Milei praises Pinochet's dictatorship as a period of stability and growth

The president of Argentina, Javier Milei, praised Chile's dictatorship this Thursday (3) when he called Augusto Pinochet's regime, marked by thousands of cases of torture, murder and forced disappearance, a "period of stability and growth".

"Thanks to him, Chile was, without a doubt, the envy of the entire region in economic terms. However, despite having known the fruits of freedom, it fell into the farce of 21st century socialism, like the rest of the region," said the Argentine.

The dictatorship, which ended in 1990, suppressed human rights, due legal process and political and expression freedoms.

The statement was made at the annual Foro Madrid event, in Santiago, organized by the Disenso Foundation, linked to Spanish ultra-right deputy Santiago Abascal, from the Vox party. On the 11th, Chile remembers the 53rd anniversary of the coup that killed Salvador Allende and brought Pinochet to power.

During his speech, Milei called on the Latin American right to speak out against the left, which he accused of "colonizing" institutions, universities and the media. "Organized evil is defeated by organized good, there is no other way," he stated.

Milei presented Chile as one of the current examples of the advancement of conservative ideas in Latin America after the rise to power of the ultra-rightist José Antonio Kast, in March.

"Chile has once again invested in the ideas of freedom. It has awakened, just as Latin America is awakening", stated Milei, who also cited the cases of conservatives Keiko Fujimori, in Peru, and Abelardo de la Espriella, in Colombia.

Argentines have a history of relativizing dictatorships such as Chile and Argentina. The statements are usually accompanied by attacks and accusations against the left on the continent.

After his speech, Milei met for around 40 minutes with Kast at the La Moneda Palace, headquarters of the Chilean Presidency. Milei left the place without speaking to the press.

The two presidents share positions favorable to the free market and a hard-line stance against crime and illegal immigration.

The two are also important allies of Donald Trump's government in Latin America, including participating in the American initiative against criminal groups on the continent, called Shield of the Americas. The president of the United States stated this week that he has good relations with countries in the region, even with Brazil, with whom he has experienced important friction.