing issue for Chile in recent years has been the Pinochet regime and its subsequent government corruption. Essentially it was a dictatorship, established in 1973 shortly after President Salvador Allende was overthrown by the CIA (headed by General Augusto Pinochet). The takeover was initially supposed to be to more or less "save" the state of the government at the time, which under President Allende had fallen into an economic crisis and a "perceived breakdown of democracy." However, it quickly turned dark, with the "national reconstruction" of Chile turning instead systematic suppression of political parties. with those who objected being subject to death. Massacres ensued, and by the end of Pinochet's rule, over 3,000 Chileans were killed or went missing, and 200,000 more were sent into exile. 

  During this rule, drastic changes were made to the government - changes that are still affecting the way it functions today. In 1980, members of the regime crafted a new constitution that replaced the original Constitution of 1925. Even after the official end of the era around 1990, "...the regime took great care to secure the political and economic system it had created would remain unmodified. The regime also arranged for the military to be out of civilian control after the end of dictatorship." (wikipedia)

The official referendum proposal for the Chilean Constitution, 1980 (wikipedia)

   Needless to say, the consequences of the Pinochet administration are still felt today. Although Chile is officially considered a democratic country today, infra-structurally speaking there are still many things that need to be reverted back to normal, or otherwise revised. The Pinochet trials didn't even end until 2005, so the aftermath of the authoritarian stint is still heavily influential. Even with the government now being in the right hands, changes to an entire economy, culture, and political climate will take years to effectively implement - and even longer to see changes.