A History of Chile Sources: - PowerPoint Presentation

A History of Chile

Sources: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/1981.htm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/63821.stm ~Chile is located on the western coast of South America ~It is located between the highest peaks of the Andes mountains and the Pacific Ocean~It is one of the longest and narrowest countries in the world~About 10,000 years ago, migrating indigenous peoples settled in fertile valleys and along the coast of what is now Chile

Hundreds of thousands of Indians from various cultures lived in Chile These cultures supported themselves principally through slash-and-burn agriculture, hunting, and fishingThe Incas briefly extended their empire into what is now central Chile, but the northern area’s barrenness prevented extensive Incan settlementThe first Europeans to arrive in Chile were Diego de Almagro and his band, who came from Peru seeking gold in 1536

The conquest of Chile began in earnest in 1540 and was carried out by Pedro de Valdivia, one of Francisco Pizarro’s lieutenants, who founded the city of Santiago on February 12, 1541 Of course, the Spaniards ruled the area in the interest of Spain and its mercantilist policies alienated many of the colonials

The drive for independence from Spain was precipitated by usurpation of the Spanish throne by Napoleon’s brother Joseph in 1808 A national junta (a group of military officers who rule a country after seizing power) in the name of Ferdinand – heir to the deposed king – was formed on September 18, 1810The junta proclaimed Chile an autonomous republic within the Spanish monarchy

A movement for total independence soon won a wide following Spanish attempts to reimpose rule during what was called the “Reconquista” led to a prolonged struggleIntermittent warfare continued until 1817, when an army led by Bernardo O’Higgins, Chile’s most renowned patriot, and José de San Martín, hero of Argentine independence, crossed the Andes into Chile and defeated the royalists

On February 12, 1818, Chile was proclaimed an independent republic under O’Higgins’ leadership However, the political revolt brought little social change and 19th century Chilean society preserved the essence of a stratified colonial social structure, which was greatly influenced by family politics and the Roman Catholic Church

A strong presidency eventually emerged, but wealthy landowners remained extremely powerful Toward the end of the 19th century, the government in Santiago consolidated its position in the south by suppressing the indigenous Mapuche

In 1881, it signed a treaty with Argentina confirming Chilean sovereignty over the Strait of Magellan As a result of the war of the Pacific with Peru and Bolivia (1879-83), Chile expanded its territory northward by almost one-third and acquired valuable nitrate deposits, the exploitation of which led to an era of national affluence

Chile established a parliamentary democracy in the late 19 th century, but this degenerated into a system protecting the interests of the ruling oligarchyYet by the 1920s, the emerging middle and working classes were powerful enough to elect a reformist presidentBut a conservative congress interfered with his reformist agenda The conflict between liberal and conservative groups continued with the increasing power of the military and wealthy families

By 1964, the presidency of Christian Democrat Eduardo Frei Montalva by an absolute majority initiated a period of major reform But Frei’s far-reaching social and economic programs, particularly in education, housing, and agrarian reform, including rural unionization of agricultural workers, encountered increasing opposition from leftists, who charged that his reforms were inadequate, and conservatives, who found them excessive

In 1970, Senator Salvador Allende, a Marxist and member of Chile’s Socialist Party, was named President His program included the nationalization of private industries and banks, acceleration of agrarian reform and land expropriation, and collectivizationAllende’s program also included the nationalization of U.S. interests in Chile’s major copper mines

Not all of Allende’s coalition members agreed on his “Chilean Road to Socialism,” and some pushed for more radical measures By 1973, Chilean society had split into two hostile camps

On September 11, 1973, a military coup overthrew AllendeMore than 3,000 were killed in the September military onslaught, which began when fighter jets bombed the Presidential Palace while the democratically elected President, Salvador Allende, was still inside As the armed forces bombarded the presidential palace, Allende reportedly committed suicideHowever, some individuals believe Allende was assassinated

A military government, led by General Augusto Pinochet, took over control of the country The coup in which General Augusto Pinochet seized power in 1973 was the bloodiest in the 20th century South AmericaIt was the start of a 17-year rule by General PinochetPinochet promised the wholesale reform of the political system which had allowed the annual rate of inflation to reach 150 % in 1973

No time was wastedThe military government dissolved Congress, suspended the constitution and opposition parties were outlawed Shortly after came a night-time curfew and strict limits on the media

Economic reform came in the shape of free-market principles Nationalized companies were returned to their original owners, trade barriers were cut to encourage foreign imports and there was renewed emphasis on exportsGeneral Pinochet had once articulated his goal as “to make Chile not a nation of proletarians, but a nation of entrepreneurs”

Chilean society had been split by Allende’s socialist rule, and so it was under the new right-wing leader But with Pinochet in charge dissidents spoke out at their perilThe general’s iron rule was underpinned by the tactics of brutal repression that saw thousands die and thousands more flee into exileOthers disappeared or were tortured

Particular targets were those who threatened unrest in the workplace and the shantytown dwellers who demanded better living conditions In the absence of any official political opposition, the Roman Catholic Church assumed the role of moral critic

In most cases, prisoners from a slum or agrarian community would be executed as a means of terrorizing their neighbors into accepting military rule The killings were often cynically, and falsely, justified as cases in which prisoners were shot while trying to escape

The images that most shaped the outside world’s low opinion of the military administration were scenes of Santiago’s main sports stadium filled with prisoners, and by the public appearances of General Pinochet, eyes hidden behind dark glasses, face set in a scowl, arms folded defiantly across his chest Although a majority of executions, jailings and cases of torture took place shortly after the 1973 coup, serious human rights abuses waxed and waned over the next 17 years

In 1976, the Pinochet regime’s anti-democratic tactics were glimpsed by the wider world when a former Allende ambassador to the US was killed by a car bomb in Washington DC There was little doubt that the murder was linked to the government in Santiago but attempts by the Americans to extradite the accused members of the Chilean military were reportedly rebuffed

Ten years later, General Pinochet himself was the target of an assassination attempt, by the armed wing of the Communist Party The dictator, however, escaped the attack on his motorcade with a few minor injuries

When in 1990, Pinochet stepped down, it was due to his own miscalculation He gambled his one-man rule on a plebiscite and lostThe constitution he had been instrumental in drawing up guaranteed his continuation as army commander-in-chief until 1998He ensured the armed forces remained largely outside the control of the government – a condition that has made it difficult to bring the military to justice for past human rights offenses

However, stories of corruption began swirling around members of General Pinochet’s family as well as military personnel, and he used his power as army chief to protect them He quashed judicial and congressional investigations into the financial dealings of his elder son and of army officers who were accused of running an illegal investment banking operation

Until revelations emerged in late 2004 that he had accumulated secret accounts totaling as much as $8 million at Riggs Bank in Washington, the general, who lived spartanly, was rarely accused of corruption himself Later, Chilean investigators found that he had as much as $28 million in secret bank accounts in a number of countries

Through intimidation and legal obstacles, General Pinochet sought to ensure his own immunity from accountability and was never brought to trial But in an astonishing turn of events nearly a decade after he stepped down, he was detained in Britain and then, on his return to Chile, forced to spend his retirement years fighting a battery of legal charges relating to human rights violations and personal corruption

During those last years he lived in near seclusion, mostly at his home in Bucalemu, about 80 miles southwest of Santiago, scorned even by many of his former military colleagues and conservative civilian ideologues Many were disillusioned by revelations that he held, at the least, $28 million in secret bank accounts abroad

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/special_report/1998/10/98/the_pinochet_file/198743.stm Testimony: Detainee remembers Chile 1973~ “Of my two Chilean flat-mates I knew nothing for some days. Wolfgang had been arrested along with Victor Jara and several hundred students and academics at the State Technical University and taken to the Chile Stadium, a small indoor sports arena in downtown Santiago.”

~ “Victor Jara was tortured there and killed. Wolfgang, however, managed to escape the military guards, and later we were able to bring him to Britain as a refugee. Juan and his Russian wife reached the Swedish Embassy where they joined hundreds of other asylum seekers. My girlfriend's ex-husband was summarily executed by the police when they discovered a sporting shotgun in his house.”