Murdoch’s Australian newspaper may continue to praise the recently deceased Indonesian dictator Soeharto – after all, human rights abuses against Communists and other “undesirables” is a small price to pay for economic development – so it’s worth remembering the legacy of another Western-favoured autocrat, Chile’s General Pinochet:
It’s true that, starting in 1973, Pinochet spearheaded the free-market policies that were later embraced so wholeheartedly by Britain’s Margaret Thatcher and by U.S. president Ronald Reagan through the 1980s. It’s also true that in the Western media that paternity is often ignored. Yet, one must realize that, contrary to some widespread perceptions, Chile’s economic performance during those 17 years of military rule was, at best, mediocre.