Hola. So, for those of you who don´t know about CHilean history, I am going to sum up the little that I have learned about the past. Allende was the president before Pinochet came into power. The elections for presidency were funded by the US in attempt to keep allende out of power. THis means that the money that the US gave to Chile went towards the other candidates. SO, Allende (who is communist) was elected and consequentially, the US stripped Chile of funds and products. The result was an economic crisis and the country was in chaos. Pinochet came into power with the help of the US. He promised a better economy, better education, and a rebuilding of the country. These promises however were only geared towards the rich and neglected the poor, widening the social class gap. When Pinochet came into power, there were many uprisings and protests. Thousands of people opposing the government were tourtured and killed. Many of the torture tactics were taken directly from the Nazis. Pinochet was in power for 10 years. He did boost the economy at the price of countless lives. So getting to my point. Many of the well off citizens here support Pinochet and deny the murders that occured during his reign. I asked my host mom about her views and she briefly told me how great Pnochet was for this country. i had to leave right after, but we will continue this conversation tonight. The language barrier is hard, and the knowledge that I probably wont get her to understand my thinking is frusterating. I can NOT understand for ONE minute why ANYONE would be so ignorant to support dictators such as Pinochet, HItler, and Truijjo. I know I need to talk to my mom hwere tactfully and respectfully wiht patience to fully understand why she thinks the way she does. Its easy to say that you can´t blame these people becasue they have been brainwashed, but that´s not good enough . Its everywhere, in bookstores, in schools. The survivers tell their stories of losing their loved ones and I just can´t comprehend how people can brush that off. There are many opinions about this topic, and I hope to converse with others to seek out what the general consensus is.
On a lighter note, we have planned our trip to the south and just recieved our airline tickets. I have to go to a meeting, but i will write more about our plans later.
Love you all, and sorry this posting was so intense.
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3 comments:
Were they brainwashed, or did Pinochet offer them a better life at the time? Hmm a question to think about. It's like Osama Bin Laden and all his supporters. Why do they love him? because he stood up to the evil powers that opressed people. Although, he was a ruthless dictator, I just like to play devils advocate.
Cristina you shoul also understand that Allende did many that ruined teh economy of Chile as well it wasn't just the US embargo of goods. Allende nationalized all crop lands and stole land away from many who owned leaving the owners no incentive to cultivate it and those who wanted to had no education or experience in doing so.... I think besides just asking about Pinochet you should really ask about both Allende and him because neither is that popular no a days and also ask your host mom about "El Golpe Del Estado" and the persitance violence between chileans during 1974 remember there is no right answer.. and just so you know I hate Pinochet too but still its a very complicated subject especially ofr Chileans just try asking about Bachelet oohh my jeez
I know i don´t know the whole story, but thants for the tips, we had just watched a moive on this and i was frusterated afterwards. Definatly need to do my research.
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