The Pinochet Regime Lives on behind the Façade of Democracy
Image Courtesy of Daniel Espinoza Guzmán Via Instagram @daeg90
By Carole Concha Bell
Chile has long been touted as the poster child of neo liberal success. The ‘tiger’ of Latin America appeared to be emerging from the ashes of the Pinochet regime as a solid democracy and lucrative destination for international investment. However as successive governments failed to address inequality,underinvestment in public services and some of the highest living costs in Latin America, coupled with a repressive state machinery quietly quashing dissent, mass social insurrection was nothing short of inevitable.
The Chilean estallido social that began in October 2019 not only ruptured the illusion of Chile’s economic miracle by exposing the deep economic and social inequalities that Chilean people have been subjected to for decades, it also exposed the unaccountability of state security forces, as reports of extreme police brutality dominated global coverage of the unrest. From October 2019 to date police violence has escalated despite the onslaught of the pandemic. These range from arbitrary arrest, torture, rape and even murder. President Sebastian Pinera, the cunning billionaire oligarch and brother of Pinochet’s Labour Minister Jose Pinera, has attempted to counteract bad press that saw his ratings drop to a measly 6%, by flooding the media with Coronavirus vaccine success stories. But behind the scenes, a well-oiled repressive apparatus inherited from the Pinochet regime is inflicting heinous human rights abuses on a new generation of Chileans.
The roots of repression.
The first policing organization with the name "Carabiniers" was the Corps of Carabineros, formed in 1903 to bring ‘law and order’ to the Araucanía region of Southern Chile; the ancestral land of the indigenous Mapuche people. The region continues to be a flashpoint of repression and conflict as the Mapuche lay claim to the territories where they have flourished for millennia, putting them at odds with forestry and fishing multinationals who want to continue exploiting the area for its rich natural resources.
During the Pinochet regime (1973-90) The Police were a fundamental pillar of the Junta that comprised the navy, army, police and the air force. It’s secret police subdivision (DINA and then CNI) was instrumental in carrying out human rights abuses against dissenters during the dictatorship and manufacturing a culture of fear and surveillance. According to an official Chilean report, more than 40,000 people were imprisoned, tortured or killed during Pinochet’s 1973-90 dictatorship, with General Manuel Contreras in charge of DINA for most of that time.
When the Chilean people voted to oust Pinochet in the 1988 plebiscite, kickstarting the transition to democracy, the clauses in the constitution enacted by the regime in 1980 made prosecution of the perpetrators of rights abuses impossible. Pinochet handed the presidency to Patricio Aylwin on March 11, 1990 under the condition that the coalition let Pinochet retain command of the army and respect the pro-military constitution and rules he had imposed, including a broad amnesty for military officers. Pinochet famously threatened;
“The day they touch one of my men, the rule of law ends.”
To date very few high-ranking officers have been held to account, most of the 4,000 disappeared are still missing and the constitution remains relatively untouched bar a few toothless amendments. The police force and army have not been reformed and continue to enjoy absolute impunity.
History Repeating Itself
As well as local demands for the rewriting of the constitution, the actions of Chilean security forces during the estallido social have led the United Nations, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch to concede that the police need serious and urgent reform. José Miguel Vivanco, Americas director at Human Rights Watch said “Issues such as the indiscriminate and improper use of riot guns and shotguns, abuse of detainees in custody, and poor internal accountability systems gave rise to serious violations of the rights of many Chileans. This is precisely why police reforms are urgently needed.”
An Amnesty International report details systematic human rights abuses on the part of the Carabineros and demands an end to a “tradition of impunity.” Erika Guevara-Rosas from Amnesty Chile echoed this sentiment commenting “These are not isolated cases of officers who have not followed protocols – this report is the culmination of a year-long investigation that has found human rights abuses and the excessive use of force are entirely normalised, as is impunity for the perpetrators.”
More than 8,500 allegations of human rights abuse from 2019-20 have been made. Cases include two Carabineros officers that tortured six detainees. Four of the victims were children, the youngest is just 14 years old.
During the pandemic the repression has continued under a state of emergency that is poised to continue into the foreseeable future. “It’s getting worse,” said Ana Piquer, executive director of Amnesty International Chile. “More people are out of work, more people are protesting, so there is more repression. It’s a very direct relation.”
Currently, despite the relaxation of lockdown rules, heavily armed police continue to roam the streets and the country is still under military curfew and state of emergency. In February at least three people were killed by police, including street juggler Francisco Martinez, shot dead in front of horrified shoppers in Panguipulli, Southern Chile, simply for failing to produce his ID. The catalogue of brutality is endless; a 5 year old child was killed by a stray bullet fired by police at the car in which he was travelling; a police officer threw a 16-year-old boy from a bridge in Santiago, leaving him for dead; a young man was found hanged in custody and community kitchen organisers have been arrested and beaten.
April 11th, 2021 has been set as the date when Chileans will vote for candidates to write the new constitution, but against a backdrop of unbridled repression, lack of free press and reports of the far-right hijacking the process, the new constitution may not provide the silver bullet Chile sorely needs.
Carole Concha Bell is a freelance journalist specializing in Chile and in Mapuche human rights. She is a PhD student at the King's College London Department of Spanish, Portuguese & Latin American Studies.