cent inflation.rnMyths and hypocrisy aside, the case ofrnChile poses some tough moral problems.rnAlthough it’s true that the leftists broughtrnthe repression on themselves, the brutalityrnof the military government is difficultrnto justify.rnIn mid-March, near the end of my trip,rnI rented a car in Iquique and drove to thernfar northern seacoast hamlet of Pisagua.rnWedged onto a strip of rocky coast at thernbase of thousand-foot desert headlands, itrnis a place of existential isolation, a naturalrnprison. Around the turn of the century,rnwhen Pisagua was still a booming nitraternport, a jail was built in the town. AfterrnSeptember 1973, much of the town wasrnturned into a prison camp. For a periodrnof two years, some 800 prisoners werernhoused in Pisagua for detention, interrogation,rntorture, and punishment. Nineteenrnwere killed, and their bodies disappeared.rnIn the summer of 1989, thernvillage—having long since returned to itsrnstatus as a quiet home to a few dozen fishermanrnand shellfish divers—made newsrnagain. A mass unmarked grave, containingrnthe 19 bodies, was discovered in therntown’s cemetery. Pinochet had steppedrndown from power only a few months before,rnand the story rapidly became a causerncelebre among those trying to make truthrnand reconciliafion (or retribution) pillarsrnof the new democracy.rnDriving to Pisagua, I miscalculated therntime needed to cross the desert and descendedrninto the hamlet long after dusk.rnToo late to find a suitable camping spot,rnI checked into the only hotel in town. Itrnhad been open for a year and was locatedrnin, of all places, the old jail building.rnThe woman who ran the hotel (her familyrnhad bought it from the government)rnexplained that the bad things had takenrnplace elsewhere in the town. Also, theyrnhad done a lot to make the jail hospitable:rnThe guest rooms were in the administrativernwing of the structure, andrnsome of the cells had pool tables in them.rnStill, the whole thing was more than a littlerncreepy. Lying in bed and listening tornthe cool wind rustling through the frondsrnin the atrium, it was impossible not tornthink of the terror and sufl^ering enduredrnby the prisoners during those two years.rnThose thoughts were compounded thernnext day, when I visited the empfy grave.rnAnd yet, the quesfion remains: Wliatrndo you do when ultra-leftists are takingrnover your country by force? My instinctivernpreference is for the kind of armedrnresistance practiced during the Allendernyears by Patria y Libertad. However,rneven if such resistance had been successful,rnit would have been far more costly inrnhuman life than Pinochet’s golpe. Morernlikely, Chile would still be in a state ofrncivil war, like Colombia.rnThe guerrillas—and their “civilian” alliesrn—undoubtedly needed to be jailed orrnexiled. Torture and execution are differentrnmatters. I would like to believe thatrnChristians would be incapable of torturingrnor executing prisoners. Still, in a landrnwhere prominent clerics espoused liberationrntheology and violent class struggle, itrnshould not have been surprising to see arndearth of Christian mercy.rnAs Chile has moved closer towardrnputting Pinochet on trial, there havernbeen some grumbles from the militaryrnand from the large minority of citizensrnwho regard him as the savior of theirrncountry. Remember, in the (mandatory)rn1988 plebiscite, 43 percent of Chileansrnvoted to extend his presidency for anotherrneight years. Even so, I believe that civilrnturmoil over the issue will be minimal.rnThe most interesting irony, as Chile’srndemocracy continues to assert itself, isrnthat the new democracy was made possiblernin large part by the very same militaryrngovernment that is now on tiial. Indeed,rnthe most important achievement ofrnPinochet’s reforms was to create socialrnpeace by depoliticizing wide sectors ofrnthe Chilean economy.rnToday’s Chilean democracy is blessedrnwith good leadership on both sides of thernpresent political spectrum. So far, Lagosrnhas kept his inaugural promise to bern”president of all the Chileans.” Thernproblem with Lagos, as the country limpsrnout of a hard hvo-year recession, is that herndoes not have the ideological convictionrnnecessary to finish the privatization revolutionrnand to create the kind of businessrnand inveshnent environment that will allowrnthe country to catch the next wave ofrnstrong economic growth.rnLagos’ opponent in the election wasrnJoaquin Lavin, a 48-year-old economistrnwho served as the highly popular mayorrnof Santiago’s Las Condes suburb. Lavinrnwent from his narrow loss to an easy winrnin Santiago’s mayoral election. If Lavinrncan win the presidency in 2005, it will berngood news for Chile’s future. Lavin understandsrnthat, if Chile is going to achievernthe growth rates necessary to catch uprnwith the industrialized world and to eradicaternsevere poverty, the governmentrnmust allow domestic and foreign investmentrnto effect a rapid technological transformationrnof Chile’s productive capacify.rnFurther, he would let Chilean workersrnprofit from globalization by allowing thernprivatized pension companies to invest arnlarger share of their assets in foreign securitiesrn(the current limit is 20 percent).rnPolitically, the election of Lavin inrn2005 would mean that Chile’s democracyrnhas finally made peace with its authoritarianrnpast. If Chileans prove capable ofrnovercoming their political rifts, and ifrnthey succeed in joining the First Worldrnnations economically, they will richly deservernthe resulting peace and prosperity.rnChileans are a hard-working people, andrnthey are justifiably proud of their beautifulrncountry. Most of all, they have sufferedrna lot during their three decades underrnthe hot glare of the glass house.rnTom jenney is a freelance writer livingrnin Arlington, Virginia.rnLetter FromrnMississippirnby Walter D. KennedyrnWhat Price for My Soul?rnWliat price would you place upon yourrnsoul? For the people of Mississippi, thisrnquestion recently became more than arnmere philosophical or theological inquiry.rnTrue enough, all of us face thisrnquestion in small, unnoticed ways as wernmove through life. Thankfully, most ofrnus can make our choice quietly, in private,rnand away from public scrutiny. Butrnoccasionally, people are forced to makerntheir choice with the entire world watching.rnThe recent vote in Mississippi onrnwhether to keep the state flag (which containsrnthe Confederate Battle Flag) wasrnjust such an occasion. The vote, 65 percentrnin favor to 35 percent opposed, wasrnan overwhelming victory of tiadition overrnpolitical correctness.rnDespite relentless accusations ofrnracism from the politically correct mediarnand claims by leaders of the businessrncommunity that the current flag hindersrneconomic development, the people ofrnMississippi rallied to the defense of theirrnflag and their society. What motivatedrnsuch a vote? Why did the people of Mississippi,rnthe citizens of the “poorest” statern36/CHRONICLESrnrnrn
January 1975April 21, 2022By The Archive
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