tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21674624.post5087156245078760371..comments2024-02-21T05:16:22.788-05:00Comments on Two Weeks Notice: A Latin American Politics Blog: Michael Lazzara's Luz Arce and Pinochet's ChileGreg Weekshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15765114859595124082noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21674624.post-52602625796813300812012-04-12T22:45:40.289-04:002012-04-12T22:45:40.289-04:00I'm in complete agreement with you about Lazza...I'm in complete agreement with you about Lazzara's book, it's very compelling and brings up some of the problems at the heart of understanding a dictatorship like Pinochet's. I especially worry that, as time passes, people will forget why it is necessary to remember him. Just using google, you can find dozens of web pages dedicated to glorifying Pinochet, and others that, because of their right-wing politics, are attempting to portray Pinochet as a hero for ridding Chile of the "Marxist cancer" and preventing Soviet expansion into Latin America (as if this was the problem).<br /><br />I think this book needs to be in the curriculum of any class on dictatorships or on 20th century Latin America. Lazzara's book acts as a window into how Pinochet's intelligence agencies destroyed people's lives. The really unfortunate thing is that this isn't an isolated case. How many other Luz Arce's are out there? How many people were forced to collaborate not just with Pinochet, but with the military juntas in Brazil and Argentina? I think it's vital to emphasize that some questions cannot be definitely answered, if only because human speech sometimes lacks the words to produce one. But keeping open these uncomfortable questions may help us to, at the very least, keep the memory of the dictatorship alive.KevinJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06692152503735798386noreply@blogger.com