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Naming of Pinochet's great-niece as Chile women's minister sparks outrage
Source: The Guardian
Naming of Pinochet's great-niece as Chile women's minister sparks outrage
Macarena Santelices has praised the ‘good side’ of the 1973-90 dictatorship in which over 300 women were raped under torture
John Bartlett and Charis McGowan in Santiago
Fri 8 May 2020 10.00 BST
Last modified on Fri 8 May 2020 17.00 BST
Chile’s rightwing president, Sebastián Piñera, has prompted a firestorm of criticism after naming an open supporter of Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship as the country’s new minister for women’s rights and gender equality.
Controversy over the appointment of Macarena Santelices – who is also the dictators’s great-niece – has focused on a 2016 interview in which she praised the “good side” of the 1973-90 dictatorship in which more than 3,000 people were murdered or disappeared by security forces and many thousands more imprisoned and tortured.
She also came under criticism for her outspoken comments against immigrants.
Taking office on Wednesday, Santelices denied she had ever “endorsed or justified” human rights violations and appealed to Chileans to “judge me on what I do from today onwards, as a woman”.
But activists said her comments about the period of military rule – during which at least 316 women were raped while under torture, 11 of whom were pregnant – were entirely incompatible with her new role.
-snip-
Macarena Santelices has praised the ‘good side’ of the 1973-90 dictatorship in which over 300 women were raped under torture
John Bartlett and Charis McGowan in Santiago
Fri 8 May 2020 10.00 BST
Last modified on Fri 8 May 2020 17.00 BST
Chile’s rightwing president, Sebastián Piñera, has prompted a firestorm of criticism after naming an open supporter of Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship as the country’s new minister for women’s rights and gender equality.
Controversy over the appointment of Macarena Santelices – who is also the dictators’s great-niece – has focused on a 2016 interview in which she praised the “good side” of the 1973-90 dictatorship in which more than 3,000 people were murdered or disappeared by security forces and many thousands more imprisoned and tortured.
She also came under criticism for her outspoken comments against immigrants.
Taking office on Wednesday, Santelices denied she had ever “endorsed or justified” human rights violations and appealed to Chileans to “judge me on what I do from today onwards, as a woman”.
But activists said her comments about the period of military rule – during which at least 316 women were raped while under torture, 11 of whom were pregnant – were entirely incompatible with her new role.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/08/pinochet-great-niece-chile-womens-minister
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