The Wars inside Chile's Barracks: Remembering Military Service under Pinochet (Critical Human Rights)

From 1973 to 1990 in Chile, approximately 370,000 young men—mostly from impoverished backgrounds—were conscripted to serve as soldiers in Augusto Pinochet's violent regime. Some were brutal enforcers, but many themselves endured physical and psychological abuse, survival and torture training, arbitrary punishments, political persecution, and forced labor. Leith Passmore examines the emergence, in the early twenty-first century, of a movement of ex-conscripts seeking reparations. The former soldiers challenged the politics of memory that had shaped Chile's truth and reconciliation efforts, demanding recognition of their own broken families, ill health and incapacity to work, and damaged sense of self. Relying on unpublished material, testimony, interviews, and field notes, Passmore locates these individuals' narratives of victimhood at the intersection of long-term histories of patriotism, masculinity, and cyclical poverty. These accounts reveal in detail how Pinochet's war against his own citizens—as well as the 'almost-wars' with neighboring Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina—were also waged inside Chile's army barracks. The Wars inside Chile's Barracks is the winner of the 2018 Best Book Award (Social Sciences) of the Southern Cone Studies Section of the Latin American Studies Association. Winner of the 2018 Best Book Award (Social Sciences) of the Southern Cone Studies Section of the Latin American Studies Association From 1973 to 1990 in Chile, approximately 370,000 young menmostly from impoverished backgroundswere conscripted to serve as soldiers in Augusto Pinochet's violent regime. Some were brutal enforcers, but many themselves endured physical and psychological abuse, survival and torture training, arbitrary punishments, political persecution, and forced labor. Leith Passmore examines the emergence, in the early twenty-first century, of a movement of ex-conscripts seeking reparations. The former soldiers challenged the politics of memory that had shaped Chile's truth and reconciliation efforts, demanding recognition of their own broken families, ill health and incapacity to work, and damaged sense of self.Relying on unpublished material, testimony, interviews, and field notes, Passmore locates these individuals' narratives of victimhood at the intersection of long-term histories of patriotism, masculinity, and cyclical poverty. These accounts reveal in detail how Pinochet's war against his own citizensas well as the "almost-wars" with neighboring Peru, Bolivia, and Argentinawere also waged inside Chile's army barracks. "From 1973 to 1990, approximately 370,000 young men in Chile--mostly from impoverished backgrounds--were conscripted to serve as soldiers in Augusto Pinochet's violent regime. Some were brutal enforcers, but many themselves endured physical and psychological abuse, survival and torture training, arbitrary punishments, political persecution, and forced labor. Leith Passmore examines the emergence, in the early twenty-first century, of a movement of ex-conscripts seeking reparations. The former soldiers challenged the politics of memory that had shaped Chile's truth and reconciliation efforts, demanding recognition of their own broken families, ill health and incapacity to work, and damaged sense of self. Relying on unpublished material, testimony, interviews, and field notes, Passmore locates these individuals' narratives of victimhood at the intersection of long-term histories of patriotism, masculinity, and cyclical poverty. These accounts reveal in detail how Pinochet's war against his own citizens--as well as the "almost-wars" with neighboring Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina--were also waged inside Chile's army barracks."--Page 4 of cover Contents......Page 8 List of Illustrations......Page 10 Preface......Page 16 Acknowledgments......Page 22 Note on Sources......Page 26 Introduction: War and Memory......Page 32 1. The Contours of Silence......Page 52 2. A Movement......Page 80 3. Defending la Patria......Page 102 4. Making Men......Page 135 5. In the Flesh......Page 170 Conclusion: The Apolitics of Memory and the Limits of Human Rights......Page 188 Appendix......Page 196 Notes......Page 202 Works Cited......Page 274 Index......Page 302 A New Perspective On Pinochet's Repressive Regime And Its Aftermath In Chile, Looking At The Ambiguous Experiences And Memories Of Army Draftees Who Became Both Criminals And Victims In An Era Of Brutality.