Hello, and welcome to the Latin America Weekly newsletter! In this issue: Chileans’ perception of Pinochet, 50 years after the coup. Mexico’s opposition bands together to challenge AMLO. And risks Panama droughts pose for global commerce.
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Fifty years since its coup, Chile’s far-right has regained ground
The anniversary in Chile of the September 11, 1973 military coup that ousted former President Salvador Allende will have special resonance this year, and not just due to it reaching the 50-year milestone.
Past and present. No Chilean president has professed his admiration for the deposed Socialist leader more than the incumbent Gabriel Boric, and many in his administration have strong personal connections to politicians from that era.
- These range from Defense Minister Maya Fernández Allende (Mr. Allende’s granddaughter) to Interior Minister Carolina Tohá — daughter of Mr. Allende’s Interior Minister José Tohá, who was killed by the dictatorship in 1974.
- Mr. Tohá’s case is one amid thousands, but it illustrates the brutality of General Augusto Pinochet’s regime after the coup: he was