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### Viewing cable 07SANTIAGO228, STILL DEAD: AUGUSTO PINOCHET, TWO MONTHS AFTER

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
07SANTIAGO228 | 2007-02-09 14:44 | 2011-01-27 21:30 | CONFIDENTIAL | Embassy Santiago

`

    VZCZCXYZ0000
    RR RUEHWEB

    DE RUEHSG #0228/01 0401444
    ZNY CCCCC ZZH
    R 091444Z FEB 07
    FM AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO
    TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0920
    INFO RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION 2816
    RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA 1629
    RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 3480
    RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES 0080
    RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 1268
    RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ FEB LIMA 4913
    RUEHMN/AMEMBASSY MONTEVIDEO 3516
    RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO 1651
    RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
    RHMFISS/HQ USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL
    RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC

` `

    C O N F I D E N T I A L SANTIAGO 000228

    SIPDIS

    SIPDIS

    E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/06/2017
    TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINR SOCI CI
    SUBJECT: STILL DEAD: AUGUSTO PINOCHET, TWO MONTHS AFTER
    THE FACT

    REF: A. A) 06 SANTIAGO 2564
    ¶B. B) 06 SANTIAGO 2544
    ¶C. C) SANTIAGO 202

    Classified By: Ambassador Craig Kelly for reasons 1.5 (b and d).

    ------
    Summary
    -------

    ¶1. (C) The December 2006 death of Augusto Pinochet -
    seemingly a watershed moment in Chile's recent history - has
    faded remarkably quickly from public discourse. Feverish
    media commentary at the time - fed by juxtaposed images of
    still loyal supporters weeping while opponents popped
    champagne bottles - suggested, initially, that Chile was in
    for a long period of rancorous and divisive debate between
    left and right. Instead, Chile, now a thriving democracy
    with strong institutions, has apparently heaved an
    introspective sigh of relief over its past, and has moved on
    to the challenges of its present and future. End summary.

    -------------
    Dead and Gone
    -------------

    ¶2. (C) After the 1975 death of Spanish dictator Francisco
    Franco, "Saturday Night Live's" Chevy Chase would regularly
    open his faux newscast with the observation that "Francisco
    Franco is still dead." In Chile, former dictator Augusto
    Pinochet, who died December 10, 2006, not only remains that
    way, he seems to almost have never existed. This is
    surprising given the outpouring of emotion that accompanied
    his passing (refs A and B), as supporters and detractors
    fought - thankfully largely figuratively - to define
    Pinochet's legacy.

    ¶3. (C) For approximately ten days after his death, media
    coverage was intense, with all major newspapers and
    television outlets running retrospectives on Pinochet's life.
    These included exhaustive analyses of the rationale behind
    the 1973 coup, the accomplishments and failings of the regime
    during its 17-year run, and the long, somewhat tawdry,
    denouement to Pinochet's life, after he relinquished power in
    ¶1990. But since then, virtually, the silence of the grave.

    ------------------
    Appeals to History
    ------------------

    ¶4. (C) The intense - if short - debate over Pinochet's life
    and times revolved around three principal questions: 1) In
    toppling the Allende government, did he save Chile from
    something worse (than what he in turn imposed); 2) Did the
    market-oriented economic policies he implemented, many of
    which caused considerable hardship but which most agree laid
    the groundwork for Chile's current economic success, outweigh
    the negative of unquestioned human rights abuses; and 3) Do
    the allegations of corruption lodged against him and his
    family permanently mar his legacy, regardless of how the
    first two questions are answered?

    ¶5. (C) Clearly, where one stands on these matters depends on
    where one sits at the ideological table. Pinochet
    sympathizers - and they remain a significant segment of the
    populace - argued loudly that Allende had been leading Chile
    to chaos at best, a totalitarian nightmare at worst, with
    Pinochet a Cold War savior. In their view, one that carried
    considerable weight in the still moderately conservative
    major newspapers, Pinochet's opening of Chile's economy to
    the world was visionary, setting the country firmly on the
    path to stability and prosperity. Human rights abuses were
    regrettable, but forgivable in the context of a virtual civil
    war. Finally, allegations of corruption are unproven slander
    against a giant of history.

    ¶6. (C) For strong Pincohet detractors - who by most reliable
    estimates outnumber his backers - such talk is little more
    than Orwellian whitewash. They depict Pinochet as an
    unprincipled tyrant, who subverted the democratic order,
    betraying the very man who had given him his position. His
    economic policies were imposed by an iron hand, crushing
    labor rights, and causing considerable hardship for the
    poorest Chileans. Pinochet's abuse of human rights was
    untrammeled, setting the gold standard for similar abuses
    across the continent, throughout the seventies and eighties.
    And, on top of it all, he was a crook, who with his family
    stole millions of dollars from the Chilean people.

    -----------------
    Death Warmed Over
    -----------------

    ¶7. (C) By Christmas 2006, however, that feverish discourse
    had seemingly played itself out. In recent discussions with
    Chileans as to why Pinochet has dropped off the screen, one
    telling comment was made by Rodrigo Novoa, executive director
    of a leading judicial studies center. Novoa, in his thirties
    and with little memory of the Pinochet years, leans right
    politically. He told the Ambassador that "for most Chileans,
    Pinochet died a long time ago." His boss, Estaban Tomic, an
    older man, and politically to Novoa's left, nodded agreement
    (Tomic was in exile during much of the Pinochet era and was
    former President Lagos' representative to the OAS).

    ¶8. (C) Tomic related that he was present when Patricio Aylwin
    was sworn in as President in 1990, promising to be president
    for all Chileans, "civilian and military." Hearing Aylwin
    extend that olive branch to the military (out of prudence or
    otherwise), Tomic said that he and Chileans across the
    ideological spectrum breathed a sigh of relief. It was clear
    even then that there was no desire to go back, neither by the
    left to the Allende years nor the right to a military regime.
    In the years since, the revelations of human rights abuses
    and corruption had contributed to what amounted to Pinochet's
    growing irrelevance. His physical passing had elicited, for
    most Chileans, little more than a second sigh of relief.

    -----------------------------
    Whistling Past the Graveyard?
    -----------------------------

    ¶9. (C) With Pinochet now out of sight, the question is
    whether he is also out of mind and, if so, for how long. The
    example of Spain and of its grappling with the Franco legacy
    could again prove illustrative. There are clear differences:
    Spain's civil war dragged on for nearly three years,
    ravaging the country and leaving exponentially many more
    thousands dead. Franco's dictatorship lasted more than twice
    as long as Pincohet's. But there are similarities as well -
    Cold War concerns, including an uneasy relationship with the
    U.S.; post-conflict human rights abuses; dictated (albeit
    successful) economic reforms. Yet it is only now, some 30
    years after Franco's passing, that Spain is taking a painful,
    closer look at its past and, in doing so, putting what
    appears from media reporting here to be a significant strain
    on its social fabric. Are Chileans simply postponing a
    similar reckoning?

    ¶10. (C) Even if Chileans put off for a decade or two a
    determined examination of Pinochet's legacy, no serious harm
    will ensue. First, and without in any way diminishing the
    pain and suffering of the regime's victims, the number killed
    was significantly less (approximately 3,000) than what
    occurred in Spain, albeit not counting those tortured or made
    to suffer psychologically or otherwise (loss of family
    members, employment, social status). As the Ambassador noted
    in a recent visit to Villa Grimaldi, Pinochet's most
    notorious torture center, such practices should "never again"
    be tolerated, regardless of the ideological origin of the
    abuse (ref C). Nonetheless, the generational spread which
    defines the Spanish experience of war and remembrance is not
    present here.

    ¶11. (C) With the exception of the most fervent
    anti-Pinochistas, the majority of Chileans accept that the
    regime laid the groundwork for the economic growth and
    relative prosperity they enjoy today. They may argue
    passionately about the details and just how much credit
    Pinochet himself deserves, but they share the common
    assumption that there was some good done there. Other
    Pinochet-era achievements include a forcible breakup of a
    state educational monopoly that fostered the rapid growth of
    quality private universities. Pinochet also handled
    diplomatic relations with his neighbors skillfully, avoiding
    conflict with Argentina despite Chilean assistance to Great
    Britain during the Falklands War. He also with his fellow
    strongman in Bolivia, Hugo Banzer, made great strides towards
    resolving the issue of Bolivian access to the sea, failing
    only due to Peruvian objections.

    --------------
    Live and Learn
    --------------

    ¶12. (C) If there is an immediate cautionary lesson for
    Chileans it lies in the curious coincidence that Pinochet's
    death came as the leftist Concertacion alliance which
    replaced him entered into its 17th year of governance -- the
    same number of years that Pinochet ruled. Even for his
    admirers, Pinochet's star dimmed as he lingered in power and,
    when he finally did step down, allegations of corruption
    tarnished him further. While it may be too early to say if
    the Concertacion is suffering from similar fatigue, it has
    been buffeted over the past year by charges of corruption of
    its own.

    ¶13. (C) For the U.S., the mature response of Chilean
    democracy to Pinochet's passing is certainly welcome,
    evidence that the polarization of Chilean politics is a thing
    of the past. While there remains a strong right with
    loyalties to Pinochet, and a smallish hard-core left that
    would like to see some on the right painted as Pinochet
    collaborators, the moderate center largely holds sway.
    Chileans, at least for today, seem determined not to spend
    much time looking back or in excessive introspection. This
    complements our own agenda with the GOC, one which encourages
    regional leadership, outward-oriented thinking, and a focus
    on the future.
    KELLY

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