Explaining Brazil #261: Pinochet’s Brazil

Photo: Gonzagon/Shutterstock

Brazil’s Foreign Affairs Ministry recently authorized the installation of a plaque at the Brazilian embassy in Chilean capital Santiago, to honor militants who were tortured and killed during the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship.

The plaque will also bear words in defense of democracy, critically recognizing the participation of Brazilian agents in the crimes committed.

It is well known that the U.S. played a role in defeating Allende in the 1964 elections (financing the opposition), and that when he won in 1970, it backed anti-Allende protests, such as the truckers’ strikes after Allende tried to nationalize their industry. Recently declassified documents even show that President Nixon was briefed on the planned military takeover in 1973.

But what role did Brazil play in Allende’s downfall?

That’s what we will explain this week.

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This episode used music from Uppbeat and Envato. License codes: Aspire by Pryces (B6TUQLVYOWVKY02S) Patagonia by -MARiAN- (MCSBEYVPLG), Documentary Suspense by Orchestralis (6ADEGFR) and Acoustic Guitar Background Ambient by AudioZen (J3DBLMP642)

In this episode:

Roberto Simon is a journalist based in New York City. In 2021 he published in Brazil the book “Brazil Against Democracy: The Dictatorship, the Coup in Chile, and the Cold War in South America.”

Background reading:

Read Roberto Simon’s book in Portuguese or Spanish.
In our Latin America Weekly newsletter, Lucas Berti and Ignacio Portes talk about Chileans’ perception of General Augusto Pinochet, 50 years after the coup.
Among those who have openly defended the 1973 coup is Republicanos Party leader José Antonio Kast, who lost the presidential runoff to Gabriel Boric in 2021.
In Brazil, Amnesty commissions were reactivated this year after being scrapped during the previous government of Jair Bolsonaro — himself famously nostalgic for the military dictatorship era.

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Gustavo Ribeiro

An award-winning journalist, Gustavo has extensive experience covering Brazilian politics and international affairs. He has been featured across Brazilian and French media outlets and founded The Brazilian Report in 2017. He holds a master’s degree in Political Science and Latin American studies from Panthéon-Sorbonne University in Paris.