Chile 101: Intro to Democracy

Argentina became a democracy in the early 80s but Chile remained under the control of Augusto Pinochet until the 1980s. Although he died in 2006, Pinochet is still adored by a sizable number of Chileans. My host uncle has a photo of his daughter receiving a kiss from Pinochet hanging in the living room.



My friend's host parents had this book in their house. "Chile: Yesterday and Today" is a coffee table book/anti-communist pro military government propaganda. On each spread there is a photo with a caption describing life "yesterday" under communism (usually death and destruction) and life "today" under the military (usually happy people strolling down the street).