Hot damn! Last economics lecture this morning, as usual I sat in the back writing and doodling in my notebook and caught about as much everyone else in the class which generally hasnīt been very much. In my last history class last night we watched this really cool documentary all about what happened here on September 11th, 1973 which for the uniniciated was the day of the coup when Pinochet took over the government, installing 17 years of brutal oppresion. There was an interview with the guy who was ambassador to Chile when the coup happened. Man, he mustīve been privy to some crazy information, and he even talks about some of it in the documentary. Apparently the CIA themselves spent 2.7 million dollars and generated millions more from the international community in the elections of 1971 to make sure that Allende wouldnīt get elected even though Allende won anyway. After he was elected he nationalized the copper mines in northern Chile which were owned almost exlusively by US corporations, about which the ambassador mentions a meeting in the oval office he had with Nixon and Henry "The East Timorese Child Murderer" Kissinger in which Nixon is pounding his fist on the desk and saying "Weīre gonna crush that son of a bitch! Dirty Communist!" and the like. Then the CIA went back to Chile and started helping the military organize with the expressed purpose of setting up a coup and overthrowing the government in the most respected democracy in Latin America. Iīve heard a lot of opinions about exactly how involved the US was in the coup but hearing this directly from the US ambassador to Chile makes it pretty clear that at that time military dictarships were far more important that democracy, other examples including Guatemala, Iran, and Vietnam. Crazy shit, eh?
It dawned on me yesterday that Iīm going to be Buenos Aires when the presidential election takes place between Menen and Kirschner. I donīt know if youīre getting much news on this but thereīs apparently been crazy ass riots and demonstrations around the city so I might have to break my "no pictures on trips" rule and buy a camera to record some of it. Iīve got that same giddiness I had before I went to La Paz all of a week after a gunfight between the army and the police left thirty people dead. This is exactly the kind of traveling Iīve been wanting, watching Latin America go through the changes that hundreds of books will be written on in the years that come and Iīll be able to say, "Shit, foo, I was there." And donīt worry, Headstrong Steveīll be safe and sound on the road.
As a reward for making it through my last economics lecture, Real Madrid and Juventus are playing the ida game of their champions league semifinals matchup today at 2:45 my time. Juveīs got like 3 or 4 defenders out with suspensions so Madridīs probably gonna stomp them pretty badly. At least weīll see a lot of goals.