Premier Klein’s Paper on
Allende, Pinochet and the Chilean Media
The year was 1973, the
date September 11. Although I cannot remember specifically what was happening
in the newsroom at CFCN radio and television, it was no doubt a typical day.
The morning radio news reader, Ross Author, was finishing his shift after
reading the morning news starting at
The top story of the day
would, without doubt, come for
All of the coverage would
pertain to a military coup taking place in
Some Allende
History
Salvadore Allende
was elected president in 1970, the first ever communist to be elected in a
democratic vote. The 1970 elections for president were a three-way contest
between the conservative National Party, which ran former president Jorge Alessandri; the left, which formed a coalition called
Popular Unity (Unidad Popular, or UP) of communists,
socialists, the Radical party, MPU, and two smaller parties, with Salvador Allende of the Socialist Party as their candidate; and the
Christian Democrats, who ran Radomiro Tomic from the remaining left wing of the party.
Allende (UP) 1,075,616 36.6 percent
Alessandri (PM) 1,036,278 35.3 percent
Tomic (PDC) 824,849 28.1 percent
Thus is
was that the world's first freely elected socialist president came to
power in
The development strategy
of the UP alliance was clearly expressed in the opening sentence of its
economic program: "The central objective of the united popular forces is
to replace the current economic structure, ending the power of the national and
foreign monopoly capitalists and large landowners, in order to initiate the
construction of socialism."
Such a transition to
socialism would require major structural changes, notably the nationalization
of the industrial sector (to be called the Area of Social Production), and the
implementation of an effective agrarian reform. Other goals included providing
better health, housing, and social security, and ending discrimination against
women.
The core of the policy
was to raise wages at the expense of profits, thereby squeezing the private
sector, much of which was to be taken over by the state and run at a lower rate
of profit. By the end of 1971, 150 industrial plants were under state control,
including twelve of the twenty largest firms. Unemployment declined as the
economy expanded, inflation was kept under control, and workers' incomes rose
by 50 percent, a huge increase. As a result, the UP increased its share of the
vote in the April 1971 municipal elections. As a result of the drop in aid and
economic sanctions, Chilean industry ran into problems getting spare parts,
technology, and new machinery. Meanwhile inflation returned because workers and
peasants now had more money to spend, driving up prices, while shortages of
goods were occurring. Agriculture declined as the land reform disrupted
production, and landowners took land out of production. Politically, it should
be pointed out that Allende did not control the
entire state machinery — he did not have a majority in Congress, he did not
control the judiciary, he did not have the loyalty of the entire civil service
nor of much of the army high command, which had been trained in the
On
The military formed a
junta headed by Pinochet and composed of the commanders-in-chief of the army,
navy, air force and police, and embarked on a campaign to remove the influence
of the UP from all social institutions. A state of siege was declared, martial
law introduced, parliament closed, the media censored, universities purged,
books burned, Marxist political parties outlawed and union activities banned.
Thousands were murdered or "disappeared." Thousands more were jailed
or tortured or forced into exile. Up to one million fled into self-imposed
exile. Up to 250,000 people were detained in the first months following the
coup. Stadiums, military bases and naval vessels had to be used as short-term
prisons. At least five new prison camps were established for political
prisoners.
The new formed secret
police (National Intelligence Directorate - DINA) created a reign of terror at
home and organized the assassinations of opponents in exile overseas. Civilian
courts were supplanted with military tribunals. Pinochet, an admirer of Spanish
dictator Francisco Franco, was appointed president in 1974, ruling as an
iron-fisted dictator. The
On
In
Throughout the readings
related to CMNS 402 "Media in the Americas" there is much academic
commentary about the media in the new world communications order, alternate
media, media as a nation builder, the introduction of coloured
television to at least three Latin American countries and a host of other
material discussing the management, opeation and
technical aspects of the media in the Americas and other parts of the Globe.
Only one reading, however, alludes to the abuse of the media, or the use of the
media as a propaganda tool and that reading is authored by Jorge Gibert. Entitled "The Response to the Chilean
Dictatorship" the article was written for Alternative Popular
Communication, published by Evergreen State College in
In an Editor's note, Gibert says "This contribution was completed before
the 1988 referendum in which the majority of Chileans voted against the
continuation of the regime of General Pinochet."
Quotes from Gibert:
"After the coup d'etat of
Gibert goes on to say: "Between
1973 and 1980, the only news or information broadcast or published in the
Chilean media was that strictly authorized by the military regime. The official
information printed or broadcast in
In this environment
journalists and communicators pay a high personal cost for daring to articulate
their opposition to the military state. This is especially true for those who
take a harder line against the government. They are continuously threatened,
persecuted, imprisoned, expelled from the country, or simply assassinated.
Another barrier to
Chilean democracy lies in the concentration of the mass media in the government
hands. Table 1 shows that in the print media there is
opposition representation whereas in broadcasting there is not. Two out of six
newspapers and half of all magazines are in opposition hands. However only four of 200 radio stations and no televisions outlets
are owned by the opposition."
TABLE 1 - CONCENTRATION
OF THE CHILEAN MEDIA: 1987
Television stations 4-pro
government, 0-opposition
Newspapers 6-pro government, 2-opposition
Magazines 5-pro government, 6-opposition
Radio stations over 200-pro government, 4-opposition
Gibert says in order to overcome
government controls over the media alternate (but perhaps illegal) media forms
have emerged as a response.
"In addition to the
traditional media under the Chilean military regime there is an alternative and
popular system of communication created by the people. The forms,
characteristics, audience, and the environment in which this system operates,
are qualitatively different from that of the traditional media.
The alternative system
includes street theater, folklore, poetry, graffiti and the popular press such
as bulletins and newsletters. It has two main characteristics. To begin with,
though alternative communication often operates within the legal confines
permitted by the military regime, it is a mechanism which confronts and
challenges the government and its socio-political and economic models. This is
so because the neo-conservative concept of society which prevails in the
military regime does not provide legitimate political arenas where other social
sectors and their organizations may express themselves and deal with their
problems. The people furthermore need alternative communication channels
because the military model assumes that class distinctions must be elimininated and the members of society should develop
their plans through the market. Faced with this challenge, the Chilean state
has utilized repression as its only means of social control. It has offered a
military rather than apolitical response which, in fact, reflects the political
weakness of the dictatorial regime. (RF)
While all the major news
magazines — Time, Newsweek, etc. — carried detailed coverage of the military
coup in Chile, perhaps the most comprehensive coverage was contained in the
October 1973 editon of National Geographic entitled,
"Chile — Republic on a Shoestring." The 40-page article tells of all
aspects of life in a post-democracy era. One of the most vivid accounts of
media use is a picture of soldiers breaking up a crowd of protestors. The cut
line reads: "Violence erupted when a radio station, ignoring government
edicts, broadcast critical speeches. Cheering crowds pour into the streets
while troops run a gauntlet of demonstrators and fires to restore order. Polcie silenced the station by cutting off its
electricity."
A Vignette
I was young, so my memory
is a little vague. I remember lots of debate before and after the election of
President Allende. If you were elected President
every media outlet talked about the new President and new programs.
After Pinochet became
President, the media became very controlled. The media was used for propaganda.
Freedom of speech changed, for better or worse depending on how you looked at
it. This is from Felicia, an immigrant to
According to a high level
Chilean diplomat who wishes not to be named, the media in
With respect to radio,
the diplomat says it is wide open and entirely free with few restrictions. He
says, "We let a 100 flowers bloom." Television is very interesting in
In newsrooms across the
country and around the world not much is being said about
On
He is quoted as saying:
"I never aspired to be a dictator ... because I considered that to be a
dictator would end badly. I always acted in a democratic way ... Who shall I
ask to be pardoned by? They say I should ask for forgiveness, what shall I ask
to be forgiven for? ... I feel like an angel. I have no resentment."
As a result of the
televised interview lawyers intensified their efforts to bring Pinochet to
trial, saying the interview indicated (through Pinochet dealing well with his
recollections) that the former dictator is medically fit to stand trial.
(Internet)
Today in
There can be no doubt
that control over the media is crucial during times of political upheavel. Control can curtail the use of an unfriendly
media and can be exercised to use the media as a tool of propaganda. In a
stable, democratic society the media returns to its traditional role of
reporting on the day's events, internationally, nationally and regionally
providing entertainment, and freely commenting on political actions and other
events of the day. And so it is in
End Notes
Gibert, Jorge.
Young,
Gordon; Mobley, George. Chile-Republic on a shoestring, National
Geographic, National
Geographic Society,
Internet Sources
n AMARC.org
n chile/com/
n
cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ci.html
n geocities.com/educhile-1970s
n
moreorless.au.com/killer/pinochet.htm
n nervat.com/left/allende/htm
n presidencia.cl/
n stago@dfait-moeci.ga.ca
n
trumanedu/~marc/webpages/revfall99/chile/
n wikipedia.org/wiki/salvadorallende
Other sources
Felicia, personal
interview (PI), 2004
Soto, Diego, personal
interview (PI), 2004
Unnamed diplomat,
personal interview, (PI), 2004