Death of a Fascist
General Augusto Pinochet succumbed to death’s grip today at the age of 91. The former right-wing dictator of Chile escaped justice on Earth for his myriad crimes against his own people, but is surely in a worse place now. According to his Wikipedia entry, “…many see him as a brutal dictator who ended democracy and led a regime characterized by torture and favoritism towards the rich…” Hmm. Sounds like someone we know.
I fist became interested in Chile and the Pinochet period after reading books by Isabel Allende, the niece of the democratically elected Socialist president Salvador Allende, who was toppled by Pinochet with the help of the CIA. I highly recommend reading Paula and House of the Spirits, both which provide keen insight into the Pinochet period, though the latter is a fictionalized account.
