The Country That's Dismantling Its System of Privilege for the 1% — Can the U.S. Be Next?

[unhappycamper]

http://smirkingchimp.com/thread/thom-hartmann/53236/the-country-thats-dismantling-its-system-of-privilege-for-the-1-can-the-u-s-be-next

The Country That's Dismantling Its System of Privilege for the 1% — Can the U.S. Be Next?
by Thom Hartmann | December 18, 2013 - 9:54am

Chileans have rejected Reaganomics, and it’s time we followed their lead. Back in the early 1970s, Chile was one of the most progressive countries in South America.

Its democratically elected socialist president, Salvador Allende, nationalized big businesses and gave every Chilean access to free healthcare and higher education. GDP went up and income inequality went down, and for the first time ever, working-class Chileans had a chance to live out their version of the American dream.

But not everyone was happy with President Allende’s Chilean New Deal. Behind his back, the United States and the country’s corporate and military elite were conspiring to sabotage his reforms and destroy the economy. Although Allende’s policies were successful, Chile still needed foreign loans to survive, so the Nixon administration got the International Monetary Fund to suspend all aid. This decimated the economy and stunted the progress Allende had made over his first few years in office.

The Chilean elite’s sabotage campaign turned into outright treason on Sept. 11, 1973 when, with the help of the CIA, General Augusto Pinochet overthrew Allende’s government and ushered in 17 years of military rule. Pinochet’s dictatorship was one of the most brutal in Latin American history. Dissidents were jailed, tortured and executed. People were thrown out of helicopters into the ocean. Others were taken to the national soccer stadium in Santiago where they were shot at point blank range by firing squads.

[pipoman]

1. no

Compared to Chilean big business, the US is a 787 and Chile is a paper airplane. .

[BlueStreak]

2. One step at a time. I think Iceland is a much more relevant example.

[dipsydoodle]

3. On the subject of Chile 1970's

more or less chapter and verse here : http://newsmine.org/content.php?ol=coldwar-imperialism/chile/chile-plots-pepsi-itt.txt

In particular :

Nixon was abusive towards Korry, but agreed that a coup at this point would be premature and unsuccessful. But a last-minute cable to the CIA was too late and failed to prevent action being taken. Conspirators kidnapped and killed Chile's pro-democracy Armed Forces Chief, Rene Schneider, leading to widespread public revulsion which assured Allende's confirmation as president by Chile's Congress.

Pallast states: "Nixon faced intense pressure from his political donors in business who were panicked by Allende's plans to nationalise their operations.

"In particular, the president was aware that the owner of Chile's phone company, ITT Corporation, was illegally channelling funds into Republican Party coffers. Nixon could not ignore ITT--and ITT wanted blood. An ITT board member, ex-CIA director John McCone, pledged Kissinger $1 million in support of CIA action to prevent Allende from taking office.

>

US corporations continued to lobby for Nixon to impose a clandestine embargo on Chile's economy. Korry states that ITT also paid $500,000 to someone referred to in intercepted cables as "The Fat Man", whom he identifies as Joacobo Schualsohn, who sat on the Chilean committee set up to compensate firms whose property had been expropriated. In 1971, Allende learned of these machinations and refused to pay compensation.

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General Rene Schneider referred to above was in fact the USA's choice to replace Allende. Despite the fact he didn't agree with Allende's policies he agree with democracy and so couldn't be bought. As a result he was assassinated.

There remains an issue with this in France re. an arrest warrant for one Henry Kissenger and a court case brought in France by Schneider's relatives.