There is no denying that many wealthy Chileans supported Pinochet's regime, and to this day, are firmly in the camp of apology and denial of the strongman's ghastly deeds.
The two women running for president in Chile's next election are bringing that uncomfortable past back to the fore.
While the less privileged and the victims of Pinochet's brutal regime, are still trying to bring the minions of the junta to justice, and to find out what has happened to their loved ones who disappeared during the junta's time in power, the wealthier Chileans and the far right supporters, are trying very hard to quell those searches, and to deny anything ever happened. To many Chileans, Pinochet was a saviour, one who brought back Chile from the brink of economic disaster. Anyone who speaks of repression or disappearances during the dictator's reign are called 'fomenters' by the supporting elite.
That said, it will be interesting to see how the country throws its support in this election. The two leading candidates are the perfect example of the strident legacy of the past. MIchelle Bachelet represents those people who have lost loved ones to the junta. The other, Evelyn Matthei, is the daughter of a general who was promoted and prospered during the junta.
Chile is a country that is emerging as one of the most promising economies in the southern hemisphere. New legislation has been tabled that should bring it in line with European counterparts: abortion laws, constitutional amendments, tax and education reform.
But the acrimony between the far right party and the socialists has not disappeared. As a matter of fact, there has been a resurgence of protests and demonstrations, some of them violent, in the capital and elsewhere.
Polls suggest that the country may have definitely moved on from its bloody past, since almost 44% of the voters might be in favor of Bachelet. Still, anywhere from 12-27% are firmly in support of Matthei, which is telling, considering her very solid ties to the junta.
And the political vollies, unfortunately but predictably, do run to the different political background of the two candidates, instead of concentrating on the respective political platforms.
The interesting item in this election, is that the fathers of both candidate happened to be good friends before the coup. Both generals in the army, one was carted away and tortured until he died, and the other, Matthei's father, was promoted to a higher post and became solidly part of the junta's inner structure.
As Bachelet recalls: if the army had not seen her father as an enemy, as every socialist or left leaning person was after the coup, which was orchestrated with the help of the United States, he might have lived. But he, like many others, perished simply because they held left leaning beliefs.
For her part Matthei not only defends her father's actions, but represents a party that is on the far right of the political spectrum. She has no intention of separating herself from the legacy of her family. She even goes so far as to say that she should not be held accountable or blamed in any form, since she was away at college in England during the first years of the coup.
But the drums of justice are getting louder. As the families of the 'desaparecidos' are waging a strong campaign of information and remembrance of the atrocities of the regime, the population might be souring on people like Matthei, who happens to be a little too close to that ugly past for comfort.
Op -Ed
Partial Source : The Guardian / 10.07.13
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