Democratic Palestine : 31 (ص 54)

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Democratic Palestine : 31 (ص 54)

المحتوى

Between December 1981 and January
1988, the wage index shrank by 14.7%,
and the buying power of the minimum
wage was reduced 45.7%. According to
this, one wonders about the
«democratic means» the conservatives
intend to use to convince the Chilean
people that a further reduction of their
standard of living is necessary to pay
for a debt which wasn’t made to im-
prove the national economy, but to in-
crease the wealth of a few priviledged
circles.
PROSPECTS FOR
DEMOCRACY
The US administration praised «the
people of Chile» 15 years after the
military coup which the Nixon ad-
ministration sponsored by aggravating
the problems of the Allende government
with a CIA program of destabilization
and economic embargo. The Reagan
Administration, embarrassed by
Pinochet’s human rights abuses and
doubting his ability to remain in power,
has placed verbal and largely symbolic
pressure on him to reform. Unable to
find a younger, pro-US candidate with
a more moderate image, the US con-
cern shifted to calls for a fair voting
process. Its funding of the conservative
wing of the No Command to the tune of
54
$1 million can be seen as an attempt to
block a genuine democratization pro-
cess by supporting the advocates of
cosmetic change.
While the referendum has shown
majority opposition to Pinochet, it has
also shown that the struggle for genuine
democracy has a long way to go. The
brutal repression of demonstrations in
the days following the referendum, and
the fear expressed by many exiled
Chileans concerning their security if
they returned, clearly show that
Pinochet still holds the reins of power.
The referendum was an opportunity for
the opposition to beat Pinochet on his
own ground by denying him the
legitimation for staying in power. It
was a chance for the opposition to unite
under a common program and to focus
its efforts on the main task, which is
pushing forward the transition from
military to civilian rule. Pinochet still
rejects the main demand of the opposi-
tion for change in the constitution, but
the disunity of his supporters after the
referendum has made his margin of
maneuver much smaller. Criticism has
become stronger within the military,
and the fact that the government has
resigned twice since the referendum
indicates that there are differences
within his civilian supporters. In con-
trast, the opposition has remained
united. The No Command now calls
itself the Assembly of Political Parties
for Democracy, and has decided,
among other things, to present a com-
mon candidate for the December 1989
elections. The combination of these
facts leads us to believe that the post-
Pinochet era has already started. @
KILLED ALL THE
T ee)
COMNUNISTS
eal

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Democratic Palestine : 31

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Democratic Palestine

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