1. Quotes
  2. Authors
  3. Augusto Pinochet

Augusto Pinochet Quotes

Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte was a Chilean general and politician who ruled as dictator of Chile from 1973 to 1990, first as the President of the Government Junta of Chile from 1973 to 1981, before being declared President of the Republic by the junta in 1974.Pinochet assumed power in Chile following a United States-backed coup d'état on 11 September 1973 that overthrew the democratically elected socialist Unidad Popular government of President Salvador Allende and ended civilian rule. The support of the United States was crucial to the coup and the consolidation of power afterward. Pinochet had been promoted to Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Army by Allende on 23 August 1973, having been its General Chief of Staff since early 1972. In December 1974, the ruling military junta appointed Pinochet Supreme Head of the nation by joint decree, although without the support of one of the coup's instigators, Air Force General Gustavo Leigh. Following his rise to power, Pinochet persecuted leftists, socialists, and political critics, resulting in the executions of from 1,200 to 3,200 people, the internment of as many as 80,000 people and the torture of tens of thousands. According to the Chilean government, the number of executions and forced disappearances was 3,095. Operation Condor was founded at the behest of the Pinochet regime in late November 1975, his 60th birthday.Under the influence of the free market-oriented "Chicago Boys", Pinochet's military government implemented economic liberalization, including currency stabilization, removed tariff protections for local industry, banned trade unions and privatized social security and hundreds of state-owned enterprises. These policies produced high economic growth, but critics state that economic inequality dramatically increased and attribute the devastating effects of the 1982 monetary crisis on the Chilean economy to these policies. For most of the 1990s, Chile was the best-performing economy in Latin America, though the legacy of Pinochet's reforms continues to be in dispute. His fortune grew considerably during his years in power through dozens of bank accounts secretly held abroad and a fortune in real estate. He was later prosecuted for embezzlement, tax fraud and for possible commissions levied on arms deals.Pinochet's 17-year rule was given a legal framework through a controversial 1980 plebiscite, which approved a new constitution drafted by a government-appointed commission. In a 1988 plebiscite, 56% voted against Pinochet's continuing as president, which led to democratic elections for the presidency and Congress. After stepping down in 1990, Pinochet continued to serve as Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Army until 10 March 1998, when he retired and became a senator-for-life in accordance with his 1980 Constitution. However, Pinochet was arrested under an international arrest warrant on a visit to London on 10 October 1998 in connection with numerous human rights violations. Following a legal battle, he was released on grounds of ill-health and returned to Chile on 3 March 2000. In 2004, Chilean Judge Juan Guzmán Tapia ruled that Pinochet was medically fit to stand trial and placed him under house arrest. By the time of his death on 10 December 2006, about 300 criminal charges were still pending against him in Chile for numerous human rights violations during his 17-year rule and tax evasion and embezzlement during and after his rule. He was also accused of having corruptly amassed at least US$28 million. Wikipedia  

✵ 25. November 1915 – 10. December 2006
Augusto Pinochet photo
Augusto Pinochet: 28 quotes23 likes

Famous Augusto Pinochet Quotes

“We practically wiped this nation clean of Marxists.”

Augusto Pinochet

Speech (February 23, 1988), quoted in "Las frases para el bronce de Pinochet."
1980s

Augusto Pinochet quote: “Tell my friends to get me out of here.”

“Tell my friends to get me out of here.”

Augusto Pinochet

October 27, 1998, nine days after being arrested in London, quoted in Heraldo Muñoz (2008) The Dictator's Shadow
1990s

“My library is filled with UN condemnations.”

Augusto Pinochet

Speech (26 December 1986), quoted in "Las frases para el bronce de Pinochet."
1980s

“Had I been a dictator, I would still be governing.”

Augusto Pinochet

Speech (December 31, 1995), quoted in "Las frases para el bronce de Pinochet."
1990s

“He could have a thousand faults, but I do not blame anyone in particular and I despise brutality with which the Nazis acted against Israelites; but the fault is not only of Hitler, but a group of high-ranked dignitaries.”

Augusto Pinochet

Interview (1989) quoted in &quot; &quot;Ego sum Pinochet&quot; 1989, Inteview to Augusto Pinochet, authors Raquel Correa and Elizabeth Subercaseaux. http://www.guerraeterna.com/archives/2006/12/pinochet_y_hitl.html&quot; <br class="br">1980s

“I have lived with my conscience and my own memories for over quarter of a century since the events of 1973.… These are not easy reflections for me. But I am at peace with myself, and with the Chilean people, about what happened. I am clear in my mind that the return to Chile of true democracy, and from that the true freedom to which all individual people are entitled, could not have been achieved without the removal of the Marxist government.”

Augusto Pinochet

Statement (8 November 1998)
1990s

Augusto Pinochet Quotes about homeland

“Not a single leaf moves in this country if I'm not the one moving it. I want that to be clear!”

Augusto Pinochet

Speech (October 1981), quoted in "Las frases para el bronce de Pinochet." This expression is not original to Pinochet; it is also attributed to Inca Atahualpa in 1531. See Las Casas, Destruction of the Indies.
1980s

“The armed forces have acted today solely from the patriotic inspiration of saving the country from the tremendous chaos into which it was being plunged by the Marxist government of Salvador Allende.… The Junta will maintain judicial power and consultantship of the Comptroller. The Chambers will remain in recess until further orders. That is all.”

Augusto Pinochet

Press conference (11 September 1973) Youtube.com https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Hbhb0ozRuM <br class="br">1970s

“The nation is trying to make Chile a country of proprietors, not of proletarians.”

Augusto Pinochet

Speech (24 April 1987), quoted in "Las frases para el bronce de Pinochet."
1980s

“The country is safe, because we have a good intelligence service.”

Augusto Pinochet

Speech (September 1974), quoted in La Nación (2006-12-11) &quot;Las frases para el bronce de Pinochet&quot; (The Immortal Sayings of Pinochet) http://www.lanacion.cl/prontus_noticias/site/artic/20061210/pags/20061210221221.html <br class="br">1970s

“To whom are we going to ask to be forgiven? To the one who tried to kill us? To the one who tried to destroy our country? To whom? They are the ones who must ask to be forgiven for everything they did before September 11.”

Augusto Pinochet

Comments at Mass (11 September 1994), quoted in Calvin Sims (1994-10-06) "Villain or Hero? Pinochet Is Still Viewed as Both in Chile" New York Times
1990s

Augusto Pinochet Quotes about people

“The freedoms which had been so hard won from colonial domination were being crushed by Soviet-inspired and funded military and political forces. Their clear intention was to deprive the people of their democratic freedoms. As history shows, this is what had happened in the Soviet Union and in Cuba, and continues to be the case in other parts of the world.”

Augusto Pinochet

Statement (8 November 1998)
1990s

“The rich people are those who create wealth, and you have to treat them well so they continue to give wealth.”

Augusto Pinochet

Speech (26 May 1988), quoted in "Las frases para el bronce de Pinochet."
1980s

“Don't forget that in the history of the world, there was a plebiscite, in which Christ and Barabbas were being judged, and the people chose Barabbas.”

Augusto Pinochet

Speech (25 October 1988), commenting on his defeat in a plebiscite to return to democracy. Quoted in Pamela Constable et al. (1991) A Nation of Enemies
1980s

Augusto Pinochet Quotes

“I'm looking at them from above, because God put me there.”

Augusto Pinochet

Speech (July 1987), quoted in "Las frases para el bronce de Pinochet."
1980s

“The only solution to the issue of human rights is oblivion.”

Augusto Pinochet

Speech (21 September 1995), quoted in "Las frases para el bronce de Pinochet."
1990s

“Rome cut off the heads of Christians and they continued to reappear one way or another. Something similar happens with Marxists.”

Augusto Pinochet

Speech (10 November 1995), quoted in "Las frases para el bronce de Pinochet."
1990s

“I devalued the peso solely looking after the poor.”

Augusto Pinochet

Speech (29 June 1982), quoted in "Las frases para el bronce de Pinochet."
1980s

“Is it true what Contreras testified before the courts, that the president of the junta and later the president of the Republic was the direct head of DINA?
I don't remember, but it is not true. It is not true and if it was, I don't remember. Contreras liked to cajole, wrap around his boss. Contreras gave the orders. It was he who managed the institution.”

Augusto Pinochet

Exchange between Judge Victor Montiglio and Pinochet (November 16, 2005), quoted in Heraldo Muñoz (2008) The Dictator's Shadow
2000s

“Power must be vested in the armed forces, since only they have the organization and the means to fight Marxism.”

Augusto Pinochet

Clive Foss, The Tyrants: 2500 Years of Absolute Power and Corruption, London: Quercus Publishing, 2006, ISBN 1905204965, p. 187
Attributed

“I have a sour face. Maybe that's why they say I'm a dictator.”

Augusto Pinochet

Speech (24 April 1986), quoted in "Las frases para el bronce de Pinochet."
1980s

“This is not a dictadura [dictatorship/hard rule] but a dictablanda”

Augusto Pinochet

soft rule
Speech (September 1983), quoted in "Las frases para el bronce de Pinochet." The Spanish word dura means tough, while blanda means soft.
1980s

“I was only an aspiring dictator. I was never a real dictator.”

Augusto Pinochet

November 1998, during detention in London http://www.lanacion.cl/prontus_noticias/site/artic/20061210/pags/20061210221221.html <br class="br">1990s

“I am going to die. The person who succeeds me also would die. But elections, you won't have.”

Augusto Pinochet

Speech (17 June 1975), quoted in "Las frases para el bronce de Pinochet."
1970s

“Remark to reporters (September 1991) when asked about the burial of 125 political opponents in 108 graves. Quoted in Chile Under Pinochet (2000) by Mark Ensalaco”

Augusto Pinochet

1990s

“I'm not someone who usually sends out threats. I warn only once. The day they touch one of my men, the rule of law is over.”

Augusto Pinochet

Speech (17 April 1989), quoted in &quot; Las frases para el bronce de Pinochet http://www.lanacion.cl/prontus_noticias/site/artic/20061210/pags/20061210221221.html&quot; (2006-12-11) La Nación <br class="br">1980s

“If Senator Kennedy is elected President of the United States, the government of Chile will take the necessary measures.”

Augusto Pinochet

Speech (11 September 1979), quoted in "Las frases para el bronce de Pinochet."
1970s

“Today, near the end of my days, I want to say that I harbor no rancor against anybody, that I love my fatherland above all and that I take political responsibility for everything that was done which had no other goal than making Chile greater and avoiding its disintegration.… I assume full political responsibility for what happened.”

Augusto Pinochet

Birthday announcement (25 November 2006); &quot; Pinochet Takes &#x27;Political Responsibility&#x27; for Actions of Chilean Dictatorship http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/25/AR2006112500834.html&quot; (26 November 2006) Washington Post <br class="br">2000s

Similar authors

Francisco Franco photo
Francisco Franco14
Spanish general and dictator None
Václav Klaus photo
Václav Klaus3
2nd President of the Czech Republic None
Fidel Castro photo
Fidel Castro77
former First Secretary of the Communist Party and President… None
Charles de Gaulle photo
Charles de Gaulle46
eighteenth President of the French Republic None
Václav Havel photo
Václav Havel126
playwright, essayist, poet, dissident and 1st President of … None
Pablo Neruda photo
Pablo Neruda136
Chilean poet None
Salvador Allende photo
Salvador Allende16
Chilean physician and politician None
Eduardo Galeano photo
Eduardo Galeano12
Uruguayan writer None
Isabel Allende photo
Isabel Allende60
Chilean writer None
Golda Meir photo
Golda Meir38
former prime minister of Israel None