In 1973, the Chilean Army, under General Augusto Pinochet overthrew the left wing government of Salvador Allende. What amazed this Blogger, and still amazes this Blogger was the pent-up ferocity within the Chilean armed forces.
The Chilean Military had been a paragon of civic virtue, above coups. Yet it not only completed a successful, bloody coup against its own democratically elected government, but the coup was particularly ferocious. The Chilean Military launched a SAVAGE coup; it is comparable to the well disciplined German Army of World
War I, which not only invaded poor little Belgium, but raped poor little Belgium.
War I, which not only invaded poor little Belgium, but raped poor little Belgium.
Allende committed suicide.
"SANTIAGO, Chile – A scientific autopsy has confirmed that Chilean President Salvador Allende committed suicide during the 1973 coup that toppled his socialist government, court officials announced on Tuesday.
British ballistics expert David Prayer said Allende died of two shots fired from an assault rifle that was held between his legs and under his chin and was set to fire automatically.The bullets blew out the top of his head and killed him instantly... Allende, the first socialist in the Americas to come to power at the ballot box, committed suicide as the military as troops stormed the presidential palace during the coup led by Gen. Augusto Pinochet."
Consider Pinochet's putsch against the democratically elected government of Salvador Allende a real life companion piece to Gabriel Garcia Marquez' masterpiece 100 YEARS OF SOLITUDE. Both surreal, both magically real, in fact, the Pinochet coup is more surreal than the novel, in that if a traffic light had turned green a little earlier,no coup would have happened. The history of a nation, in this case Chile, hinged on the timing of a traffic light. This Blog doubts if Gabriel Garcia Marquez could top that for surreal realism.
Leftist President Allende looked like a college professor more than a revolutionary. He won the 1970 Chilean Presidential election with 36.2% of the vote over two other candidates, one conservative and one centrist. Allende was an avowed Socialist, probably a Marxist; Henry Kissinger and American business thought he was a Communist. The actively opposed him; they attempted to thwart him even before he assumed power by using the Chilean Army against him. But the Army, behind Generals Schneider and Prats stood loyal to the Constitution of Chile.
"One month after the election, General René Schneider, Commander in Chief of the Chilean Army, was shot resisting a kidnap attempt by a group led by General Roberto Viaux. Hospitalized, he died of his wounds three days later. Viaux’s kidnapping plan had been supported by the CIA, although the then U.S. National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger claims to have ordered the plans postponed at the last moment. Schneider was a defender of the “constitutionalist” doctrine that the army’s role is exclusively professional, its mission being to protect the country’s sovereignty and not to interfere in politics. General Carlos Prats was named as commander in chief of the army to replace Schneider.
… Upon assuming power, Allende began a socialist program called La vía chilena al socialismo (“The Chilean Path to Socialism”). This included nationalization of large-scale industries (notably copper mining and banking), and government administration of the health care system,….By 1972, the Chilean escudo had an inflation rate of 140%.
The average Real GDP contracted between 1971 and 1973 at an annual rate of 5.6% (“negative growth”); and the government’s fiscal deficit soared while foreign reserves declined. Allende brought the head of the army, General Carlos Prats, into the government as Interior Minister.
Racial tensions became inflamed between the poor descendants of indigenous people, who supported Allende’s reforms, and Chile’s European population. Allende and his opponents in Congress repeatedly accused each other of undermining the Chilean Constitution and acting undemocratically. "
"On 1973.06.29, Colonel Roberto Souper surrounded the La Moneda presidential with his tank regiment but failed to depose the Allende Government. That failed coup d’état —known as the Tanquetazo tank putsch — was organised by the nationalist Patria y Libertad paramilitary group....
On 1973.08.09, Allende appointed Gen. Carlos Prats as Minister of Defense. On 1973.08.24, General Prats was forced to resign both as defense minister and as the Army Commander-in-chief, embarrassed by the Alejandrina Cox incident. Gen. Augusto Pinochet replaced him as Army commander-in-chief the same day."
Augusto Pinochet was a brilliant military conspirator, ranking up there with Francisco Franco of Spain, Gamal Nasser of Egypt and the Greek Colonels. Within a month of his appointment to the post of Commander-in-Chief, he launched an assault on Allende.
"...On 09-11-73, just prior to the capture of La Moneda(the Presidential Palace) by the Pinochet forces with gunfire and explosions clearly audible in the background,Allende gave his farewell speech to Chileans on live radio, speaking of himself in the past tense. Allende:
“Workers of my country, I have faith in Chile and its destiny. Other men will overcome this dark and bitter moment when treason seeks to prevail.
Keep in mind that, much sooner than later, the great avenues will again be opened through which will pass free men to construct a better society. Long live Chile! Long live the people! Long live the workers!”
He then killed himself. Pinochet declared that he had committed suicide with an automatic rifle; the autopsy proves Pinochet had not lied. History really is Gabriel Garcia Marquez' imagination written in real blood.
No nation, regardless of how modern it thinks it is, is immune from a General Pinochet when the following conditions exist-"the government’s fiscal deficit soared while foreign reserves declined. ....government administration of the health care system....Racial tensions became inflamed ...(the President) and his opponents in Congress repeatedly accused each other of undermining the Chilean Constitution and acting undemocratically."
As long as General Prats was in power, the democratically elected Socialist government of Salvador Allende was safe. As long as Prats was in power, Pinochet was out of power; however a traffic light intervened in the destiny of Chile. Which brings us to THE ALEJANDRINA COX AFFAIR
"On June 27, 1973, at about 3 PM, General Prats was being driven to his office in his official car. As Prats' car was at a busy intersection in Las Condes,a suburb of Santiago, a small red Renault car came up next to the general's and from inside two people (two men as he described them later) started laughing, mocking him and making obscene gestures.
The general snapped and asked his driver to hand him his handgun. Then he opened his side window, and pointing at the red car, ordered the driver to stop. Since the other driver ignored him, the general resorted to waving his side arm, demanding an apology at gunpoint. As none was forthcoming, in an enraged and clearly irrational reaction, he shot the red car in its left front fender.Both cars immediately stopped and the drivers came out. At that moment, the general discovered that the other driver was an upper-class housewife named Alejandrina Cox.
She wore her hair cut short and that had led him to confuse her with a man. As he was remonstrating Mrs. Cox a crowd started to gather around him openly siding with her. Very soon he was being insulted and jeered and his official car was blocked. A passing taxi driver had to rescue him from further violence, after he had his car graffitied and his tires slashed.
From the scene of the incident, General Prats had himself immediately driven to La Moneda and presented his resignation to President Allende.
The president refused to accept it and managed to convince him to stay. Nevertheless, the news of the incident was immediately splashed across the front pages of all the newspapers and the opposition had a field day, accusing him of cowardice ..because of his firing on an unarmed woman. ... This single incident, admittedly bizarre and embarrassing … made General Prats a laughingstock and seriously weakened him in the eyes of the officer corps of the Chilean Army, of which he was the Commander-in-chief. Prats and Mrs. Cox eventually gave public apologies to each other, but his public position wasseriously undermined nonetheless and he only managed to remain in office for less than two months after the incident.
His resignation as Army Commander-in-Chief removed the last obstacle for the Chilean coup of 1971."
A traffic light. Chilean history turned on the timing of a traffic light; if that light had turned green before Senora Cox' car had arrived,Prats would have retained power and Pinochet never would have been in a position to give orders launching a coup.
A traffic light determined Chilean history....can any history get more Gabriel Garcia Marquez than that?
Seventeen years of dictatorship because a traffic light did not change quickly ...did someone whisper pre-ordination?
The Reader may ask: Whatever happened to the loyal General Prats?
"On September 30, 1974, in Buenos Aires Prats and his wife Sofia were killed, outside their own apartment, by a radio-controlled car bomb,throwing debris up to the ninth storey balcony of the building across the street. Later, it was found that the assassination was planned by members of the Chilean secret police DINA."
One slow traffic light did all this damage; civilization has gotten no further than ancient Greek tragedies, we all still live by the whims of cruel and callous Gods.
General Pinochet was the shrewdest. and most able military dictator since General Francisco Franco; but Pinochet had a fatal flaw.
Whereas Franco did not care if the public liked him just as long as they stayed cowed, Pinochet self deluded himself into being a Bonapartist.
He REALLY thought the public, because they were cowed, REALLY liked him so he made the mistake of calling an election, an honest election.
The result of that election was, eventually, the General dying in disgrace.
Pinochet and Allende days before the coup
Comments
Post a Comment