The general's slow retreat : Chile after Pinochet / Mary Helen Spooner.

ISBN:

9780520948761

9781283277877

Title:

The general's slow retreat : Chile after Pinochet / Mary Helen Spooner.

Author:

Spooner, Mary Helen, author.

Personal Author:

Spooner, Mary Helen, author.

Publication Information:

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xiii, 322 pages, [12] pages of plates) : illustrations

Contents:

An uneasy transition -- Transferring power -- The conciliator -- The commander -- Truth and reconciliation -- Building democracy -- Elections and the military -- Politics and free speech -- Justice delayed -- London and Santiago -- Consolidating democracy -- The dictator's last bow -- Unfinished business -- Michelle Bachelet -- Chile, post-Pinochet.

Personal Subject:

Pinochet Ugarte, Augusto.

Subject Term:

Democratization -- Chile.

Geographic Term:

Chile -- Politics and government -- 1988-

Format:

Electronic Resources

Electronic Access:

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Publication Date:

2011

Publication Information:

Available:*

Shelf Number	Material Type	Copy	Shelf Location	Status
983.066 22	1:E-BOOK	1	1:ONLINE	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

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Summary

In her acclaimed book Soldiers in a Narrow Land, Mary Helen Spooner took us inside the brutal dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. Carrying Chile's story up to the present, she now offers this vivid account of how Chile rebuilt its democracy after 17 years of military rule--with the former dictator watching, and waiting, from the sidelines. Spooner discusses the major players, events, and institutions in Chile's recent political history, delving into such topics as the environmental situation, the economy, and the election of Michelle Bachelet. Throughout, she examines Pinochet's continuing influence on public life as she tells how he grudgingly ceded power, successfully fought investigations into his human rights record and finances, kept command of the army for eight years after leaving the presidency, was detained on human rights charges, and died without being convicted of any of the many serious crimes of which he was accused. Chile has now become one of South America's greatest economic and political successes, but as we find in The General's Slow Retreat, it remains a country burdened with a painful past.

Author Notes

Spooner Mary Helen :

Mary Helen Spooner is a journalist who began working in Latin America in 1977, including nine years as a foreign correspondent in Chile. She has reported for ABC News, The Economist, The Financial Times of London, and Newsweek. She is the author of Soldiers in a Narrow Land: The Pinochet Regime in Chile, Updated Edition (UC Press).

Reviews (1)

Choice Review

How Augusto Pinochet ruled Chile and was finally eased out in a referendum is well recorded elsewhere (see, for example, Chile under Pinochet, CH, Nov'00, 38-1797, by Mark Ensalaco). Spooner, a journalist, takes a different swath of time, extending from the general's removal in 1988 to his death in 2006. The perspective is valuable, as it provides a deeper, broader scope to Chilean politics. She focuses on several phenomena: the general's human rights violations, recalled and rediscovered; the often-furious pro-Pinochet resistance to such revelations; and the caution, even timidity, of the center-left (Concertacion) government in this polarized setting. Incidental issues along the way include Pinochet's money laundering dealings with the Riggs Bank (in Washington, DC); his use of multiple identities; his sizeable and eminently corruptible family; the former Nazi retreat in southern Chile, near where the Mapuche Indians struggle for land and autonomy; and the national elections, which are well covered from 1988 to the election of the wealthy conservative Sebastian Pinera in 2009. The transition ends with an apparent "never again" affirmed by both sides. A detailed chronology from 1973 and photos of the principals enhance the volume. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Undergraduate, graduate, and research collections. E. M. Dew emeritus, Fairfield University