1.Who was Gen. Augusto Pinochet and what did he do on Sept. 11, 1973?
He was an army general in Chile and on Sept. 11, 1973 successfully staged a coup of Chile.
2. Who filmed this documentary and how did they gain access to Pinochet's Prisons?
A European film crew talked their way into the concentration camps. They filmed many things that they were not supposed to, resulting in some of the only recorded records of what was happening.2. Who were people detained and on what grounds?
People were detained if they were perceived to have even the remotest threat to Pinochet’s regime. The grounds were any perceived threat – which often meant just belonging to any political party other than Pinochet’s, particularly Communists. Some of the people that were detained were politically active, but many others were not.
3. How were women treated?
The women were kept in their own camp under continued threat to their well-being including imprisonment, torture, and abuse by the guards while outwardly it was made to appear normal. Some prisoners described being hung by their wrists and being interrogated for hours at end. Most of the interviewed women prisoners denied being politically active.4. What happened at the Chilean National Sports Stadium in 1973?
There was a mass execution of prisoners. They took the prisoners’ clothes and interrogated the persons held there. Most were shot and buried in a mass grave.5. What did the Chilean exile community want the Chilean government to do to Gen. Pinochet?
They want Pinochet to stand trial for his actions. However, he had granted himself amnesty and thus has avoided having to face any justice for his actions.6. What were your observations on this video?
It is sad that someone like Pinochet had the support of the United States merely because both the United States and Pinochet shared some of the same political movements as enemies.
7. Finally, given what you know about the situation in Chile during Augusto Pinochet's tenure what do you think about the recent Wall Street Journal article about Egypt and Pinochet?
It appears that the writer is again mistaking political alignment (with “democracy”) as earning proper support, just as the United States did in 1973 with providing support merely because of an anti-Communist stance. Just because a leader shares a subset of beliefs of a country does mean one should turn a blind eye to human right atrocities. A leader should be judged by the entire legacy of their rule, not just the parts that happen to align with a reporter’s or country’s beliefs.
Venezuela Video (Frontline, 2008).
- What was "el Caracazo"? What was Hugo Chavez's role during this time?
It was a series of protests, riots, and looting that finished with a massacre in Caracas on February 27, 1989. Chavez was an organizer of one of the coups and he was found guilty of sedition and imprisoned. Later he was pardoned and freed.
2. What do Chavez' coup co-plotters say about Hugo Chavez's role in the coup attempt against President Carlos Andres Perez?
He took responsibility for the coup, admitted his defeat, and announced his intention to continue the fight. Not unsurprisingly, his co-plotters felt that Chavez had committed treason. However, Chavez may have lost the physical war, but ultimately it was proven that he had won the battle of the media. Later, during his presidency, he used this media power to full effect in winning the hearts and minds of the Venezuelan people.
3. According to analysts what was Hugo Chavez's style of governing Venezuela?
They state that he is the world’s first “virtual” president. He uses the media to entertain as much as to act as a political leader. He sees himself as a "myth" in progress, a legend in the making. Although his style is engaging, there is certainly a huge ego behind his actions.
4. Why do Chavez Supporters like him?
They like that he has a weekly television show and talks to the people in a very personal way. He basically does a variety show and doesn’t act at all like a head of state in a public appearance. There are no timetables for the show and it is one long improvision. Through his relationship with his supporters built through the media, he became immensely popular. They truly believed, rightly or wrongly, that he had the best interests of the people at heart.
5. What are cooperatives and are they successful?
The cooperatives are an alternative form of investing. Basically they are privately run industrial businesses that are funded directly by Venezuela’s oil revenue, such as clothing manufacturers. Often the government orders the work. Although they have not been financial successes, there is a perception that they are successful in a social sense, as it has provided meaning to the lives of those working within them. They can be dangerous to the country, as reliance on co-operatives for financing increases the Venezuelan reliance on its oil revenues and reduces the ability of the country to produce other independent industries. Also, the government can abandon the co-operatives and leave the workers without a way to make a living.
6. Why did the 48-hour coup against President Hugo Chavez take place?
He had pushed through laws by degree that allowed expropriations of land and doubled the amount of money from oils sales due to the government. This coalesced the coup against Chavez, including the media. It was announced that he resigned and an interim president was installed. But popular protests and the military support ultimately turned the tide back to Chavez’ rule.
7. How did Chavez government make international allies and what is Hugo Chavez's relationship with Cuban leader Fidel Castro like?
He made friends with political advisors within the Castro regime and later received significant political direction and had a close alliance with Fidel Castro. Chavez then allowed many Cubans, and likely many spies, into the country. It is generally believed that Castro had his eye on Venezuela’s oil riches. It grew into a strange relationship where Cuba got paid by Venezuela despite Cuba was the politically weaker country. Chavez also aligned himself with China, Russia, and other communist and socialist governments.
8. According to the film how did the Chavez regime restrict the political freedoms of his own supporters and of the opposition?
His supporters lose their ability to have freedom of expression – they are not allowed to ever have an opinion that is against him. Chavez personally attacks even his most solid ally if they take a position that even begins to criticize his positions. The result is that no one dares to voice a criticism against him as he will personally attack those who criticize him and will get rid of those behind him on a whim, including cabinet members. They also have to attend all the broadcasts and be ready to answer any questions put to them during the filming.
9. After 2007 why did Chavez launch a political reform? What was the political reform about? After the general public voted against the reform, did Hugo Chavez honor the voter's wishes?
He wanted to make the country a model of socialism. Socialism assumes that social ownership of the means of production and co-operative management of the economy. He set up co-operatives for people that had been trained and supported by the government including building co-operatives. It was to be the beginning of “The Grand Caracas” and included grand housing projects. But the building co-operatives were insufficiently funded and ultimately not paid completely for their work. It even included a plan to move people en masse from a shantytown to a completely new town. He refused to follow the voter’s wishes and continued with his own agenda when they opposed his reforms.
Argentina Video (Hinojosa, 2011).
1.Who is the man being interviewed and why is he important?
The man interviewed is Robert Cox. He is called the journalistic hero of Argentina. He worked for an English language newspaper in Argentina during what is known as the “Dirty War” of the 1970s and the 1980s. He exposed the kidnappings and other political actions that were being taken against the public. He was one of the few persons who took solid action in exposing what was going on in Argentina. He even took positions against the naval military to try to convince them to stop committing the human right atrocities. Also, he thought that he might be able to incite a coup by the military to get something changed. Ultimately he had to flee Argentina but not before he published many, many accounts of what was happening at a time where no other part of the media – newspaper, television, or radio dared expose what was happening. 2. How does he describe the Argentine Military Junta of the 1970s?
He described it as Nazi Nationalism. But they themselves thought they were fighting the Third World War and did not recognize the tactics that they themselves had adopted and were suing. The country’s military essentially practiced terrorism over their own people and kept them terrified for their own safety. Not unsurprisingly it turned out the military had been had been trained by those from Nazi Germany. The military position of power was based on a policy to make people disappear in order to keep the power. Cox finds many parallels between what had happened in Germany during World War II and what happened in Argentina in the 1970s and 1980s. 3. What kind of abuses did the Junta implement in the "fight against communism"?
They would kidnap people off of the street and they were taken away in vans. People were tortured in horrible ways. There was practice of mind control and then systematic murder without any kind of trial. It involved being stripped and then being thrown into the sea. Those that remained were desperate to find out what had happened to their relatives. Another issue was that bodies were being burned at night to try to cover up what was happening, but Robert Cox and even his wife pursued the situation to try to get it into his newspaper. Causing the disappearance of people so completely and effectively provided an enormous amount of power over the people. Ironically, members of the government saw these actions as necessary to keep power, as the people who were targeted for disappearance had been classified as terrorists. The government had convinced those involved that the only way to deal with terrorists was to get rid of them completely “like pebbles into a well.” Cox indicated that even to this day, those involved feel that they were fighting a justified war and therefore their actions were not human rights abuses. 4. What are some of your observations on this video?
It is very interesting how the public would be able to be controlled through control of the media. The Argentina government was able to control the way the people saw the world by controlling the way the media presented what was happening outside of Argentina. When the government attempted to control what was put in the media, Robert Cox decided to attempt to report as much of it that they could without putting themselves at too high of a personal risk themselves. The persons on both sides of the issue, such as the dictator and the military, attempted to portray Robert Cox’s newspaper as the enemy. It was also interesting to learn about the function of the military propaganda in pushing persons who had decided that any ends would justify the means into truly monstrous actions.
Another extremely interesting part of the interview was how Cox and his family could continue to live a normal life despite taking such a strong stance against a government that was basically wielding its power by making people disappear. The fact that neither he nor any of his family was ultimately “disappeared” seems extremely amazing as that would seem to be such a logical reaction to what he was doing with his publications.
Cox’s position for human decency is a very admirable position and his perception that these kinds of values are being lost in the United States is very worrisome. That is because he is someone who has seen in his lifetime the stages that a government can go through in order to ultimately be practicing horrible human rights violations. The fact that he sees the beginnings of the loss of human decency in the United States is something that should be of concern. One would like to believe that something this drastic would never occur in the United States but given the War on Terrorism and the changes that have been made to basic human rights in response, it is not that far of a step to justify actions such as those taken by the Argentinean military during the 1970s and 1980s.
Guatemala Video (Goldhagen, 2009).
1. What is the subject of the video?
The subject of this video is the genocide that was practiced against the Mayan native peoples by the dictator Rafael Rios Montt during the 1980s. It is estimated that 200,000 people were systematically killed. One reason this is known is because every now and then there would be survivors that would be missed in the genocide performed by the military and their description of what happened survives. Not only were there murders, there was also torturing and violent acts prior to deaths to send messages and keep any of those that survived under control. Later in the film, concrete evidence of the orders that were sent for the killings and the carrying out of those orders by the military are shown. However, it remains that there has been no justice for those that were systematically killed, despite the evidence of what happened.
- Why were the Mayan people singled out by the Military dictatorship of Rafael Rios Montt?
They felt that the farmers were threats to the country as they were not participating in the general view of how the country’s economy should happen, by practicing subsistence farming. They characterized the farmers as insurgents that needed to be controlled. However, this belief is contrasted with the showing of violent overkilling that occurred with many of the murderous acts. This is argued to be an expression of racism – as it would be much more likely that hatred would result in the kind of murders that occurred rather than mere attempts to keep down an insurgent population. Racism as a motive is also supported by the targeting of women and children in that it prevents continued generations of people of that race to be produced. If the issue was truly one of political power, it would be more likely that the death and violence would be focused on the men.
- What are Rios Montt's views on genocide at the end of the video?
He cites the United Nations definition – eliminating in whole or in part a religion, race, or population. He states that if he had done that he would be in prison and the fact that he was not in prison meant that he could not possibly have done anything that can be defined as genocide. However, it appears evident from the discussion earlier in the film that what he did does precisely fall within the definition but somehow he has been able to do it without any personal ramifications. It is interesting that he never denies what he ordered to be done – only claims that it does not fall within the definition of genocide.
4. What are some of your observations on this video?
It is amazing that Rios Montt’s continues to be a member of the Guatamala’s Congress despite the actions that he took not so long ago. This is despite the obviously compelling amount of evidence that proves what occurred under his orders. It is a strange situation where a country tolerates persons in leadership that took such actions. Perhaps it is because the Mayan as a people have very little power so they do not have the ability to get action taken against this powerful leader. The position that the video takes in general, that genocide is worse than war is a point well taken. It is an action of the cowardly in an attempt to keep power through showing of force. Almost invariably genocide happens to a group within a population that is already without power – that is because if it is tried within a group that has power, the leader will be stopped. It is only if a leader perceives that he will be able to get away with it does he go forward.
Works Cited
Frontline. The Hugo Chavez Show. PBS.org. 2008. Web. 25 July 2013.
Goldhagen, D. Worse than War. PBS.org. 2009. Web. 25 July 2013.
Hinojosa, M. Interview with Robert Cox. Season 1. Episode 59. One-on-one. 2011. Web. 25 July 2013.
Journeyman Pictures. The Crimes of Pinochet. You-Tube. 2007. Web. 25 July 2013.
