Chile: Piñera’s Victory Raises Questions About Pinochet’s Influence · Global Voices
Silvia Viñas

On January 17, 2010 Sebastián Piñera was elected Chile's next president, following twenty years of a left-leaning government that symbolized the transition to democracy after Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship. Spanish-speaking bloggers and online newspapers have commented on the relationship between the president-elect and the deceased dictator; many of these observations arose from the public support showed to Pinochet after Piñera’s victory.
A Piñera voter shows his support for dictator Augusto Pinochet. Photo taken by Darcy Vergara, Flickr user darcy_vergara, and used under a Creative Commons license
Commenting on the Pinochet followers the day of the final vote, Luis Ramirez [es] wrote on his blog:
Sí, ya es un hecho: Los Piñeristas Pinochetistas están entre nosotros.
Pictures like the one above and videos like the one below that show Chileans yelling “General Pinochet, this victory is for you” and “Chi Chi Chi le le le, long live Chile and Pinochet” have been passed around the internet to the bewilderment of some, and the indifference of others who say that this is nothing new in the country.
Video by REMP81:
Regarding these chants and signs, the online newspaper La Alternativa [es] explains that:
El hecho causó estupor en varios adherentes del propio empresario, así como también en medios internacionales, incluso aquellos ligados a la derecha, quienes consideran al fallecido dictador en un nivel similar a Hitler Mussolini o Francisco Franco. La noche del domingo 17 de enero será recordada como el momento en que muchos aduladores del gobierno militar “salieron del closet” y expresaron públicamente que la retórica del emprendimiento, el futuro, la reconciliación y la esperanza, no eran más que vacías frases de campaña para “enchular” a una derecha.
In a blog called “Cuestiónatelo Todo [es]” (“Question everything”) the author rejects what many have expressed about the positive state of Chilean democracy, and says that Piñera’s victory is actually a step backward for democracy in Chile:
Su triunfo representa una resurrección del pinochetismo […] Pinochet nunca murio realmente, y el triunfo de Piñera solo significa la consecuencia natural de una transición que nunca fue tal cosa, sino simplemente la continuación de lo mismo con rostros aparentemente mas amables.  El triunfo del partido de Piñera es un paso atras en el avance hacia la democracia chilena,
Man trying to take down Piñera electoral sign during Victor Jara's funeral, who was killed during the Pinochet dictatorship. Photo taken by Flickr user Amable Odiable and used under a Creative Commons license
However, others see the outcome of this election as a sign that Chileans have put Pinochet and his dictatorship behind them, and that the left, who will become the opposition on March 11, will have to look for new ways to gain support from voters. Peruvian blogger Alejandro Lostaunau Neira [es] writes:
Esta situación ha  brindado la oportunidad para que los partidos que apoyaron la candidatura del exitoso empresario se  desprendan de una vez por todas del fantasma de Augusto Pinochet. […] Sólo este triunfo sobre la Concertación de Partidos por la Democracia puede desligar el fantasma del amado y odiado militar, fallecido en diciembre de 2006.[…] La centro izquierda siempre tenía ventaja porque una manera de bajarse al contrincante era recordar los momentos de oscuridad de la dictadura. Ahora todo eso ya no será posible porque el pueblo chileno ha legitimado a los hasta ahora opositores.
Luis Mendez, a Chilean who runs the blog Adictos 2.0 [es] sees Piñera’s victory as an end to 37 years of division between the Chilean people on the issue of Pinochet. He ends his post with encouraging words for Piñera, and he calls for a future where Chileans will finally turn the page on the military coup and the Pinochet dictatorship:
Ojala que por el bien de todos, a Sebastian Piñera le vaya bien, ya que de una vez queremos que los que paso el 11 de septiembre de 1973 quede en la historia de Chile y no siga siendo presente, ya que las nuevas generaciones queremos un viva Chile presente y futuro!!
The fact that Piñera tried so hard to disassociate himself from Pinochet during the campaign speaks positively of the majority of Chileans who see the dictatorship as a grim part of their history. As reported from an interview in the Mexican newspaper Informador, when the then-candidate Piñera was asked about the influence of the dictator in the elections, he answered, “Pinochet is part of the past. We want to construct a future of national unity, of greater prosperity and greater justice for everyone.”