The Dictator’s Shadow: Life under Augusto Pinochet (review)

Heraldo Muñoz’s engrossing memoir of Augusto Pinochet and the impact the Chilean dictator had on Munoz’s life and that of so many others is eloquently and elegantly written. It distinguishes itself from many of the other books written about Pinochet and the last 40 years of Chilean history because it offers both an incisive overview of politics in Chile and the personal story of an individual. Muñoz remained an active member of the Socialist Party during the Popular Unity government of Salvador Allende (1970–73), the military dictatorship (1973–1990), and the post-Pinochet governments of the Concertación (1990 to the present).

This combination works in large part because Muñoz is simultaneously a scholar, trained in both Chile and the United States; an activist, whose stories about these contentious periods in Chilean history take the reader beyond generalities and into the lived experiences of the author; and a major player in Chilean politics. This book reveals much about the internal workings of the Socialist Party, the life of a party militant during the difficult years of the dictatorship, and the struggles that have defined the last four decades of Chilean history. Also, perhaps due to the fact that Muñoz is very familiar with the United States, he provides those who do not know much about Chilean history with the necessary background to understand it and at the same time offers those who are very familiar with it new insights and analysis.

In a highly accessible writing style that characterizes the book, Muñoz begins with a gripping description of what he did on September 11, 1973, the day the military overthrew Allende. His words reveal all too starkly how ill-prepared both the Popular Unity government and the Chilean people were for the brutality that followed. Subsequent chapters offer vivid descriptions of life under Pinochet and in exile, the efforts of militants in exile like Muñoz to rebuild the party and unify the antidictatorial forces in opposition to the military regime, and the politics of and struggles among the different forces that made up the anti- Pinochet movement. In one chapter, Muñoz offers one of the most detailed and fast-paced accounts that I have read of the 1986 attempt to assassinate Pinochet.

Muñoz portrays Pinochet as a pragmatist who ascended through the military ranks not because of superior intelligence or skill, but because he never defied his superiors and only took action when he was sure that the outcome would favor him. The author stresses, as have many other writers, that Pinochet only joined the coup at the last minute. Muñoz dismisses Pinochet’s efforts to rewrite his own history, to portray himself as a dedicated anticommunist who long led the fight against socialism in Chile. He sums up Pinochet by stating, “Pinochet’s ideology was self-interest” (p. 305).

This book offers a view of Chilean politics from the top, that is, from the perspective of a man who is a leader in the Socialist Party, who played a major role in reorganizing the party and led its work with the Concertación, and who has served the democratic government in numerous ministerial postings. Missing from the book are the stories and reflections of base-level members of the party as well as those who are more critical of the politics of both the Socialist Party and the Concertación. However, one of the great strengths of the book is that Muñoz either participated directly in or was able to interview Chileans who were key actors in many of the political events that defined much of Chilean politics during the last 40 years.

Although the style of reference may not disturb many readers, I believe that most scholars will dislike it. Instead of notes and direct citations, the references are listed alphabetically by chapter at the end of the book, which makes it very difficult...