Some time ago, Greg Weeks recommended Heraldo Munoz's The Dictator's Shadow: Life Under Augusto Pinochet andI have to second his recommendation. It is a stunning, unique account of the inner workings of the Pinochet regime, culled from historical documents, meticulous research, interviews and firsthand accounts of the dictatorship, all written in a fashion that makes it extremely absorbing.
andI have to second his recommendation. It is a stunning, unique account of the inner workings of the Pinochet regime, culled from historical documents, meticulous research, interviews and firsthand accounts of the dictatorship, all written in a fashion that makes it extremely absorbing.Some interesting details:
- While teaching at a military academy, Pinochet wrote a text on geopolitics including a map of the United States with the nation's capital in the Pacific Northwest, apparently not realizing the difference between the state of Washington and Washington, DC.
- At one point when the economy was in crisis, Pinochet's regime effectively controlled some 80% of Chile's financial sector through bank bailouts and subsidies when the economy tanked in the early 1980's, essentially making him - at the time - more socialist than Allende ever was.
- I had heard before how reticient Pinochet was early on to commit himself to the coup, but I never knew how thoroughly run-of-the-mill his career was, especially prior to the coup. He was a master of equivocation and mediocrity who, under the right circumstances, demonstrated that sometimes turds rise to the top.
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