Chile's Election Year To Be Dominated By Pinochet's Shadow

by Gustavo Gonzalez

Pinochet's arrest in London on Oct. 16 was for many a triumph of human rights, but quite apart from the effect on the world in general, the event led to a fresh "Pinochet-ization" of Chilean politics.

Deep division is forecast for the new year, where the figure of Pinochet and the legacy of his dictatorship (1973-1990) will impact on the presidential elections set for Dec. 11, 1999.

This fresh ruling will decide whether the aged general will be sent back to Chile or returned to the tortuous process of extradition to Spain.

A third option is always possible, that the Chilean government of Eduardo Frei will negotiate a way to extract the former dictator from the legal red tape of the British and Spanish authorities, bringing him back home instead.

Events unleashed on Oct. 16, when Scotland Yard agents arrested Pinochet in a London medical center, have spun a complex web of legal, ethical, political and humanitarian factors.

Pinochet, a retired general, sworn in on March 11 as a Chilean senator-for-life, arrived in London on Sept. 22 -- at the invitation of a British weapons concern, according to the Chilean government, which granted him an official passport for the trip.

A failed attempt by the former ruler to get a French visa alerted Spanish judge Baltasar Garzon, leading to charges against members of the former dictatorships of Chile and Argentina (1976-1983) for crimes against humanity.

Severe back pain stemming from a vertebral hernia forced Pinochet to undergo emergency surgery. While he was recovering in the London clinic, Judge Nicholas Evans ordered his arrest in response to a request from Garzon.

In his time, Pinochet ruled Chile with an iron hand, and his arrest was one of the major events of 1998, revealing shortfalls in the Chilean transition to democracy and underscoring the advance of international interest in human rights.

The theory that crimes against humanity can be judged internationally crashed headlong into the stance taken by the Frei government. His administration demanded diplomatic immunity for the former ruler as senator-for-life, opposing the extraterritorial application of justice.

On Oct. 28, London's Supreme Court recognized Pinochet's immunity as a former head of state, but its decision was appealed to the House of Lords -- the highest legal authority in Britain.

Then, on Oct. 30, Spain's High Court ruled that the Spanish courts were competent to hear crimes against humanity, and on Nov. 6, the government approved the extradition request for Pinochet.

Five days later, on Nov. 11, in Chile, the National Security Council (Cosena) met for the first time to debate the Pinochet case. Cosena is made up of commanders of the army, navy, air force and Caribineers.

On Nov. 25, coincidentally on the former dictator's 83rd birthday, the Chamber of Lords Appeals Committee voted 3-2 that sovereign immunity is not applicable to the crimes Pinochet is accused of.

Cosena met for the second time the next day, following tough declarations by the military leadership which then played down its criticism of the government, backing Frei's efforts to support Pinochet.

Britain's labor prime minister, Tony Blair, and center-right Spanish Pres. Jose Maria Aznar said the Pinochet case is wholly judicial, while in Chile, the right denounced it as a "conspiracy of international socialism."

Loyal to Blair's committment to let justice take its course, British Interior Minister Jack Straw opened the door for extradition to Spain on Dec. 9, a process which could take up to two years to complete.

On the Dec. 11, as Cosena was meeting for the third time, Pinochet released a "political testament" to the press, a sort of disclaimer protesting his innocence of the 3,190 human rights crimes committed under his regime.

The Cosena meeting produced a group of 13 legal and political measures to be applied to relations with Spain and Britain, including government backing for re-hearing the ruling made by the Chamber of Lords on Nov. 25.

That ruling was annulled on Dec. 17, when the Lords found that one of their members, Lord Leonard Hoffman, had links with the human rights advocacy organization Amnesty International, and determined that a new committee must hear the immunity plea again.

Whatever the outcome of this fresh hearing, it is clear to Chileans that Pinochet will remain in the spotlight in an atmosphere of divided opinion.

And his influence could change depending on how long it takes for him to be brought home or, as an elderly, ailing man, if he should die in Europe.

Frei is in favor of starting the year with a call for "unconditional" reconciliation, on the basis of justice, repentance and forgiveness for the pending human rights cases, as he said in his Christmas message on Dec. 24.

The president appears to be waiting for a signal from Pinochet himself, and from the armed forces and the right-wing opposition, to respond to demands for identification of the remains of some 1,500 disappeared, and to amend the constitution inherited from the dictatorship.

This is also the official position of Frei's Christian Democrat Party, which is promoting the presidential candidacy of Andres Zaldivar in the governing Concertacion por la Democracia.

Socialist and Social Democrat sectors of the coalition, distributed among three parties which are running the former minister Ricardo Lagos --- the favorite in polls so far -- as a pre-candidate, partially question Frei's stance.

The Socialist Party says the government must keep its distance and avoid openly defending the former dictator, and should simultaneously demand clear measures for democratization from the right.

The issue of Pinochet has arisen as a key factor in the power struggle within the ruling party to nominate a presidential candidate, which will be determined next June in the coalition's primary elections.

The right wing's leadership is being contested by the conservative mayor of the Las Condes municipality of Santiago, Joaquin Lavin, and liberal entrepreneur Sebastian Pinera, of the Independent Democratic Union and the National Renovation Party, respectively.

Both want to steer the course of right-wing support for Pinochet, and have fixed their sights on Lagos, whom they paint as the reincarnation of former socialist president Salvador Allende, overthrown and killed in a CIA-backed military coup on Sept. 11, 1973.

Meanwhile, Allende's name and legacy is being fiercely defended by the Communist Party -- part of the left-wing opposition to the government -- and its presidential candidate, Gladys Marin, who is unlikely to triumph despite her recognized charisma.

On another front, the tiny Humanist Party is putting forward Tomas Hirsch who, like Marin, is identified with demands for justice and judgement of Pinochet.

If the trends in current polls today continue their course, the December 1999 presidential race will be largely between Lagos and Lavin. While this outlook could change over the next few months, Pinochet will undoubtedly stay in the limelight.