Allende's head of military, Augusto Pinochet led the coup. Allende's death is officially attributed to suicide, but others believe the opposition killed him. Pinochet took power and started a tyrannical 17 years of rule. Under Pinochet, a free market economy was established. While some may argue the merits of capitalism, Chile's free market was enforced at a very high price. Thousands of Chileans were exiled, imprisoned, tortured and murdered. Some just vanished, never to be found by their families again. Chile's history is a lesson in irony, democratic socialism overthrown by capitalistic dictatorship.
It's common knowledge that the United States, threatened by communism, played a part in this coup. Recently, CIA documents have been declassified by President Clinton. This project is called the Chilean Declassification Project. Political leaders now admit that we made errors in our Latin American policies, policies that resulted in massive violations of human rights.
The victims were many, of all ages and backgrounds. At first, the regime concentrated on leftist supporters, but eventually, other Chileans were also persecuted. Victor Jara, a renowned folk singer whose music spoke against abuse and suffering, was arrested, tortured and killed. Charles Horman, an American journalist who supported Allende, was taken from his apartment and murdered. Twenty-seven years later, the Horman family is still searching for all the details of his death. These are just two examples. The list of victims is long, the details harrowing.
Despite the risk, some people in Chile could not ignore the violence. They banded together to fight the oppression. A man named Sebastian Acevedo inspired one such group. This Chilean man's son and daughter were both arrested following their participation in a protest against Pinochet's government. Sebastian Acevedo searched everywhere for his children, but officials would not help him. He set himself on fire in front of the entrance to the Cathedral and died later that day. A movement that had been organized several months earlier, took this martyr's name and became the Sebastian Acevedo Anti-Torture Movement.
