Anyone love dictators?

[TruckOSaurus]

chubaca said:

TruckOSaurus said:

mrstickball said:
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.

Wasn't he on trial for crimes of war around the year 2000?

Yes, Pinochet made several economic changes that would have taken decades in a democracy... of course it's easier when you adopt a policy of killing, throw in jail or send out of the country the people who doesn't agree with you, like this fucker did.

The politic opinions in this country are a mess, a LOT of people here absolutely LOVE Pinochet because of this economic turnaround, but overlook the crimes he and his administration commited.

I'm guessing those people haven't been affected first hand by the repressions of Pinochet so the only part of his legacy they see is how he helped the economy.