Augusto Pinochet

Augusto Pinochet was a Chilean patriot who saved Chile from communism. Pinochet, at one time the right hand in the military of Salvador Allende, saw the danger that Chile was in, and decided to take action against his president but for his country. After the coup, Pinochet saw support from America, who when they saw democracy re-established in Chile, they eagerly helped as much as they could.

Pinochet moved Chile into a market economy, privatizing many inefficient government businesses, and opening the country to foreign investment. The stability that his government gave encouraged foreign investors to come to Chile. He also started one of the first private pension accounts pension systems in the world, which has been highly successful.

Communist critics said that he was a dictator. Although at the beginning this was true, his long government later on was the result of his popularity. He would let referendums on his staying in power to happen once in a while, and every time they would back his rule, until the last time, in 1988, when he finally lost. A true dictator would have kept power, but he gracefully stepped down to take his place as life-long senator, a role that the Chilean constitution grants to its ex-presidents.

Once out of power his enemies tried to bring to trial for human right violations. They never succeeded in doing so.