Authoritarian Regime In Chile

After the task of coordinating and unifying the opposition was achieved, the foremost task was to force the regime to surrender power. In 1983, external and internal pressures were eased after the Chilean government followed suit with foreign demand by opening itself to liberation. Quickly after the regime canceled its ties with the opposition, as a result anti-government initiatives reappeared. A state of siege was imposed, lifted due to international linkage/leverage pressure, and then reinstated. The plebiscite of 1988 was a part of the last leg of the home stretch towards democratization. It moved Chile from an autocracy to a liberalized autocracy. Geopolitical linkage of the external players to Chile helped finish the democratic solidification. …show more content…
As expected, a huge portion of Chileans voted in 1989 to replace the military government with a democratic civilian administration. The new election revealed some profound changes, seeing one legacy of the authoritarian years as stronger right, and enduring center, and a weaker left. (Drake) Altman brings an important point to the table by saying, “…the central attribute which made international cooperation a functional element of the strategy of the democratic opposition was—as Whitehead suggests—that local agents had the liberty to act on behalf of their own interests and objectives. This enabled the aid to strengthen their ability to oppose the regime without losing their legitimacy within Chilean society. In other words, it allowed them to establish themselves as ‘authentic’ organizations rather than puppets of foreign interests. Had there not been strong pre-existing organizations with strategic autonomy from outside influences, international cooperation would not have favorably impacted the Chilean transition.” (Altman, 17) The international actors in this transition played a huge role in the rebirth of democracy through different dimensions of