Alberto Bachelet

Last updated • 3 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
Alberto Bachelet
Alberto Bachelet.jpg
Birth nameAlberto Arturo Miguel Bachelet Martínez
Born(1923-04-27)27 April 1923
Santiago, Chile
Died12 March 1974(1974-03-12) (aged 50)
Santiago, Chile
AllegianceFlag of Chile.svg  Chile
Service / branchFlag of the Chilean Air Force.svg  Chilean Air Force
Years of service1940–1974
Rank Brigadier General (two-star rank)
Relations Ángela Jeria (spouse)
Michelle Bachelet (daughter)

Alberto Arturo Miguel Bachelet Martínez (Latin American Spanish: [alˈβeɾtoaɾˈtuɾomiˈɣelβaʃeˈlemaɾˈtines] ; 27 April 1923 – 12 March 1974) [1] was a Chilean Brigadier General of the Chilean Air Force. He opposed the 1973 coup of General Augusto Pinochet, and was imprisoned and subject to torture for several months until his death in 1974 of heart disease while in prison. His daughter Michelle Bachelet has been twice elected President of Chile.

Contents

Career

Bachelet was born in Santiago to Alberto Bachelet Brandt and Mercedes Martínez Binimelis.

In 1940, in military service, he earned a scholarship to the School of Aviation Captain Manuel Avalos Prado, with Gustavo Leigh, by choice of the then commander of the Antiaircraft Artillery Regiment Hill, Colonel Luis Osvaldo Puccio Giesen. Leigh and Bachelet later were officers, one at Management Branch and the other at Branch of Air.

In 1962, under the presidency of Jorge Alessandri Rodríguez, Bachelet was appointed military attache to the Chilean Embassy in Washington D. C., USA. In 1972, Salvador Allende appointed him secretary of the National Supply and Marketing (DINAC), a position he had to turn the Boards of Supply and Prices (JAP).[ clarification needed ]

During 1973, General Bachelet was working in the Accounts of the Chilean Air Force (FACH). When he opposed the coup of 11 September, led by the commander in chief Augusto Pinochet and supported, among others, by his friend Gustavo Leigh, he was first arrested on the same day, 11 September 1973, in the office of the Ministry of Defence. Although he was released that night, his house was raided on 14 September and he was arrested again.

He was held at the Air War Academy of FACH, and its principal then Colonel Fernando Matthei (Matthei has profusely denied any involvement in his interrogation and death, stating that he was in London during the coup, finishing his work as Air Attache and did not return to Chile until December 1973. He claimed that he was only the nominal head of the Academy, visiting it just once in February 1974, which was effectively being controlled by Gustavo Leigh as his personal headquarters outside of Pinochet's control). In this place Bachelet was subjected to interrogation and torture by his own comrades in arms. Then he was transferred to the FACH Hospital. In a letter to his son Albert, who lived in Australia, he reported:

They broke me inside, at one point, they morally bursted me – I never knew how to hate anyone – I always thought that the human being is the most wonderful thing in this creation and should be respected as such, but I found FACH comrades that I've known for 20 years, my students, who treated me like a criminal or a dog. [2]

He was put under house arrest in October 1973, but on 18 December he was arrested for the third time with several officers and NCOs in the Air Force, who were tried for "treason" in Martial entitled Aviation / Bachelet and other ROL 1-73, also known as FACH Process.[ clarification needed ]

He died on 12 March 1974, [1] after suffering a heart attack while being in jail in Santiago, where he was being tortured. [3]

Family

He was married to archaeologist Ángela Jeria Gómez, with whom he fathered two children, Alberto and Michelle. Michelle later became the first female president of Chile. [4] [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Independent Democratic Union</span> Political party in Chile

The Independent Democratic Union is a conservative and right-wing political party in Chile, founded in 1983. Its founder was the lawyer, politician and law professor Jaime Guzmán, a civilian allied with Augusto Pinochet. Guzmán was a senator from 1990 until his murder by communist guerrillas on April 1, 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1973 Chilean coup d'état</span> Overthrow of President Salvador Allende by the military

The 1973 Chilean coup d'état was a military overthrow of the democratic socialist president of Chile Salvador Allende and his Popular Unity coalition government. Allende, who has been described as the first Marxist to be democratically elected president in a Latin American liberal democracy, faced significant social unrest, political tension with the opposition-controlled National Congress of Chile. On 11 September 1973, a group of military officers, led by General Augusto Pinochet, seized power in a coup, ending civilian rule.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military dictatorship of Chile</span> Period of Chilean history under the rule of General Augusto Pinochet

An authoritarian military dictatorship ruled Chile for seventeen years, between 11 September 1973 and 11 March 1990. The dictatorship was established after the democratically elected socialist government of Salvador Allende was overthrown in a coup d'état backed by the United States on 11 September 1973. During this time, the country was ruled by a military junta headed by General Augusto Pinochet. The military used the breakdown of democracy and the economic crisis that took place during Allende's presidency to justify its seizure of power. The dictatorship presented its mission as a "national reconstruction". The coup was the result of multiple forces, including pressure from conservative groups, certain political parties, union strikes and other domestic unrest, as well as international factors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">José Toribio Merino</span> Chilean politician and admiral

José Toribio Merino Castro was an admiral of the Chilean Navy who was one of the principal leaders of the 1973 Chilean coup d'état, along with General Augusto Pinochet of the Army, General Gustavo Leigh of the Air Force, and General César Mendoza of the Carabineros. Together they established a military dictatorship that ruled Chile from 1973 until 1990, during which more than 3,197 Chilean citizens were executed or simply "disappeared", according to the reports of official bi-partisan commissions established by the President of Chile, Patricio Alwyn, in the 1990s. In addition, a further 28,459 Chileans were victims of torture, which included approximately 3,400 cases of sexual abuse of women.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gustavo Leigh</span> Chilean general

Air General Gustavo Leigh Guzmán was a Chilean general, who represented the Air Force in the 1973 Chilean coup d'état and, for a time, in the ruling junta that followed. Leigh was forced out of the military government in 1978.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fernando Matthei</span> Chilean Air Force General

Fernando Matthei Aubel was a Chilean Air Force general who was part of the military junta that ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990, replacing the dismissed Gustavo Leigh as commander-in-chief of the Chilean Air Force on 24 July 1978. He was part of the Junta from 1978 to 1990, and served as minister of health from 1976 to 1978, retiring from the Air Force in July 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Renewal (Chile)</span> Political party in Chile

National Renewal is a liberal conservative political party in Chile. It is a member of Chile Vamos, a centre-right to right-wing coalition. Sebastián Piñera, the former President of Chile, was a member of the party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">José Tohá</span>

José Tohá González was a Chilean journalist, lawyer, and politician of the Socialist Party (PS).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Government Junta of Chile (1973)</span> Military dictatorship of Chile (1973–90)

The Government Junta of Chile was the military junta established to rule Chile during the military dictatorship that followed the overthrow of President Salvador Allende in the 1973 Chilean coup d'état. The Government Junta was the executive and legislative branch of government until December 17, 1974, when Augusto Pinochet was formally declared President of Chile in late 1974. After that date, it functioned strictly as a legislative body until the return to democracy in 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chilean transition to democracy</span> Process of Chile moving away from dictatorship

The military regime in Chile led by General Augusto Pinochet ended on 11 March 1990 and was replaced by a democratically elected government. The transition period lasted roughly two years, although some aspects of the process lasted significantly longer. Unlike most democratic transitions, led by either the elite or the people, Chile's democratic transition process is known as an intermediate transition – a transition involving both the regime and the civil society. Throughout the transition, though the regime increased repressive violence, it simultaneously supported liberalization – progressively strengthening democratic institutions and gradually weakening those of the military.

Events from the year 2007 in Chile

French Chileans are Chilean citizens of full or partial French ancestry. Between 1840 and 1940, 20,000 to 25,000 French people immigrated to Chile. The country received the fourth largest number of French immigrants to South America after Argentina (239,000), Brazil (150,341) and Uruguay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1988 Chilean presidential referendum</span> 1988 referendum in Chile on extending the rule of Augusto Pinochet

A referendum on whether Augusto Pinochet, the head of a military dictatorship, should become president for eight years under resumed civilian rule was held in Chile on 5 October 1988. The "No" side won with 56% of the vote, marking the end of Pinochet's 16+12-year rule. Democratic elections were held in 1989, leading to the establishment of a new government in 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Augusto Pinochet</span> Dictator of Chile from 1973 to 1990

Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte was a Chilean military officer who was the dictator of Chile from 1973 to 1990. From 1973 to 1981, he was the leader of the military junta, which in 1974 declared him President of the Republic and thus the dictator of Chile; in 1980, a referendum approved a new constitution confirming him in the office, after which he served as de jure president from 1981 to 1990. His time in office remains the longest of any Chilean ruler.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human rights abuses in Chile under Augusto Pinochet</span> Crimes against humanity from 1973 to 1990

Human rights abuses in Chile under Augusto Pinochet were the crimes against humanity, persecution of opponents, political repression, and state terrorism committed by the Chilean Armed Forces, members of Carabineros de Chile and civil repressive agents members of a secret police, during the military dictatorship of Chile under General Augusto Pinochet from 1973 to 1990.

Events in the year 1974 in Chile.

The following lists events that happened during 1978 in Chile.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ángela Jeria</span> Chilean mother of President Michelle Bachelet

Ángela Margarita Jeria Gómez was a Chilean archaeologist. Mother of the former President of Chile Michelle Bachelet, she was the wife of the Chilean Air Force Brigadier General Alberto Bachelet, who died after being tortured during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. Jeria served informally in the role of first lady during the first Bachelet government, accompanying her daughter to several official functions. Her official protocolary role was "Director of the Sociocultural Area of the Presidency".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chile–Norway relations</span> Bilateral relations

Chile–Norway relations are foreign relations between the Republic of Chile and the Kingdom of Norway. Both nations are members of the OECD and the United Nations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claudia Barattini</span> Chilean politician

Claudia Barattini is a Chilean teacher and political scientist. She was a minister during the second government of Michelle Bachelet.

References

  1. 1 2 "Alberto Arturo Bachelet Martinez", memoraiaviva.com
  2. "RECUERDOS DE TREINTA AÑOS". www.lashistoriasquepodemoscontar.cl. Retrieved Jul 3, 2020.
  3. Anderson, Jon Lee. "Neruda, Pinochet, and the Iron Lady". The New Yorker. Conde Nast. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  4. Dorfman, Ariel (Nov 15, 2013). "Chile elections: three candidates, three fathers and an awful lot of history" . Retrieved Jul 3, 2020 via www.theguardian.com.
  5. "Chile judge rejects charging candidate's father | News , World | THE DAILY STAR". www.dailystar.com.lb. Retrieved Jul 3, 2020.