Politically divided Chile marks 50-year coup anniversary

Chileans remain deeply divided between those who defend the coup and those who repudiate it, while many feel the anniversary is irrelevant amid economic woes and concerns over rising crime

 Chile on September 11 marked 50 years since the coup d’etat that brought Augusto Pinochet to power, with political divisions over the legacy of his brutal dictatorship on stark display.

Commemorations of the violent U.S.-backed ouster of Marxist leader Salvador Allende still evoke strong emotions, and police fired teargas and water cannon at protesters who vandalized the presidential palace on the anniversary’s eve.

Leftist President Gabriel Boric led an event at the palace, known as La Moneda, to mark the historic date, and stressed the need to condemn those who violate human rights “without any nuance.”

“The coup cannot be separated from what came after,” he said, referring to the 17-year Pinochet dictatorship under which more than 3,200 people were killed or “disappeared” and tens of thousands tortured.

The far-right UDI party issued a statement Monday defending the coup as “inevitable” due to the failures of Allende’s political left.

The presidents of Mexico, Colombia, Bolivia and Uruguay were at the emotional ceremony in Santiago, also attended by Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello and former Uruguayan president Jose Mujica.

No right-wing representatives attended Monday’s event at La Moneda.