Uncovering Writing

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was very much looking forward to reading this book. On one hand, I enjoyed it, but on the other, I think it could have been so much better.

The author captured and reported on the larger context of the overthrow of the democratically elected leftist president of Chile. I was familiar with the story, but that didn’t temper my anger as I worked through each phase of the effort to oust Salvadore Allende. The US, like it had done in Iran and Guatemala before, worked overtly and covertly to subvert the voice of the electorate in another country. Supplying guns, underwriting campaigns, fostering treason by the armed forces, etc. was the main role of the US. Nixon and Kissinger, the latter a true war criminal, worked nonstop to teach the Chileans that only voices in the US counted. The US primarily feared Chile’s election of Allende since he showed the socialism was entirely compatible with democracy and freedom. This was the antithesis of US propaganda and needed to be stopped at all costs lest it undermine the US’s entire foreign and domestic policy foundations.

Guardiola-Rivera echoes my own worry that the deification of the military and its members only leads to bad places. He also shows the impact that religion has, especially in the hands of the rightwing military and civilian propaganda groups in Chile. It was Christianity, through its Catholic instantiation, that was partly used to justify overthrowing the rule of law, arbitrary detentions and torture, book destruction, murder and genocide.

On thought I had while reading the book was how some people reacted to Allende’s attempt to nationalize the media in case of a coup. The assumption is that government controlled media cannot be tolerated or trusted. But, is corporately-controlled media much better? The people are still excluded from decision making and from having a voice in what is reported and what is suppressed.

As for how this book could be better, I think the work lacked focus. It jumped all over the place, in time, theory and explanation of events. There was nothing drawing me through the story to hang on to as I worked through this tome. It also felt like preaching to the choir at times, based on some word choices and cited sources. I think the author nailed it and is correct on most points, but how you make that case determines what impact the work will have beyond the already converted.

I think Jennifer Shirmer’s “The Guatemalan Military Project” is the best work I’ve read on the evolution of a country from democracy and freedom on the left to dictatorship and terror by the right. Her work covered a great deal of history but I never felt lost or confused as I worked from the introduction to the conclusion.