mrstickball on 26 April 2010
Dictators are usually horrible in 99% of the time they are allowed to seize power.
The only one I can think of that didn't make a total mess of things (and I'd love to see Pastro chime in on this) would be Augusto Pinochet.
Despite the fact he was a total dictator in the vein of many other Latin Americans, he did embrace ravenous free trade ideas, and grew the country into being very economically prosperous during a time in which most other countries were stagnant. When he left power, better men took over, and have taken Chile from being a rather minor nation in Latin America to the forefront of being a poster child for economic development in the region.
Back from the dead, I'm afraid.
