Chilean television premiere on September 7 Allende’s thousand days. Directed by Nicolás Acuña and voiced by the fictitious Manuel Ruíz, inspired by Valencian lawyer Joan Garcés, who advises the leader of the People’s Union (UP), the series comes to the screens in the middle of the tension. wakes up 50th anniversary of the bloody attack State coup. It couldn’t be otherwise: although 75% of its current residents were not born when Sea Harrier planes bombed the Palacio de la Moneda, it still lives in the shadow of September 11, 1973. disputes about the past they coincide with today’s differences, the constant advance of the far right, and the highly symbolic judgments of former oppressors.
but a 47.5% of Chileans He believes that General Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990) was a dictator, according to a recent 50-year study by the consulting firm Pulso Ciudadano. A CERC MORI survey last May pointed to an alarming shift in perception about the coup that overthrew Salvador Allende: 36 percent of respondents justified the coup against Allende on the following grounds: “Liberated Chile from Marxism”. Twenty years ago, only 16% of people believed that the military “had the right to carry out the coup”.
Earlier in the week, another study by Alberto Hurtado University and public opinion research firm Criteria emerged. While 91% of the interviewees value free elections, 88% advocate human rights. However, tolerance is a value for 64% of the interviewees. 60% justify authoritarianism in certain situations.
reverse flow
Efforts of the Presidential Government Gabriel Boric They are not only clashing with the right, which dominates the Constitutional Council, with its fiercest wing, in order to find an area of consensus for the commemoration. The commentary debate is rattling the left and the centre-left as well.
Since the beginning of the year, the memory exercise has taken a step forward and also gone back a few boxes. The presence of the Commander-in-Chief of the Naval Forces in June, Admiral Juan Andres de la Maza, On Dawson Island, 2,200 kilometers south of Santiago, is where the regime set up a concentration camp after the rebellion. Advice from exSS Walter Rauff. “Hopefully, never again, that these events never happen again, not here or anywhere else in the world,” De La Maza said. Socialist senator Fidel Espinoza (PS) appreciated the message. “This was a very important advance for the Navy because resounding denial“.
hour of revisionism
But these admissions were questioned by none other than the former right-wing president alone. Sebastian Pinera Unlike his brother José, who was the economic coach of the dictatorship, he was always anti-Pinochetista. In the heat of the new reorganizations, which marked a clear regression on the left, the businessman thought that the 1973 coup was “ultimately” “inevitable” because the Popular Unity was not trying to build socialism based on constitutional norms, but instead aimed at building a socialism based on constitutional norms. “Build a Marxist dictatorship”. Piñera did nothing but add her voice to the demanding or tolerant chorus in the face of 9/11.
Congress has become a sounding board for these debates. The right and far-right bloc got enough votes to approve the reading of the statement made by the House of Representatives on August 22, 1973, and for decades this statement was used to justify the overthrow. Half a century ago, opposition legislators said: “stop all situations immediately”, at your discretion, ““For the purpose of violating the Constitution and laws” guide government action We will, by legal means, secure the constitutional order of our country and the fundamental foundations of democratic coexistence among Chileans.”
“The worst thing that can happen to us half a century after the tragedy is if we repeat polarization,” warned political scientist Gabriel Gaspar. Counter.
The return corresponds to: new power relations It resulted from the defeat of the left at the hands of the right and the extreme right in the elections. The first was the voting rejection of a progressive Magna Carta last September. Then, in May, the Constitutional Council was formed with the participation of the majority of those who longed for the military era. These changes have not been isolated. There is a realignment of views on the military coup and the figure of Pinochet himself.
A book adds to the discussion
before you come Allende’s thousand days Unpublished memoirs of the former president aired on television Patrick Aylwin One of the world’s most important leaders in 1973. Christian DemocracyHe is Allende’s rival and plays an important role in unforgettable events. Appearance The political experience of the People’s Union 1970-1973 It could do nothing but create excitement. Aylwin served as Senate president and was a privileged witness, highly critical of the failed attempt by the Popular Unity.. Despite their obvious differences, he repeats a question that has become more important for these hours twice in its pages: Was it made impossible to avoid the unfortunate outcome? The old president Michelle Bachelet He particularly valued this question asked at the beginning and end of the book, emphasizing that it was the “key” to regaining “peace” when he looked back at that unfortunate moon. Bachelet attended the presentation of the reports and expressed to the presenters her concerns about the “public debate”. things that are not questionable to us are being questioned“. That’s why he stressed, perhaps without the desired effect: “Coup can never be justified“.