Overview

The military coup d’etat that convulsed Chile on September 11, 1973, and led to the suicide of then-President Salvador Allende was a dramatic interruption of institutional life in one of the world’s oldest and most stable democracies. In Pinochet: The Politics of Power, originally published in 1988, distinguished Chilean political scientist Genaro Arriagada examines the nearly 15-year reign of one of Latin America’s most enduring dictators, General Augusto Pinochet. The international press had brought the Pinochet regime’s human rights violations, orthodox monetarist policies, and staggering international debt burden to the world’s attention. Far less was known about the internal workings of Pinochet’s politics. This book provided the first detailed account of Pinochet’s manipulation of the political machinery, press, and military in support of his reactionary rule. This book would have been especially timely in light of the upcoming 1988 Chilean presidential elections and will still be essential reading for anyone interested in Chilean politics and the history of this South American nation.

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9781041265207

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Reviews

Review for the original edition: “An exceptionally well-informed and carefully presented analysis of how, in one of Latin America's best-established democracies, General Augusto Pinochet was able to impose a solidly entrenched military dictatorship; how and why the Pinochet regime endured so long; and why by the late 1980s the opposition realized that it would have to play by the dictator's own rules, however illegitimate, to have any chance of ending the regime. The author, a Christian Democratic political leader, successfully coordinated the campaign of the Chilean opposition to defeat Pinochet in the October 1988 plebiscite.” – Gaddis Smith, Foreign Affairs (Winter 1988/89)

Author Information

Genaro Arriagada was, at the time of original publication, a member of the Political Council of Chile’s Christian Democratic Party.

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