A divided and tense atmosphere: this is how Chile is commemorating the half century of the military coup that overthrew Salvador Allende in 1973. An anniversary that does not seem to be useful to reflect on the country’s recent history and look to the future. We wonder about the factors that have polarized this scenario and the responsibilities that Chilean political actors have in all of this.
Chile has launched a search plan for more than a thousand detainees who disappeared during the dictatorship. This is one of the main debts of justice after 50 years of the military coup led by Augusto Pinochet. For decades the search was carried out almost exclusively by their families.
This is added to the fact that the Supreme Court has convicted seven retired soldiers for the murder of the emblematic singer-songwriter Victor Jara days after the coup.
Furthermore, the suicide of one of the convicted former soldiers reveals the multiple fractures of a country where there is no consensus in condemning the coup of September 1973. It also showed how long it has taken justice to provide answers: half a century.
We analyze the anniversary with three guests in our studio:
– Paola Martinez Infante, independent journalist.
– Thomas Huchon, journalist author of the documentary ‘Allende is an idea that is murdered’ (2013).
– Marie Laure Sara de la Vaissière, doctor in Latin American studies, author of a doctoral thesis on Pablo Neruda, soon to be published in the university presses of Rennes (PUR).
Source: France 24
