George Walford: Chile Con Splinters

“Pinochet’s Poll Defeat Could Reinforce his Position, as Chile’s Splintered Opposition Proves Powerless.” So runs the subhead to an article by Emiliano Magon in NS&S for 19 Oct 88, and the article develops the theme: “A thoroughly divided opposition, made up of 16 warring parties, was more an ally than a threat.”

Magon writes as if the situation in Chile were a one-off; in fact it is routine. Admittedly 16 parties is an unusually high number, but it only emphasises the rule, that the right tends towards political unity and the left towards fission.

 from Ideological Commentary 37, September 1989.