
Chile: 50 Years After Augusto Pinochet
On September 11, 1973, a military coup put Augusto Pinochet in power in Chile, and the film traces how his 1980 constitution, built on free-market absolutism, still shapes daily life decades later. Education is not free, the public health system is underfunded, pensions barely cover living costs, and even drinking water rights are privately owned. After mass protests in 2019, more than 75 percent of Chileans voted to rewrite the constitution, and the film follows people drafting the new text: a young woman focused on social justice and abortion rights, a conservative delegate who opposes the entire rewrite, and indigenous representatives pushing for recognition. Interviews and street footage from Santiago trace the process through to 2022, when voters rejected the first draft in a second referendum. The film does not resolve the fight, ending with the process still open and the country still split over what, if anything, should replace Pinochet's economic blueprint.