Augusto Jose Ramon Pinochet Ugarte (Spanish Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte; November 25, 1915, Valparaiso, Chile - December 10, 2006, Chile) - Chilean state and military leader, head of the military junta from September 11, 1973 to 27 to 27 June 1974, Supreme Head of the Chilean nation from June 27 to December 17, 1974, President of Chile (dictator) from December 17, 1974 to March 11, 1990. Commander-in-Chief Armed forces Chile from September 11, 1973 to March 11, 1990.

The future dictator was born on November 25, 1915 in Valparaiso, his father was a customs official. Augusto entered the Chilean Military Academy in Santiago at the age of 18. He graduated from the academy with the rank of junior lieutenant in 1936. For some time he served with her, and then began teaching at a military college. Then he held some command positions in the troops and reached the point where he became a brigadier general. In 1968, he returned to Santiago and took over as commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

In 1970, Salvador Allende came to power, the first popularly elected socialist president in the Western Hemisphere. He tried his best to weaken the influence of the United States on domestic policy Chile. Ties were established with Cuba. The United States tried to pursue a policy of isolating Chile, and the CIA spent a lot of money to support General Pionchet and destabilize the Allende regime. No matter how good Salvador Allende’s intentions were, a crisis began in the country, production fell, and food shortages became tense. Pinochet took advantage of this. He gained support navy, military forces, carabinieri corps. Together they decided to overthrow the El Salvador regime.

On September 11, 1973, one of the bloodiest coups in the world began. Latin America. The Navy captured the port of Valparaiso, armored and other troops were pulled towards Santiago. Pinochet gives Allende an ultimatum, he asked him to resign immediately, otherwise the regime will be overthrown by force and no matter what sacrifices have to be made. Allende refused. He began hastily preparing for defense, but the forces were unequal. A couple of hours of fierce battle and the presidential palace in the capital was captured, and inside, among the many corpses, there was Allende’s corpse. It is believed that he killed himself, and some say that he died in battle.

After the change of power, those who held left-wing political views were subjected to repression. Martial law and curfew were introduced in the country. Violation of the hour - execution on the spot. Pionchet was proclaimed President of Chile. First, it was necessary to break ties with the USSR and Cuba. A large-scale trial of 14,000 representatives of the political left began. parties. One was executed and the others were expelled from the country. About 20,000 people died during the coup and civil purges, according to experts. Thousands of people were imprisoned as political prisoners. And the United States, which placed the protection of human rights around the world at the forefront of its international policy, cynically supported the repressive and inhumane regime in Chile. They gave Pinochet financial assistance. Towards the end of Augusto's reign, economic situation the country has improved significantly. Inflation has been reduced in Chile. External debt was reduced and unemployment fell by 8%. Experts were quick to report an “economic miracle” in Chile. High-rise buildings appeared in Santiago, the metro began to operate, public gardens were built, road junctions, modern shopping centers. However, behind the external well-being there was a lot social problems. About five million Chileans lived below the poverty line in the country in the 1980s.

In 1985, Pinochet declared that the Communist Party was outlawed in Chile. He did not want leftist forces to seize power in the country. However, socialists and communists circumvented the ban. They united and created a new party. In March 1990, Pinochet was forced to resign. Democratic forces came to power, but Augusto continued to command the ground forces and political life countries actively participated. At the beginning of 1998, Pinochet resigned as commander of the ground forces, but remained, in accordance with the constitution, a senator for life.

The dictator went to London for treatment in 1998, but was arrested there. He was accused of murder based on a warrant issued by Spain. However, he was released on bail. Two years later, he was deprived of senatorial immunity; he was a suspect in many more cases related to his past and the regime in Chile. He was accused of kidnapping, drug trafficking, and corruption. Basically, of course, he was tried for many murders. In 2006, the dictator suffered a severe heart attack. He died on December 10 of the same year. His body was cremated and given military honors, but there was no mourning. Pinochet's activities in leading the country are still assessed ambiguously.

“This is a soldier's career. Starting from military school and up to the rank of general, I climbed the steps of the military hierarchy step by step, without any ambitious aspirations and wanting only to fulfill my official duties.”

(Augusto Pinochet about his military service)

“We are trying to turn Chile into a country of property owners, not proletarians.”

“I'm not threatening anyone. I'm warning you just once. The day they attack my people, the Rule of Law is over."

“We need to take care of the rich so that they give more”

“Ruling this country is the destiny prepared for me from above!”

Augusto Pinochet at the 1971 military parade

“I'm not a dictator. It's just the look on my face."

“Democracy in itself carries the seed of its own destruction; democracy must be bathed in blood from time to time in order for it to remain a democracy.”

“History shows that dictators always end badly.”

“I am a democrat, but in my understanding of the word. It all depends on what is meant by the concept of democracy. The bride can be very pretty if she is young. And she can be very ugly if she is old and all wrinkled. But both are brides.”

“The fact that the bodies of the communist gentlemen were stacked two in one coffin seems reasonable to me from the point of view of the economy, which they themselves undermined.”

Augusto Pinochet, 1973

“A lie is revealed in the eye, and because I have lied many times, I wore dark glasses.”

"I put iron pants on Chile"

“The secret of a good life in the country is simple: hard work, compliance with the law and no communism!”

“Not a leaf moves in Chile if I don’t know about it.”

“Everything that we, the military, did, we did for Chile, and not for ourselves, and we are not ashamed”

A supporter of Augusto Pinochet kisses his portrait during celebrations of the 10th anniversary of the military coup. Santiago, Chile, September 11, 1983

“If you think about it and weigh it, then I’m good. I have no grudges, and there is kindness"

“Even a carefully prepared plan for leaving office may fail.”

“There is no place in my heart for hatred. My fate was exile and loneliness - something I never imagined and least wanted."

“As I approach the end of my days, I want to declare that I bear no malice towards anyone, that I love my homeland, no matter what, that I accept political responsibility for everything I have done.”

“For 65 years I have walked the path of duty and discipline... And today, when I look back on this long path, in my soldier’s heart there is a stirring and a noise from the depths: thank you. Thank you, my homeland"

In the first month of General Pinochet's dictatorship alone, over 30 thousand people were killed

In 1969, Chile's political parties formed the Popular Unity bloc, whose candidate, communist Salvador Allende, won the 1970 presidential election.

Demonstration in support of Allende. On the far right is the famous Chilean musician, actor and singer Victor Jara.

Allende's government immediately nationalized enterprises owned by US companies and announced a course towards building socialism along the Soviet model. As a result, on September 11, 1973, in the capital of Chile, Santiago, a military coup was carried out by the army, as a result of which President Salvador Allende and the government National Unity were overthrown. Allende himself died during the storming of the presidential palace.

The presidential palace of La Moneda was tightly surrounded by the military.

Shelling of the presidential palace by putschists.

Salvador Allende a few minutes before his death.

The body of Salvador Allende is taken out of the presidential palace.

A military dictatorship led by General Augusto Pinochet came to power in the country: all political parties that were part of the socialist bloc were banned, and their members were subjected to severe repression, and the constitution was revoked.

During the month of the “state of siege” introduced to carry out the coup, over 30 thousand people were killed.

Another 12.5 thousand died during the years of dictatorship under torture, died in prisons, and were shot on the street.

In Chile they began to burn books and shoot writers.

In all Chilean cities there were mass arrests of government employees, supporters of the ousted president, journalists, members of left-wing parties and trade union organizations, as well as simply “suspicious” people.

The infamous National Stadium in Santiago, turned into a concentration camp by the junta, can accommodate 80 thousand people. In the first month, the number of people arrested at the stadium averaged 12–15 thousand people per day. Adjacent to the stadium is a velodrome with stands for 5 thousand seats. The velodrome was the main site of torture, interrogation and execution. Every day, according to numerous witness statements, from 50 to 250 people were shot there.

Augusto Pinochet. Chile, 1973-1990. Series "The End of the Dictator"

In addition, the Chile stadium, which could accommodate 5 thousand spectators, was turned into a concentration camp, but up to 6 thousand people were arrested there. At the Chile stadium, according to survivors, the torture was especially monstrous and turned into medieval executions. A group of Bolivian scientists who found themselves at the Chile stadium and miraculously survived testified that they saw headless human bodies, quartered corpses, corpses with their stomachs ripped open, and chest, corpses of women with cut off breasts. The military did not risk sending the corpses to morgues in this form - they transported them in refrigerators to the port of Valparaiso and dumped them into the sea there.

American journalist John Barnes reported in Newsweek in October 1973 that the Santiago Central Morgue alone received 2,796 “unidentified” violent corpses in the first 14 days after the coup, mostly from the National Stadium.

Cemetery workers told Barnes that the corpses of those executed were loaded into helicopters and dumped into the sea. The same Barnes told how in the poblacion (poor people's quarter) of Jose Maria Caro, soldiers shot 10 students in front of the school building.

The Parisian Le Monde reported on September 17 that French diplomats had observed the day before, on the 16th, how the carabinieri loaded trucks with the bodies of those killed the previous night. Another diplomat saw soldiers hastily burying the bodies of the dead (a whole truckload) in a huge hole. A third said that in the Emida neighborhood where he lived, the military killed 400 people. The Miami Herald, which is not at all left-wing or even liberal, published on September 25, 1997, the testimony of the American married couple Patricia and Adam Guerret-Shesh, who spent several days at the National Stadium. The couple said that during these days the military shot 400 to 500 prisoners “in groups of 10–30 people.”

Secretary General of the International Movement of Catholic Lawyers Leopold Torres Burso, general secretary International Federation of Human Rights Michel Blum, Secretary General International Association Democratic lawyers Joe Norman issued a joint statement after a week-long trip to Chile, saying that massive human rights violations in Chile “approach genocide as defined in the UN convention.”

Municipal employees Humberto Gonzalez and others testified that on the night of September 11-12, in the Pinguino quarter, in the area of ​​​​the Carabinieri barracks, over 300 people were shot with machine guns - mostly workers of the Komandari factory, including many women. According to Esteban Carvajal, who was arrested along with four other people only because the soldiers confused the entrance to their house with the entrance to the district committee of the Socialist Party, at least 120 people were beaten to death in the barracks of the Tacna regiment in the first three days of the coup. An employee of the Chilean airline LAN, Julio Peña, who visited the Chile stadium, testified that in the lobby at the exit to the football field he saw three columns of naked human bodies, laid in rows of four, cross on top of each other. Each column had from 8 to 10 layers. The soldiers called these columns of corpses “sandwiches.”

Augusto Pinochet. Chile, 1973-1990. Series "The End of the Dictator"

Among those killed by the putschists at the National Stadium in Santiago was the famous Chilean poet, theater director, singer, dancer, and political activist Victor Jara.

Victor Jara was among those arrested at the National Stadium. Seeing what was happening at the stadium, the singer picked up the guitar and began to sing. The soldiers threw the musician to the ground and tore the guitar out of his hands.

For four days Victor Khara was beaten, tortured with electric shocks, and his hands were broken. Then the guitarist’s hands were cut off, then his head was broken. 34 bullets were fired into his body. The dead singer was hanged next to his guitar. Right at the stadium. He was 40 years old.

Victor Jara became a symbol of the struggle against the Pinochet regime.

Dozens of corpses floated down the Mapocho River, which flows through Santiago, every day. Sometimes there were so many of them that the water in the river turned red, which was recorded by photography and filming. The military forbade fishing for corpses, except in cases where the bodies washed ashore. People, as Newsweek magazine reported on October 1, 1973, turned away from the river, trying to pretend that they did not see the corpses. Time on October 23 quoted three lawyers, members of the UN Commission on the Rights of Refugees: “All the days that our commission was in Chile, until the eve of our departure, corpses were removed from the Mapocho River. In addition, in huge quantities the corpses were brought to the morgue or left to decompose where people were killed - to enhance the effect of terror.” The architect Maria Elena, who herself went through torture and beatings only because a Soviet silver ruble was discovered in her coin collection, even at the end of December 1973, that is, two and a half months after the “normalization”, witnessed how On the Costanera embankment near the Lastarria Lyceum, 13 bags washed up on the Mapocho shore. When the assembled schoolchildren opened the bags, they found headless corpses inside.

Things were even worse in the provinces. In Valparaiso, naval sailors simply fired indiscriminately from large-caliber machine guns at neighborhoods in the area of ​​the Baron railway station and on Avenida España, without interest political views those who fell under bullets.

Those arrested were taken to prisons, then barracks, schools, a women's lyceum on Barros Luco Street, and finally the ships Lebu and Maipo were converted into prisons. Thousands were arrested, hundreds died under torture, and of those who ended up on the ships, almost none returned - their corpses were thrown into the sea.

According to eyewitnesses, the training ship Esmeralda was also turned into a prison, where torture was carried out by officers from Brazil who arrived with their equipment. The Maipo ship housed 800 prisoners permanently - and every day 10-15 people were shot.

In Concepción, in the university quarter, over 80 people were killed on the first day. In the small town of Los Angeles (Bio-Bio province) on September 11, local fascists seized power, who began with the public execution in the central square of 12 city leaders of the United Trade Union Center of Chile. In general, in the province of Bio-Bio, over 90 people were shot (mostly not even by the military, but by local fascists and latifundists) in the first week. In the province of Cautin, the latifundists simply organized a hunt for peasants - Mapuche Indians. Armed landowners took the arrested peasants to the field, released them, and then chased them in cars like hares. Those Indians who were not killed, but wounded, were handed over to the carabinieri. Several local priests who protested against such a “hunt” were also handed over to the Carabinieri. The city of Puerto Montt was captured by Air Force General Sergio Lee, brother of junta member Gustavo Lee. The city was captured according to the rules of military art - like an enemy stronghold. And although no one offered resistance to the military, during the capture of the city, about 60 people died - residents of working-class villages, including several children.

It must be borne in mind that many of those detained in the first month of the coup were killed for completely random reasons. At the National Stadium, soldiers systematically killed those who had gone mad, and also finished off unsuccessful suicides (many in the stadium tried to commit suicide by throwing themselves from the upper stands). At Chile Stadium, several women were shot for wearing trousers, and men for wearing trousers. long hair(among them was a group of hippie foreigners). Mexican journalist Patricia Bastidos told how she saw a man shot dead at the National Stadium just because he was having an epileptic attack. At the same time, the military understood well what they were doing. It is no coincidence that officers used nicknames instead of names: for example, at the National Stadium - Lev-1, Lev-2, 3, 4, or Eagle-1, 2, 3, 4...

Augusto Pinochet. Chile, 1973-1990. Series "The End of the Dictator"

With the announcement of “normalization,” “military operations” against civilians did not stop. When, at the end of 1973, General Pinochet visited the village of Quinta Bella to attend the ceremony of renaming the village to Buin (in honor of the regiment of the same name), this was preceded by an act of intimidation: the military drove all 5 thousand residents of the village to the football field, and selected 200 of them , of which 30 were shot, and the rest were declared hostages. On the night before Pinochet's visit, soldiers constantly shelled the village. Several dozen people were injured. Later, Chilean television showed Pinochet's arrival in Quinta Bellew and women sobbing around him and explained that the women were crying out of tenderness and gratitude to the general for “freeing them from Marxism.” Although they cried, it was not at all because of this.

Having taken the helm, Pinochet in the summer of 1974 adopted the law “On the legal status of the government junta,” in which General Pinochet was proclaimed the supreme bearer of power.

Pinochet declared communists and socialists his main enemy and dealt with them with all cruelty.

For this purpose, military tribunals were established in the country and torture centers and concentration camps were organized. To carry out repressive measures, a national intelligence agency was created with an extensive network of agents, and literally six months later it grew into the Directorate of National Intelligence (DINA). The main task of the employees (and there were about 15 thousand of them) was to search and destroy supporters of Allende’s views who emigrated from the country.

In the first two years under Pinochet, 110 thousand people were arrested and sent to prisons and camps for political reasons.

492 thousand people passed through prisons in Chile under Pinochet. In total, 27.1% of the population went through prisons and camps.

Although Pinochet and the junta constantly proclaimed themselves "defenders Christian values” and emphasized their zealous Catholicism, thousands of believers were subjected to repression under the military regime.

Four Catholic priests from Belgium were subjected to torture and abuse at the National Stadium, arrested for trying to stop soldiers beating children in a poor neighborhood.

In the mountain villages around Valparaiso, local priests tried to intercede for their parishioners and protested against mass arrests. For this they themselves were arrested, and their churches were destroyed and looted by the military.

Augusto Pinochet. Chile, 1973-1990. Series "The End of the Dictator"

In total, at least 60 Catholic priests and monks were arrested in Chile in the first month of the coup. Of these, at least 12 people were killed or “disappeared.”

Fascist parties were Pinochet's only civil ally - and it was these parties that continued to be active in the country, despite the junta's official ban on the activities of political parties. It was the fascists who were entrusted with the “ideological justification” of the regime, they were the “ideological commissars” of the junta in universities, etc. Very soon glorification of Hitler, Mussolini and Franco became the norm.

Under Pinochet, Chile became a hotbed of fascist propaganda throughout the Spanish-speaking world. Mussolini's "Doctrine of Fascism" in Spanish was published in Chile in 6 million copies.

In the late 70s, Nazi war criminals fugitives from justice came to Chile from all over the world. Former SS men served as consultants, experts, and sometimes as managers in the concentration camps created by the junta in Chacabuco, on the island of Doson, on Tierra del Fuego, etc. Among them were celebrities - for example, the inventor of the “gas chamber” V. Rauch.

One of the political prison camps in Chile.

During the “capture” of La Serena, the fascists and soldiers of the Stark Corps covered the entire city with the slogans “Death to Marxists, intellectuals and Jews!”

Leading Chilean playwright Maria Requena was subjected to torture, one of which was, to put it mildly, peculiar: a woman was deprived of food and water for two days, and then she was offered to drink... pig's blood. “You Jewish pig! - the officers shouted. - Why don’t you drink your blood, pig’s? Are you used to Christian?”

The junta changed not only the intellectual climate in the country, but also the moral one. Denunciations were encouraged. The informer received a bonus of one and a half million escudos and all the property of the person he denounced. Hundreds and thousands of relatives and neighbors who were in a quarrel denounced each other. The city of Chuquicamata became notorious as the “cradle of informers”: there, teenagers from wealthy families raced to denounce their own parents in order to get their property and quickly squander it. We had one Pavlik Morozov, in little Chuquicamata there were 90 of them!

But Pinochet acquired many ardent admirers: those who made a considerable fortune for themselves through denunciations. Today these people are afraid that if Pinochet is convicted, then they will begin to try other officers for war crimes, and then, lo and behold, they will get to the informers.

When Pinochet refused to consider the “National Agreement for the Transition to Democracy” in 1986, the opposition movement began to grow: a wave of strikes swept across the dictator and an armed attack was carried out. Pinochet miraculously survived, but five of his bodyguards died. This circumstance increased hatred of democracy: “Those who talk about human rights will be expelled from the country or sent to jail” - this was the verdict of the “overlord.”

In 1988, Pinochet was again named the country's only presidential candidate and a referendum was announced. But the results of the plebiscite were not what Pinochet expected. In the referendum, the majority of Chileans supported the return of civilian government.

Speaking on radio and television, Pinochet assessed the voting results as “a mistake by the Chileans.”

Chileans demanded an investigation into the crimes committed by the Pinochet junta.

History puts everything in its place.

In October 1998, Spain accused Pinochet of state crimes: during the years of dictatorship, hundreds of Spaniards were killed or disappeared without a trace in Chile. Spain demanded the former dictator's extradition, but since Pinochet was a senator for life of Chile, he was subject to immunity laws. Pinochet was imprisoned five times house arrest, but due to health reasons and due to “insufficient” evidence, they were released.

Augusto Pinochet. Chile, 1973-1990. Series "The End of the Dictator"

In 2000, the Chilean Supreme Court stripped Pinochet of his immunity. The dictator was accused of committing crimes on more than 100 counts related to murders, kidnappings and torture of people. In 2004, a trial began for complicity in the murder of the commander of the ground forces, General Carlos Prats, and members of the Revolutionary Left Movement. Pinochet was accused of 36 cases of kidnapping, 23 cases of torture, murder, drug trafficking, arms trafficking and tax evasion, corruption.

Cemetery in Santiago, where executed Allende supporters were buried in anonymous mass graves.

On December 10, 2006, after suffering a heart attack, Augusto Pinochet died in a Santiago hospital. He bequeathed his body to be cremated, since he knew that the grave would certainly be desecrated.

Alexander Tarasov.

One of the toughest politicians of the twentieth century, general, commander-in-chief of the troops, who seized power as a result of a military coup, Augusto Pinochet entered world history not only as the President of Chile, who ruled the country for 16 years, but also as an executioner and tyrant. His name has become a household name when describing people who are cruel and aggressive. On November 25, Augusto Pinochet would have turned 98 years old. By this date, we will talk about his dictatorial career.

The future leader and “benefactor” of the Chilean people came from a poor middle-class family. His father was a port employee, his mother a housewife raising six children, the eldest of whom was Augusto. And most the best way In life, a military career was foreseen for the guy. In 1933, at less than 18 years old, he entered the infantry school in San Bernardo, from which he graduated in 1937 with the rank of junior officer. The young lieutenant heads to Chacabuco, where, after 36 years, one of the darkest concentration camps of the Pinochet dictatorship will be located. In the meantime, the future ruler is gaining military experience, changing regiments and improving his skills in schools, serving in provincial garrisons.

In 1948 he entered the Higher Military Academy, upon completion of which in 1951 he was awarded the qualifications of “General Staff Officer” and “Teacher of Military Geography and Logic.” Since 1954 he has been teaching at this educational institution. He managed to publish the book “Geography of Chile, Argentina, Bolivia and Peru” and entered the law school at the University of Chile, from which he did not manage to graduate.

In 1956, Augusto Pinochet was sent to carry out Chile's military mission to the United States. At that time, “inconceivable servility” to everything American reigned in the army. In Quito, he was supposed to help create the Military Academy of Ecuador. In 1959, Pinochet returned to Chile, where he tried on general's shoulder straps for the first time, commanding first a regiment, then a brigade and a division, heading the headquarters and actually leading the military academy. As deputy director (1964), he writes “Essays on the Study of Chilean Geopolitics” and the book “Geopolitics”.

In 1971, Pinochet headed the Santiago garrison; President Salvador Allende had high hopes for him. The general, being a disciplined military man and qualified specialist, was able to gain the trust of the Government of National Unity. At the beginning of November 1972, Pinochet was assigned the duties of Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces, which subsequently freed his hands. Already in August 1973, he organized a provocation against the Minister of Internal Affairs, General Prats, whose deputy he himself was. He resigned, unable to withstand the persecution, and the then President of Chile, Allende, a convinced Marxist who intended to lead the country along the communist path, signed his own death sentence, putting General Pinochet in charge.

Pictured: President Allende.

On September 11, 1973, a military coup took place in Chile, sanctioned by Pinochet and supported by the United States. A carefully planned strategy for capturing the presidential palace, with a complete blockade of escape routes, the use of aviation, armored vehicles and infantry. The Allende regime was overthrown, the president and his supporters were shot. The “junta of four” came to power, in which the future dictator did not initially play a leading role. However, it was he who in 1974 became the sole ruler of the country in which a temporary tightening of the regime was announced. Pinochet calculated his term at 20 years. He was a little mistaken - the dictator's reign ended in 1990, but he remained in general until 1997.

Having taken the helm, Pinochet concentrated all power in his hands, dealing with his competitors: General Gustavo Li was dismissed, Admiral Merino was also removed from office, and the Minister of the Interior, General Oscar Bonilla, died in a plane crash under unclear circumstances. In the summer of 1974, the law “On the Legal Status of the Government Junta” was adopted, in which General Pinochet was proclaimed the supreme bearer of power. From now on, his actions were not limited either by parliament or political parties. Pinochet declared the communists his main enemy and dealt with them with all cruelty.

For this purpose, military tribunals were established in the country and torture centers and concentration camps were organized. To carry out repressive measures, a national intelligence agency was created with an extensive network of agents, and literally six months later it grew into the Directorate of National Intelligence (DINA). The main task of the employees (and there were about 15 thousand of them) was to search and destroy supporters of Allende’s views who emigrated from the country.

One of them, Antonio Vias, recalls: “You had to hide so as not to be found. When the worst was already over, I managed to hide - they were still looking for me. My comrades who were caught were killed.” More than 40 thousand people were shot. And ordinary adherents of communist views were fired from their jobs and expelled from educational institutions.

In addition to repression, Pinochet carried out a new economic policy, trying to bring the country out of the crisis. He stopped nationalization and introduced the free trade principles of the American Milton Friedman. The free economy model was based on the rejection of all forms of government regulation, the provision of freedom of action to private national and foreign capital, the liberalization of imports and the active attraction of external financing. As a result of this policy, the country disappeared middle class, society was divided into rich and poor, however, we must give it its due and terrible poverty was eliminated.

In 1977, the Pinochet clique announced the dissolution of the Office of National Intelligence, which terrified the country's population with barbaric torture and bloody massacres. Just on this day, US Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs T. Todman, the first high-ranking envoy of the Carter administration, arrived in Chile from Washington. The fascist regime of Pinochet was widely condemned in the world, and it was important for America to establish official relations between the countries. This performance was staged especially for the distinguished guest to show that the junta was “beginning to respect human rights.”

In 1978, in a referendum, General Pinochet, playing on the feelings of ordinary Chileans, promising them freedom, received 75% of the votes in his support, which marked a major political victory for the tyrant. The Constitution was even promulgated in 1981, but the implementation of its main provisions took 8 long years. All this time, the powers of the Congress were exercised by the military junta. Augusto Pinochet, without elections, was declared "constitutional president for 8 years with the right of re-election for a further 8 years."

When Pinochet refused to consider the National Agreement for the Transition to Democracy in 1986, the opposition movement began to grow: a wave of strikes erupted and an armed attack on the dictator was authorized. Pinochet miraculously survived, but five of his bodyguards died. This circumstance increased hatred of democracy: “Those who talk about human rights will be expelled from the country or sent to jail” - this was the verdict of the “overlord.”

In 1988, Pinochet was again named the country's only presidential candidate. He promised that all political forces, including the opposition, would have the right to control the voting process. The authorities lifted the state of emergency and allowed people to return to the country former deputies and senators, leaders of some left-wing parties and trade unions, previously declared “state criminals.” The widow of Salvador Allende was also allowed to return to Chile. But the results of the plebiscite were not what Pinochet expected: about 55% of voters voted against Pinochet. Speaking on radio and television, Pinochet assessed the voting results as “a mistake by the Chileans.”

Two years later, democracy prevailed in the country, and on March 11, 1990, Augusto Pinochet resigned, but remained commander-in-chief of the ground forces and retained his influence in the political life of the country. But this circumstance still could not stop the negative attitude towards Pinochet in the world. In 1991, his European tour was disrupted because at the very beginning, when Pinochet was in Great Britain, none of the official representatives received him.

In October 1998, Pinochet was accused of state crimes: hundreds of Spaniards were killed or disappeared without a trace in Chile during Pinochet's rule. Spain demanded the former dictator's extradition, but since Pinochet was a senator for life of Chile, he was subject to immunity laws. The House of Lords declared the arrest legal, while Chile insisted that both Pinochet's arrest and his extradition to Spain were illegal. At the end of October 1998, Pinochet was released on bail.

Pinochet is a criminal, he violated human rights, but he was never convicted. He was put under house arrest five times, but was released due to health reasons and insufficient evidence. So he died without a conviction. The cruel ruler died in 2006. He bequeathed his body to be cremated, as he feared that his grave would be desecrated.

The personal qualities and actions of this prominent politician and captain general, dictator and Chilean president, neither during his life nor after his death, received an unambiguous assessment. In his homeland, Chile, and abroad, many, not without reason, considered him a bloody dictator. Although there were many zealous supporters of this undoubtedly bright personality. Famous political scientists admired his work, and economists called his reforms progressive and successful. But during the reign of this president with military shoulder straps, according to statisticians, a tenth of the Chileans who opposed his political regime and repression left their homeland. And the day of death was marked by mass demonstrations of jubilant compatriots. To find out what Augusto Pinochet was like and how justified the popular hatred directed towards him and the praises sung by his supporters will be greatly helped by the information presented below.

Origin

The ancestor of the future Chilean President Guillaume Pinochet was a Breton by nationality, a native of the northwestern region of France. It was from there that in 1695 he moved overseas and settled in Latin America. This ancestor, the founder of the Chilean Pinochet dynasty, was a wealthy man, a successful businessman and was very successful during his lifetime, and therefore after his death he passed on considerable savings to his heirs.

The family into which the one who was destined decades later to become the Chilean ruler was born in November 1915, led by Augusto Pinochet Vera, his father, lived in Valparaiso. This is a very large Chilean city located on the Pacific coast. The customs official at the port of this famous shipping center, receiving large quantities ships from various parts of the world, and served as the head of the family. His wife Avelina Ugarte Martinez did not work anywhere, but only did housework and raised six children, the eldest of whom was Augusto Pinochet Ugarte.

He was physically weak, but mentally strong and capable, a child whom his mother raised in the strict canons of the Catholic Church. But despite the respect for religion instilled in childhood, which had a significant influence on his fate, he always dreamed of becoming a military man. He studied the history of the military past of world powers, admiring its heroes - from mythical characters to real personalities.

Augusto Pinochet Vera died quite early. At that time, his eldest son was only 27 years old. But the mother lived much longer. And until the end of her days, she was a support and support for her, after many years, very successful eldest son.

First steps in the military field

It should be noted that the ambitious young man’s desire to become a military man was dictated not only by childhood dreams and hobbies, but also by a trivial desire to advance in life and make a career. Augusto Pinochet belonged to the middle class by birth, and therefore did not have brilliant prospects in life. A military career for him turned out to be almost the only way to truly advance. However, here, too, things were not at all easy for the stubborn young man. Weak physical development and his small stature became the reason that at first no one took him seriously as a future military man; they saw no prospects in him. But Augusto was persistent and did not give up.

In 1933, he was accepted into the infantry school, where with enviable persistence he learned the basics of military art. And upon graduation, four years later, he already had the rank of lieutenant. Among the young man’s idols of these years were Adolf Hitler and other prominent figures and figures of the Third Reich.

Next, Pinochet was assigned to Concepción, one of the administrative centers of Chile, where he served in the Chacabuco regiment. There he proved himself excellent. And soon he was transferred to Valparaiso, where he also made great progress, according to career ladder moving enviably fast.

successful marriage

In 1938, in the town of San Bernardo, Pinochet met his future wife. At that time, Lucia Iriart Rodriguez - that was the name of the young lady - was only 14 years old. And this meeting turned out to be more than useful for the ambitious young man. The girl’s father was a wealthy person, also a successful politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs, who had connections in high circles and had significant influence there. Among the high-ranking acquaintances of Lucia's parents was Juan Rios, a prominent Chilean politician who became the country's president in 1942 and ruled it for four years.

Here Augusto again showed persistence, persistently seeking the hand of a girl from an influential family, despite opposition from her relatives. But after some time, the parents came to terms with their daughter’s choice. They decided that a gentleman claiming to be related to them was very capable person with a bright future. They were impressed by his strength of spirit and desire to achieve his goals at any cost.

It is difficult to say with certainty that the relationship within the married couple formed in 1943 turned out to be warm and based on selfless love. But the young people lived for many years, had children, and later grandchildren.

Below in the photo - Augusto Pinochet with his wife in adulthood.

Further promotion

After the wedding, the career of the future president, already advancing at an accelerated pace, completely took off. His abilities, perseverance and, of course, the useful connections he acquired played a role here. Five years later he entered Military Academy, and after another three years he successfully graduated. Now Augusto Pinochet not only served, but also taught in the military educational institutions. In 1953, he published his first book about the geography of Chile and other countries of the South American continent. And soon he completed his thesis, after defending which he received the title of bachelor.

Increasingly, his shoulder straps changed at the most accelerated pace, Pinochet received one military rank after another. This was followed by overseas business trips and a return home. In 1964, at the Military Academy he was awarded the post of deputy director.

National Unity

There is information received from Soviet sources that a peaceful rally allegedly organized in 1967 by miners of one of the mines in Chile was shot by an army unit, whose soldiers were directly subordinate to Augusto Pinochet. Brief biography its version in other countries except the USSR, however, does not contain such information, and not a single foreign source of the case in El Salvador (that was the name of the mine) confirms it.

Meanwhile, Pinochet soon became commander of a garrison of troops in the Chilean capital. And a year later, all ground forces. These new appointments and promotions career ladder Augusto Pinochet happened during the reign of Popular Unity. In Chile, this was the name of the then influential coalition of leftist forces, whose protege was Salvador Allende, who became the country's president in 1970.

But in 1973, around the summer, the political situation became extremely tense. The forces of the right fiercely resisted the rule of the left and the reforms they carried out, although Popular Unity enjoyed the support of many, especially the poorest part of the population. But soon high-ranking military men also began to lose confidence in the authorities. Pinochet was among them. On June 29 of the same year, he took part in the suppression of a rebellion organized by the military against the Allende government. But this was where his active support for National Unity ended. And here the biography of Augusto Pinochet was marked by bloody and grandiose events, which were soon talked about all over the world.

Military coup

The cruel politician was eager for power. It is difficult to say whether he was motivated by political convictions or personal ambitions, but on his way he did not hesitate to take harsh measures and betrayal. This is how the history of Augusto Pinochet's reign began.

Already in August of the same year, memorable for Chile, 1973, he became the inspirer and participant in the provocation organized against General Carlos Prats, loyal to the government. As a result, he resigned, warning that his departure was a prelude to a soon-to-be expected coup d'etat. In Allende's government, Prats was Minister of the Interior and served as Vice President. He was considered a staunch supporter of the policy of National Unity. And the big mistake of Allende, whose memory was still vivid of the contribution that Pinochet made to the suppression of the June uprising, was his appointment to the post of a retired general.

The future dictator soon took advantage of this situation. Already on September 11 of the same year, an armed coup took place in the country. It was a well-planned military action, initiated by Augusto Pinochet. Briefly about the events developing then can be described as follows. The presidential palace was surrounded by troops, including infantry, aviation, and artillery. Soon the building was bombarded with rockets. Then very quickly the troops occupied all government and government agencies. Those who resisted were shot without much thought.

Death of Allende

Thus, the legitimate government was overthrown and President Allende was killed. Although, according to Pinochet himself, the deposed president committed suicide. Latest version This was confirmed by an examination carried out already in 2011 after the exhumation of Allende’s corpse.

Finding out the circumstances of the case was not at all the result of idle curiosity, but a forced political measure. Despite the fact that the events described have long since sunk into oblivion, their echo is painfully echoed in the hearts of Chileans even now. And the role that Augusto Pinochet played in them also causes a lot of controversy. The photo below proves this. In it, demonstrators held a rally in Santiago on the eve of the fortieth anniversary of the coup. In this way, the protesters wanted to honor the memory of the victims of the Pinochet dictatorship: people who were tortured, imprisoned and brutally murdered.

Presidency

When talking about the policies and beliefs of the new ruler of the country, who took the place of the deceased president, to illustrate his aspirations, it is enough to quote him. Augusto Pinochet, upon coming to power, declared:

Of all our enemies, the main and most dangerous is the Communist Party. We must destroy it now while it reorganizes throughout the country. If we fail, it will destroy us sooner or later.

The new president explained his bloody acts and repressions solely by urgent necessity, declaring them a forced measure to which he was forced active work Marxists, whose beliefs are spreading across the country like an infection, as well as chaos in the state. And for this reason, the military were allegedly forced to take power into their own firm hands in order to restore order:

As soon as calm is restored and the economy is brought out of its state of collapse, the army will return to the barracks.

As for economic reforms, the most radical path was also chosen here. Pinochet stated, repeating this idea many times:

Chile is a country of property owners, not proletarians.

Therefore, under the leadership of prominent American economists, a program was developed, according to which Chile moved at a decisive pace to a market economy.

Not everything went smoothly in these reforms. However, over the years, many economists praised this bold experiment, calling it innovative, awarded it with flattering epithets and called it an economic miracle. Many books have been written on this subject. They portrayed Augusto Pinochet as a bright personality and a very far-sighted politician. The authors stated that the transition from socialism to the market was first carried out in Chile during the reign of this active man. And the pace of economic growth, despite the crises that occurred from time to time, turned out to be impressive.

Describing life path Pinochet, one cannot fail to mention his personal life and the support he received in all his endeavors from family members. As already noted, this man was married and lived for many years in a happy marriage. Five children were born into this family: two boys and three girls. They also gave the couple grandchildren. The photo above shows one of them - Augusto Pinochet Molina.

Of the children, the eldest daughter Lucia especially distinguished herself, who turned into a loyal ally of her father and an ideologist of his regime. She was also active in public life during the reign of Augusto Pinochet in Chile, heading corporations research institutes, national cultural funds. After her father left the presidential post, his eldest daughter became an opposition activist, for which she was persecuted by the new authorities and arrested. And at the funeral of former President Pinochet, she gave a funeral speech, where she called on the right-wing forces to unite.

It should be noted that other members of the Pinochet family have also been subjected to persecution and pressure from the new authorities under various pretexts since 1990.

Criminal prosecution and death

But there were more than enough people dissatisfied with the policies of the man whom many called a dictator and the activities of his junta. And in 1990, it was already impossible not to recognize the superiority of opposition votes. Therefore, the history of Augusto Pinochet’s reign has come to an end. Speaking on this occasion in the media, the president said that the choice of the Chileans in the plebiscite held at that time, where about 55% of the population opposed his rule, was incorrect and erroneous, but still assured that he did not consider it possible for himself not to take into account the opinion of voters . Therefore, on March 11 of the same year, Pinochet left the presidency.

However, this man did not immediately lose his former political influence, he was still in charge long time ground forces, where he was commander-in-chief. But eight years later, he resigned from this post, now having only the title of senator for life in accordance with the constitution of his country. It was this that saved him from criminal prosecution, and to some extent ensured his immunity.

In 1998, Pinochet, who was undergoing treatment in London at the time, was indicted by a Spanish court for murdering its citizens during his reign. The accused was arrested, but was soon released on bail. But judicial investigation continued. Therefore, until March 2000, the former dictator remained under house arrest. He was accused of torture and murder, as well as kidnapping. But he was saved from legal responsibility by his poor health and the recognition by doctors of his senile dementia.

In August 2004, the Chilean court also became interested in the activities of the former president, and brought the most serious charges against him. But the severe heart attack Pinochet suffered two years later put an end to this matter. He died soon after in a Santiago hospital. This happened in 2006, on December 10th. His body was cremated, but apart from military honors, they did not consider it necessary to give the former president any other honors during the funeral.

Admiration and hate

How Augusto Pinochet's troops salute can be seen in the photo below. It should be added that, when making a judgment about any political regime, one should first study the state of affairs in the army, which is undoubtedly an important component public life countries. There was a spirit of calm and strength in the troops of those times in Chile. Soldiers and officers considered themselves defenders of the people, their saviors, called upon to restore order. They dreamed of leading their homeland to prosperity. And in this the army saw the purpose of its existence. That is why she supported Pinochet.

However, supporters of the former President of Chile can be found not only among the military and economists who recognize the success of his reforms. There is another category of people in his homeland and in other countries who say with obsequiousness: “My General Augusto Pinochet!” As a rule, these are ardent opponents of communism. They are often of the opinion that in those days Chile, which was in the grip of the “red plague,” had and could not have had any other choice but a harsh dictatorship.

This man's life was illuminated in theatrical productions and cinema, literature and music. To summarize, we should also remember the opponents of Pinochet’s policies. They also composed their songs, wrote their books and made films, conveying their point of view to others. Even years after his death, the former Chilean dictator has no fewer haters. The burning popular hatred of the bloody president also does not subside. One has only to remember that six years after Pinochet’s death, after a documentary film about him whitewashing the dictatorship was shown in Chile, an indignant crowd of members of the Association of Victims of Repression poured into the streets. They asked the Conservative government to ban this film. And this once again proves how much people were affected by the mere mention of Pinochet’s criminal acts.