DIRTY WAR IN CHILE 2/17/2010

Ending the Dirty War  The failure of the FMLN  The “hearts and minds” strategy  The decline of U.S. support  End of the Cold War  16 Nov 1989 Jesuit killings  The 1991 Peace Agreement  Reconciliation, Amnesty, Reintegration  1992 the peace agreement takes effect, UN verifies weapons decommissioning  1993 Peace and Reconciliation Commission  1994 Presidential elections

Ending the Dirty War  The Civil War lasted for 12 years:  Roughly 70,000 people died  State-related forces were responsible for 80% of all deaths  four-fifths or more of these deaths were peasants and workers  1979 population 4.5 million  500,000 – 750,000 people fled the country  500,000 – 1,000,000 IDPs  10% reduction in per capita economic production

El Salvador Today  Social Indicators  Median age: 22 years  Education: average of 5.5 years of schooling  Religion: 55% Catholic  Underemployment: 40-50%  Homicide rate: 55.3 per 100,000  Higher than during the war  Gangs  Eighteenth Street  Mara Salvatrucha

Before the War  Salvador Allende  Elected: 1970  Socialist leader of the Popular Unity coalition  Social unrest  March, 1973 Parliamentary Elections  The Popular Unity gained seats  11 September, 1973 Military Coup "One improbable fact must be grasped about South America at the time of our story: radical social revolution was a real possibility for millions of people, coloring everyday life with hope or dread depending upon the circumstances and political views of each individual.” –Dinges, 2004

Dirty War in Chile: Statistical Picture  1,300 detention centers  6 concentration camps  29,000 people tortured  2,279 political killings  Another 1,598 killings under unclear circumstances  National Trauma  200,000 situations of extreme trauma

Dirty War in Chile Ideology  Anti-Communism  Traditional Christian Values Players  Pinochet  National Intelligence Directorate (DINA)  Gen. Manuel Contreras Sepulveda  Col. Pedro Espinoza Strategies  Suspension of politics as normal  Shock and Awe  Detention  Torture  Executions

Dirty War in Chile Operation Condor  Organized in response to the formation of the JCR  Operational Structures  Intelligence sharing network  Communications  Networking and trust  Stationing personnel  Cross-Border Activities  tracking, surveillance, kidnappings, rendition, torture, interrogation, and assassination of opponents.  Opponents were not only leftist militants, but also opposition political and social figures. Participants: Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Brazil

Dirty War in Chile Exploiting the Crisis: the role of the US and neolibearlism  Milton Freedman and The Chicago Boys Pinochet’s Market Reforms  Removal of trade barriers  Return to export-led growth  Privatization, including social security  Creation of an independent Central Bank  Wage reductions Economic growth was accompanied by growing inequality 1972: 5% of population receives 25% of national income 1975: 5% of population receives 50% of national income

Ending the War Negotiated Transition  1980: a new Constitution is written and put in place by Pinochet in a shift towards managed democracy  1988: Plebiscite refuses to allow Pinochet to run for another term as President  1989: Pinochet’s man is defeated in the Presidential election; Patricio Aylwin, a centrist Christian Democrat, is elected.  1990: Aylwin establishes the National Commission on Truth and Reconciliation  1991: Pinochet stages military maneuvers

Ending the War: the price of impunity Benefits  End of violence  Democratic transition Costs  the continuation or reactivation of repressive networks and institutions  the distortion of political culture  the destruction of social capital  the ultimate delegitimation of the democratic institutions that reconciliation is designed to stabilize

Chile Today  1998: Pinochet resigns as Commander in Chief; becomes Senator for life.  1998: Pinochet is arrested in London  2000: Pinochet is released by the UK government  2000: criminal proceedings begin in Chile  10 Dec. 2006: Pinochet dies  2006: Michelle Bachelet elected President  2010: President-elect Sebastian Piñera  Today  3,000 remain disappeared  The military has been reduced to 40,000 and is all volunteer

Questions  Why do states engage in “Dirty War”?  Which Dirty War do you feel had more profound impact  Political  Social  Economic  What role does the global political context play?

Policy Papers  Issue: The state faces a rise in leftist political opposition seeking the violent overthrow of the state.  Alternatives: to engage in dirty war or not.  MUST be written to decision-makers within the state.