We see here the openly expressed desire to overthrow Republican Constitutional and democratic norms growing among some extremist wings of the populist authoritarian right in our country. Of course they are still a tiny minority.
My brother moved his family to Chile some 30 years ago after the removal of the dictator Pinochet and the return to power of Democratic and Socialist parties, and as a young man I protested the Pinochet coup — so I am very familiar with this history. No need to go into all that here.
Suffice it to make a few points: Chile had a long history of democratic government before the coup. Allende and the movement he represented would probably have “succeeded” without the opposition of U.S. imperialism — though it certainly might have been voted out of power at any time. The “socialism” of Allende was democratic socialism, and Allende’s government went down to defeat without ever having persecuted its opposition or armed its many supporters. Pinochet never re-privatized the Chilean mining company, though this was the main economic complaint the U.S. had with Allende. CODELCO continues as a profitable state company providing the great bulk of foreign currency reserves to state coffers. Chile is today an economic success (#1 in South America) with a modern capitalist economy trading with China, the U.S. and the world. But as we saw last year with massive student demonstrations that became a popular movement against the new right-centrist “National Renewal” government (and also against the seemingly compromised Socialist opposition), social inequality and popular grievances remain strong.
I am happy to report that Pinochet, like General Francisco Franco, is ... STILL DEAD.