CHILE: Pinochet, Allende and Merino

Carlos Lópes says: "My views of the Pinochet Allende relationship can be found in a booket: Allende and the Military. There is a copy at Hoover, but it is very rare because as soon as it was published in disappeared. When I was contacted by the publisher for a second printing, he was told by "friends" that "Chile needs only one version of the coup, that of General Pinochet." Now we are finding out that before Admiral Merino contacted Pinochet, he had contacted and secured the support of the Brazilian Junta! I suspected this when I wrote my paper but could not prove it. It was also published in La Tercera (8/2/03). RH: As the curator of Latin American materials at Hoover,Bill Ratliff should check to make sure that the booklet by Carlos is still there. He should have a copy xeroxed as a precaution. Carlos may wish to summarize his findings. It is surprising that Admiral Merino hatched the plot. The Chilean navy was supposed to be a bulwark of democracy. Perhaps he thought he was defending democracy. Anything he wrote about the coup should be examined.

Ronald Hilton - 8/9/03