‘It is still very painful’: Victims of dictatorship disrupt Chilean elections | Political Issues

Antofagasta, Chile Samuel Burgos Espejo was a child when soldiers killed his older brother, one of whom was tortured 1973-1990 in Chile which saw thousands of protesters tortured, killed and forced to disappear.

“I was 11 years old when he killed my brother. I saw the death on the front door of my house, “Burgos Espejo, now 56, told Al Jazeera.

In 1973, a US-backed military coup ousted Chilean President Salvador Allende and ousted General Augusto Pinochet. The The tyranny of Pinochet ended more than 30 years ago, but many of the victims’ families still seek justice.

He has been sounding a warning at the Chilean presidential election, with dictatorial leadership seen as a problem in the coming months. Repetition of Sunday, and right-hand Jose Antonio Kast treats Pinochet with the utmost respect.

Burgos Espejo’s brother, Jose Gabriel Espejo Espejo, was in his early 20’s when Pinochet took over. An active member of the Communist Youth in Tierra Amarilla, 800km (497 miles) north of Santiago’s capital, was under surveillance and imprisoned several times during the first years of dictatorship.

Espejo Espejo was at his neighbor’s house the night he was killed. The curfew was strict, and the guards grabbed her, dragged her outside, and sent her away. He was shot in the back when he reached the door of his family home.

“I heard gunshots and got out of bed. My brother was on the floor, bleeding profusely, ”said Burgos Espejo, wearing a T-shirt with a picture of his brother and the date of his execution: March 20, 1976.“ There is so much suffering. ”

More than 1,200 are missing

For Burgos Espejo and many other Chileans, the memory of dictatorship has come to the fore in the run-up to elections.

Running down knocks Kast, religious right-loving, against Gabriel Boric, of progressive democracy. The winner will take office on March 11 next year and will likely face stiff opposition in a divided Congress.

Kast, a 55-year-old lawyer and former Congressman, got a lot of votes in the first election last month. Boric, a 35-year-old secretary and student rights activist, led the election until the ban was lifted on December 5.

The electoral roll now acknowledges that the people forcibly disappeared during the Pinochet regime.

Although the dead will not be able to vote, when Chileans cast their ballots, the voters’ roll will include the names of people arrested and missing during the Pinochet dictatorship with the words: “there is no reason to be missing.”

The National Electoral Service, SERVEL, which did this this year, said recognizing those arrested and disappearing at the election was a “public memory”. More than 1,200 people, many of them non-political, were forcibly disappeared by the military in the Pinochet regime.

Some of the missing were killed and buried in the wilderness. Some were thrown into the sea from a helicopter. Some of the bodies of the victims have been found, but many are still missing.

Burgos Espejo’s brother would have been one of them after the shooting, but he said that when the soldiers took him away, Burgos Espejo’s father got into the car and refused to get off. They went to the hospital, and after confirming that he was dead, the doctor ordered the soldiers to remove his corpse from the hospital.

“It was obvious he wanted to miss her as he did with so many victims,” ​​Burgos Espejo said Tuesday as he awaited the arrival of Gabriel Boric north of Antofagasta, where some activists held placards with “No To Fascism”. meaning Kast.

Kast’s thoughts

Kast celebrated the 1973 violent genocide, advocated military action against convicted crimes, and publicly defended the Pinochet regime, which he called the “military regime” – not a dictator.

He refused to be a “Pinochetista” – a Pinochet ally – ahead of last month’s election and backtracked comments on human rights abuses, but critics and journalists continue to question him about his long history of pro-Pinochet comments.

The history of the Kast family was also evident during the campaign. He always claimed that his German father was drafted under the leadership of Adolf Hitler but that he had nothing to do with Nazism. Earlier this month, a Chilean journalist unveiled Kast’s Nazi Party ID card, stating that he had joined the age of 18 in 1942.

Kast has been striving to present himself as a liberal democrat. He also made major changes to his platform following the first round but represents some of the points that made the most sense.

Gabriel Boric’s aide awaits the arrival of the candidate in Antofagasta, northern Chile, with a sign saying, ‘No to Fascism of [Kast]’ [Sandra Cuffe/Al Jazeera]

Anti-communism and allegations of “rioters” and “terrorists” appear repeatedly in Kast’s case. He gave the idea of ​​a South American intelligence agreement that critics see as a reminder of Operation Condor, a US-supported intelligence system in the 1970s and 1980s between South American dictatorships that use to identify and kill political opponents.

Kast also wants to significantly increase the conditions under which the President has the power to order that people be detained and detained in undisclosed locations. Modern-day dictatorships, which are about to be reformed, provide such power during wartime.

‘Polarized’ place

However, Kast’s main focus on law and order has received support from many people involved in crime, as well as others who want to curb protests that occur more frequently.

The move comes as a result of political change following the eruption of riots in October 2019 which led to mass protests. The protesters not only spoke of the unpopular government of President Sebastian Pinera but 30 years ago – and demanded a change in order.

One of the consequences of the political crisis is the rejection of the ruling party coalition that has been in power since the end of the dictatorship in 1990. Left and right-wing coalition candidates won 11.6 percent and 12.8 percent of the vote last month, respectively.

“There have always been two blocs and for various reasons they move to the center, in order to achieve unity,” said Ricardo Iglesias, dean of the History Institute at the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaiso. “Now, in the midst of the political turmoil, the negotiations have settled.”

A monument outside Calama, in northern Chile, pays homage to the 26 prisoners who were executed at the site in 1973 and others who were tortured by the dictator Augustus Pinochet. [Sandra Cuffe/Al Jazeera]

This is the first time in three decades that the brutal democratic disputes have become an election issue, Iglesias said, adding that for many Chileans, it may not make sense.

“It is not. It is not just a dictatorship – it is not just a system and security against the left-hand side. Pakati There is a group of young and old citizens who are out of the negotiations. What they want is for their problems to be resolved,” Iglesias told Al Jazeera. inequality, occupation and gender, among other important factors.

“I think Boric is trying to escape a little bit,” he said. “Boric tries to discuss the future, but Kast’s story is old.”

Meanwhile, many abused and oppressed families are still searching for the whole truth of what happened, searching for the missing, and fighting for justice – and for them, Kast represents a dangerous return to the past.

“We want justice,” Burgos Espejo said. “How many mothers have died without knowing the whereabouts of their children?”