Finalmente, Chile!

I have finally arrived in Chile, my home for the next few months. I find it to be like the Switzerland of South America. For example, the difference between Chilean drivers and Argentine drivers is much like that of the difference between Swiss drivers and Italian drivers. The Chileans are also much more reserved than the Argentines, it must be the mountains.

I am living with a great family here in Chile; I have a host father and mother, a brother and a sister. My brother is entering his first year in university this semester, and my sister is in high school.

We live in Providencia, a very residential middle class area, and our house is very close to the metro.

I have only ever mentioned Pinochet once, and nothing was really said in response. Since then I have not mentioned him. In reality Pinochet is not hated by all the people of Chile. In 1988 he was only ousted by a 5% majority and he held an influence on the government for years after. To many Pinochet saved the country from communism and the perils of Allende Socialism.

When Allende took over the government in 1970 there was a huge economic recession, not because of Allende's policy but because the U.S. withdrew its support which floated the centrist governments of the past. In addition to the withdrawal of U.S. support right-wing business owners stopped selling basic products such as groceries, which created a sense of crisis in the country.

On September 11th, 1973 Pinochet took over the government in a military coup which was heavily supported and influenced by the Nixon administration; President Nixon frequently referred to Salvador Allende as a, "Son of a Bitch". In a great assertion of power, the Chilean Air Force bombed the Presidential Palace; la Moneda, until its inhabitants surrendered. Rather than be captured by the military, Salvador Allende took his own life.

It amazes me to think that despite countless actions like this, the United States has yet to rethink its position in the World. We have the power to do great things for the Global Community, yet we actively choose to do harm to it.