Hurray! Pinochet is dead: “Murio el perro, y tengo el derecho en celebrar por un día.”

"The dog died and I have the right to celebrate for a day."

Si, si, si. Yo se. I know. A Chilean is the last person that you have to say that you wish the bastard Pinochet would of served time in jail or that there was some kind of justice. “Justice”?

Yes, yes, yes. You don’t have to say it twice. There are few Chileans given the opportunity of a gun and Pinochet as their target who would not shoot. Would that be justice? There is no act or amount of money or jail time that will ever amount to “justice” for who and what was lost.

Many of the atrocities that you heard about are terrible stories. But never the less, they are stories. You might say those of us born later, that what we feel is empathy for stories told to us. But they aren’t. It is much more than that. It is part of our family history.

When my grandma, Ti, told me her story I could see her. I could see her, grandpa and my uncle (young at the time) marching among millions showing their support for the Popular Unity (Unidad Popular) government headed by Dr. Salvador Allende Gossens. I can see my aunt as a teenager driving around our neighborhood in Santiago with her friends collecting food for the local ‘soup kitchen’ that feed the poor. It is as though I could feel their joy during those exhilarating years, just as I could feel their pain when it ended.

I use the word pain in passing because it is much more than that. I can see Ti led outside by the noise of airplanes that early morning on September 11, 1973. As she looked up into the sky and watched planes headed to bomb La Moneda, she felt her soul tearing apart. Her dreams, like those of factory workers, farm workers, peasants, teachers and housewives, like her, could feel the foundation of what they had been building being broken apart by a big hammer.

Why? ¿Porque? Why couldn’t they make the choice to live with dignity and have bread on their table? Why couldn’t those who toiled and created the wealth of Chile have a say.

The terror that followed was to break the spirits of the working-class masses and to halt any attempt to organize resistance. Ti told me she avoided seeing La Moneda for weeks, but one day she took a bus that had to take another route and drove in front of the presidential palace. As they approached, the usually noisy Chilean bus went silent. She said that seeing the palace bombed was unbearable and she arrived home crying. She couldn’t even tell my grandpa what she had seen for several days, because repeating it just brought the images back.

I could also tell you in detail when the military searched our home. I could tell you the steps they took through our property and the agony as grandma passed by uncle, 6 years old at the time, to our neighbors, in case they were all arrested. What about the many stories of the many forced to burn their books because of their ideas. My older uncle, Tio Raul, never left Chile because of his nationalist ideas. He joined the Communist Party as a teenager and was a union leader in one of the largest factories in Santiago, Siam Detela. He was in hiding for two years and after lived in constant terror that any day or at any time he might hear that knock on the door. He like many others, heard those knocks at their neighbors homes, and heard gun fire, screams and cries.

Yes, I drank champagne the day the SOB general died. I drank like many drank; not just to celebrate, but it was something more. The morning that the planes flew overhead, those in favor of the coming dictatorship went out into the streets with glasses and champagne bottles to celebrate. We unfortunately had the one family on the block that welcomed this bloodshed renting from one of our homes. So, in response, now we drink. We drink with the sweet thoughts that Pinochet died knowing holding the post of President of Chile is a woman, single mother, member of the Socialist Party who was imprisoned by him and who’s father was killed by his government.

But they are many still out there. Some criminals that took part in the 17 year dictatorship are presently in jail and others awaiting trial. They are also criminals that will never be tried. For example, George Bush Sr. who was then head of the CIA or Henry Kissinger (Secretary of State) or Richard Nixon (President). The U.S. government has their blood tainted in their part for what took place that became clear when the CIA files were declassified.


The best way to learn about what lead to the coup d'etat is watching the documentary "Battle of Chile".


Batalla de Chile (Part 1)
Batalla de Chile (Part 2)
Batalla de Chile (Part 3) *best one


The important thing that it will never be forgotten, and it is clear that it won't.



Poster made in May 1973 in Chile.