Nightmare in Chile

Chile’s dictator, Gen. Augusto Pinochet, thrives on the long nightmare of violence that his rule unleashed on his country, and he may even survive it. But Chile will have a hard time surviving it.

Pinochet lived through a highway ambush this week that left him slightly wounded and five members of his official convoy dead. In his first pronouncement after the skirmish he declared, in a phrase that would certify him for commitment in any other country, that Chile is in a war between “democracy and chaos.” Thanks to Pinochet and his marauding troops, Chile has chaos in abundance, but no democracy.

He has rejected centrist proposals for restoring democratic government that would be barred to the communists who would make up a significant minority of the electorate--if he allowed an electorate. In a fair election he would get 20% of the vote, but he manages to hold together a military junta, terrorize political opponents with brute force and connive to run things until 1997.

Chileans tend to assume that communist guerillas sprang the trap on Pinochet’s bulletproof Mercedes Benz. Pinochet took no chances, sending soldiers--their faces smeared with black combat grease paint--to pick up socialists, priests and moderate politicians alike. Opposition magazines were shut down--as was the Santiago bureau of Reuters, an international news agency.

The Reagan Administration flails away at the consequences of pre-revolutionary neglect in Nicaragua, with scant hope of toppling the Sandinista government that led the revolution. That its heart is in the right place in Chile is evident from its counsel to Pinochet to make plans to give back to the people of Chile through free elections the government that he stole from them. But Pinochet has paid no attention, either.

Nearly one-third of Chile’s able-bodied adults are out of work. Resentment of Pinochet is widespread, muted only by force. Guerrilla attacks are on the rise. The chances of splitting the military junta away from Pinochet seem slim. All of these things point to something far worse than the nightmare of sporadic violence and brutality. Washington must step up the pressure on Pinochet while the terrorized people of Chile still care which side Washington is on.