“Kathleen and Lief, I like the Pinochet credit for their current market. A friend of mine also (grudgingly) gave him credit for their low level of corruption. She said that the firing squad was much more effective on corrupt officials than allowing them to run off to their fincas in Brazil or Argentina.
“Like yours, my husband’s and my only issue with Santiago was the smog. We went to Cerro San Cristóbal to see the excellent view of the city, and it literally looked like we were standing on an island in a grey sea. We couldn’t see any trace of the ground, or any buildings below (it was March). Normally, pollution is something seen at a distance…but, in Santiago, we could see the haze between ourselves and a building two blocks away…”
–Julie H., Uruguay
***
“Lief, I was shocked when a Chileno straightened me out on Pinochet. He said the country was in the hands of the communists and was in bad shape when Pinochet got control. This man’s story is very different from my impression. And yet I now hear Henry Kissinger was behind the Pinochet takeover and that sure makes the whole thing suspect for me. But there are others who will tell you quickly that Pinochet is responsible for Chile’s current state.
“However, he was disappearing people right and left. Some friends of mine here in Argentina fled Chile with their two children. There was a law passed that anyone who fled could not return to Chile, and these people have not been back. But she tells me that that law has been changed now, and she was planning a trip to Chile.
“Good job on the newsletters!”
–Arlean K., Argentina
