The Pinochet Case: The Struggle for the Realization of Human Rights

In the publicity surrounding the House of Lords' removal of immunity from General Pinochet, there has been virtually no mention of Pinochet's role in destroying socialism in Chile. This article looks at that history, from the inauguration of Salvador Allende to the coup on 11 September 1993. It traces Pinochet's economic transformation of Chile following the prescriptions of the ‘Chicago boys’ of Milton Friedman, which destroyed living standards for the majority population, and in the political sphere, the institutionalization of military involvement in running the country. It looks at local attempts to bring Pinochet to justice in Chile against the background of repeated United Nations condemnation of the regime, before analysing the proceedings in the United Kingdom which led to the two historic judgments.