MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Ongoing military presence.
The Chilean human rights groups ongoing battle to take former president Augusto Pinochet to court and have him sentenced seems endless, reminding ordinary Chileans how powerful the military still are even ten years after the return to a democratic system.
The latest events, with some military confessing privately where the remains of some of the missing-disappeared could be buried, (since most of them were supposedly dumped into the sea Vietnam style), has shocked Chile, even members of the Armed Forces. However this has not impeded the Army from standing solidly behind their leader who during his long iron hand rule changed the standing of the military in the Chilean society and ensured a secure transition when they handed power to elected civilians. Raúl Sohr, an expert in security and military affairs, and advisor to Chilean president Raúl Lagos argues that the military strength rests on three pillars. a)The four for life Senators that are named in representation of the Chilean Armed Forces and Police, and who during the last ten years have ensured a right wing majority in Senate impeding all major reforms. An elected Senator for Santiago needs 400.000 votes. b)The Commanders of the three services are suggested by the Armed Forces and but can't be removed by the President, in spite of the fact he is formally Commander in Chief. c)Financial autonomy. The copper bill ensures that 10% of all copper extracted in government mines is invested in acquisition of new equipments for the Armed Forces. This is equivalent to 200 million US dollars annually. Besides the national budget grants the military 2 billion US dollars per year, equivalent to 3% of GDP, one of the highest in Latinamerica.
Top Comments
Disclaimer & comment rulesCommenting for this story is now closed.
If you have a Facebook account, become a fan and comment on our Facebook Page!