Politics in Chile: Democracy, Authoritarianism, and the Search for Development

Oppenheim, Lois Hecht. Politics in Chile: Democracy, Authoritarianism, and the Search for Development, Second Edition. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1999. 304 pp.

Twenty-five years after overthrowing Marxist President Salvador Allende, former Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet was arrested by British authorities in London in October, 1998, for human rights abuses. His arrest placed Chile's search for democracy and development in the international spotlight, and renewed interest in the Allende/Pinochet years. Although a great deal has been written about the Allende/Pinochet years, the recent release of the updated 1993 edition of Lois Hecht Oppenheim's Politics in Chile: Democracy, Authoritarianism, and the Search for Development makes a timely contribution to the scholarship.

This second edition of Oppenheim's monograph, which could serve as a textbook for the teaching of contemporary Chilean politics, is divided into four provocative sections. Unit 1 is a brief sketch of the Chilean political economy to 1970. The author points out that prior to Allende's overthrow, the Chilean political system had been radically transformed on two previous occasions. In 1891, elites in Congress overthrew President Jose Balmaceda and established a parliamentary system; that system endured until the 1920s, when President Arturo Alessandri recaptured the constitutional powers of the executive. Significantly, both historic changes required support of the military.

Unit 2 is a sympathetic analysis of the Allende years. Oppenheim expresses unabridged enthusiasm for Allende and absolute disdain for Pinochet, and at times this gets in the way of her compelling narrative. She does point out early on, however, that she was "traumatized by the brutal events" of the 1973 military coup and "cannot claim to be unbiased" (p. xv). Although virtually all Chilean historians and political scientists agree that democratic institutions in Chile were in peril during the 1970s, the source of that threat is fiercely contested. One side contends that Allende's actions threatened to destroy Chile's democratic system, while the other side argues that Allende was acting within the constitution and that Pinochet's actions doomed Chilean democracy. Oppenheim clearly falls in the latter group. Ironically, she accuses Allende of frequently "circumventing the opposition-controlled legislature" (p. 48).

Oppenheim's assertion that the Allende presidency "began with enthusiasm and excitement" was surely not shared by all Chileans (p. 53). She neglects to mention that Allende's three-year attempt to take Chile on the road to socialism was opposed by many Chileans who saw their way of life threatened. Elected with only a third of the vote, Allende's actions alienated large sectors of society. Not many Chileans were actually surprised when the coup came, and many members of the middle class actually supported it. Few, however, realized that Pinochet would govern the nation for 17 years.

Unit 3 is a harsh analysis of the Pinochet years, which began when General Pinochet seized power in a bloody coup on 11 September 1973. To her credit, the author points out that "a complex set of internal and external factors led to the overthrow of Allende" (p. 88). Oppenheim sees Pinochet's military intervention as an aberration of Chilean history. This is not a view shared by all historians. For while his duration in power far exceeded any previous military intervention, one has only to return to the events of 1891 and the 1920s to witness the impact of the armed forces on Chile's constitutional system. Regardless, Oppenheim correctly points out that the Pinochet coup was exceptionally brutal, even by Latin American standards. The government-sanctioned deaths of over 2,000 Chileans out of a total population of 11 million focused the spotlight of human rights violations on Chile.

Unit 4, which has been significantly updated in this edition, examines both the achievements and limitations of the two Concertacion governments since 1990. Although generally pleased with the direction that Concertacion governments have taken, Oppenheim contends that the effort to reconstruct and consolidate democracy in Chile is obstructed by non-democratic legacies, such as Pinochet's status as a senator-for-life.

Oppenheim, professor and chair of the Political Science Department at the University of Judaism College of Arts and Sciences, has provided a generally well-written, although at times repetitive, study that joins the growing list of books covering the Allende/Pinochet years. Her work, with its excellent bibliography, useful list of acronyms, and thought-provoking footnotes, enhances our understanding of modern Chilean politics.

Michael R. Hall Armstrong Atlantic State University

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