Human Rights Policies in Chile

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xiii

   PDF

2. Transitional Justice: A Short Introduction

   • Silvia Borzutzky

   Pages 1-8

3. The Pinochet Dictatorship: The Destruction of Society and the Construction of Impunity

   • Silvia Borzutzky

   Pages 9-56

4. The Aylwin Administration: Doing As Much As Possible

   • Silvia Borzutzky

   Pages 57-87

5. The Frei Administration and the Politics of Denial

   • Silvia Borzutzky

   Pages 89-142

6. The Lagos Administration: Moving Along Multiple Fronts

   • Silvia Borzutzky

   Pages 143-173

7. The Bachelet Administration: Identifying and Remembering the Victims

   • Silvia Borzutzky

   Pages 175-198

8. Commemorating Chile’s Bicentennial and the Coup’s 40th Anniversary During the Piñera Administration

   • Silvia Borzutzky

   Pages 199-218

9. Conclusions

   • Silvia Borzutzky

   Pages 219-224

10. Back Matter

    Pages 225-229

    PDF

This book analyses Chile’s “truth and justice” policies implemented between 1990 and 2013. The book’s central assumption is that human rights policies are a form of public policy and consequently they are the product of compromises among different political actors. Because of their political nature, these incomplete “truth and justice” policies instead of satisfying the victims’ demands and providing a mechanism for closure and reconciliation generate new demands and new policies and actions. However, these new policies and actions are partially satisfactory to those pursuing justice and the truth and unacceptable to those trying to protect the impunity structure built by General Pinochet and his supporters. Thus, while the 40th anniversary of the violent military coup that brought General Pinochet to power serves as a milestone with which to end this policy analysis, Chile’s human rights historical drama is unfinished and likely to generate new demands for truth and justice policies.

• Human rights abuse
• Human rights policy
• Transitional justice
• Chilean politics
• Pinochet dictatorship
• Reconciliation
• Memory politics
• Impunity
• latin american politics

“Borzutzky does an excellent job of navigating between the policies and politics of postauthoritarian human rights policy in Chile. She chronicles how the Chilean government has been much more interested in pursuing truth than justice, and how that impacts victims who still seek accountability. Chile has made important progress but much more work remains to be done. The book will be useful for scholars, students, and activists alike.” (Gregory Weeks, Professor, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, USA)

“Borzutzky’s meticulously researched analysis of transitional justice in Chile between 1990 and 2015 provides a powerful and balanced account of a wide array of human rights policies including truth commissions, trials and other reconciliatory efforts. In what promises to be the definitive account of transitional justice in Chile, she ties the unfinished struggle for truth and justice to the notion that politiciansachieved the politically possible, but fell short in doing enough to provide cloture and reconciliation.” (Peter M. Siavelis, Professor, Wake Forest University, USA)

• Heinz College, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, USA

  Silvia Borzutzky

Silvia Borzutzky is Teaching Professor of Political Science and International Relations at Carnegie Mellon University, USA.

Policies and ethics