Tuesday 22 October 2013, 6.30pm, 2.04, New Academic Building
Speaker: Sergio Bitar; Discussants: Alan Angell, Tanya Harmer and Victor Figueroa Clark; Chair: George Philip
The Chilean coup on 11 September 1973 and the dictatorship that followed sent shock waves around the world and forever changed Chile. With presidential elections scheduled to take place on 17 November 2013, the country is in the process of choosing its president as it reflects on its past. The student, worker, Mapuche and environmental protests in Chile since 2011 have also opened up a much larger conversation about the legacies of Chile’s dictatorship for the country’s identity, society and politics. This is the most significant national debate about Chile’s past and future that has happened since the transition to democracy. Its development is profoundly important for the future of the country’s education, democracy, healthcare system, economy and the role of government.
To debate these issues and examine the significance of the Chilean coup on its 40th anniversary, this event brings together experts in a roundtable and a public lecture. Together they will focus on the implications of the coup for human rights in Chile and around the world, the international relations of Chile and its position in Latin America and the legacies of the past for contemporary Chilean politics and society.
The lecture will be followed by a small reception where the lecture guests are invited to continue discussion.
Audio Podcast
Speaker
Sergio Bitar was Secretary of State during the government of Salvador Allende and Michelle Bachelet.
Discussants
Alan Angell is Emeritus Fellow of St Antony’s College, Oxford and was formerly University Lecturer in Latin American Politics and Director of the Latin American Centre.
Tanya Harmer is a lecturer in International History at the LSE and a research associate of the Latin America International Affairs Programme.
Victor Figueroa Clark is a Latin Americanist with a particular interest in left-wing politics across the region.
Chair
George Philip has been at the LSE ever since, and is now Professor of Comparative and Latin American Politics.
Location
NAB 2.04, New Academic Building, London School of Economics. Map.