Home > Augusto Pinochet
General Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (pronounced, SAMPA: /aw"gusto pino"tSEt/; IPA:
/aw'gusto/ or
/a'gusto/,
/pino'ʧεt/ or
/pino'ʧε/)
(born November 25, 1915) was head of the military government that ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990. He came to power in a violent coup that deposed Salvador Allende, the first Socialist to be elected president of Chile. The coup ended a period of strained relations between the United States—which had actively sought Allende's removal—and the South American country. (See also 1970 Chilean presidential election; Chilean coup of 1973; List of Presidents of ChileUnlike many of the other countries in the region, Chile has a long history of democratic Presidents. The President of Chile is both the chief of state and the head of government. List of Presidents of Chile Chile, List of Presidents of..)
Once in power, Pinochet and his government quickly moved to suppress leftist opposition. Constitutional civil libertiesCivil liberties are protections from the power of governments. Examples include freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and trial by jury. These are usually created and protected by a constitution. See also human rights, civil rights. All western democrac and human rightsHuman rights natural rights are rights which some hold to be "inalienable" and belonging to all humans, according to natural law. Such rights are believed, by proponents, to be necessary for freedom and the maintenance of a " reasonable" quality of life. were curtailed, resulting in the deaths of approximately 3,000 Chileans and thousands of political refugees being received abroad. His supporters credit him with staving off what they saw as a beginning of communism, and for implementing neoliberalNeoliberalism is a political philosophy and a political-economic movement beginning in the 1970s and increasingly prominent since 1980 that de-emphasizes or rejects positive government intervention in the economy, focusing instead on achieving progress an market policies. His opponents charge him with having destroyed Chile's democracy, catering to foreign interests, and adopting economic policies that favored the wealthy and made life worse for the poor in Chile.
In 19801980 is a leap year starting on Tuesday. Events January-February January 1- April 1 National steel strike in United Kingdom January 1 Changes to the Swedish Act of Succession creates Victoria of Sweden, Crown Princess over her younger brother January 5 He a new constitution which planned a single-candidate presidential plebiscite in 19881988 is a leap year starting on Friday (click on link for calendar). Events January January 2 Georgia celebrates its bicentennial statehood. January 9 Connecticut celebrates its bicentennial statehood. January 26 Australia celebrates its bicentennial day. and a return to civilian rule in 1990, came into effect. Pinochet lost the plebiscite, which triggered multi-candidate presidential elections in 19891989 is a common year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). Events January January 7 Akihito becomes Emperor of Japan following the death of Hirohito. The Heisei period begins January 8 the Kegworth Air Disaster A British Midland Boeing 737 cra. Pinochet transferred power to his successor in 1990 but retained his post as commander-in-chief of the army until 1998, when he assumed a lifelong seat in the Chilean Senate, a position which he abandoned four years later due to health concerns.
