Reflection El Mercurio Project and Chile 2/18

The El Mercurio Project excerpt from The Pinochet File detailed the CIA project from the US perspective. I found the piece fascinating as it sheds light on the US entanglement in Latin America. I found evidence of the consumption of labor - through the use of journalists - within the excerpt as well a different kind of consumption. I cannot specify the kind of consumption it seems the US took part in, it was almost as if the US was consuming authoritarian tendencies. Yet, even more so, the Mercurio seemed to be consuming the money of the US as the CIA funneled over 1 million dollars to the company and its operation. On page 94, the article noted the "freedom of the press issue" for the Mercurio, making me question who (or what) was preventing that freedom. To some extent, it seemed like the US rather than Chile was preventing the true freedom of the newspaper through the promotion of propaganda. It seems almost ironic that a democracy paid to take down another democracy through - a coup - one of the most undemocratic means, despite the fact the US claims to pride itself on the promotion of democracy worldwide.
Yet, as we learn from Agustin Edwards obituary, El Mercurio is still running today; the newspaper did not go bankrupt. Through the obituary, we learn that Edwards, the media tycoon who owned El Mercurio, was European and had lobbied the US government for intervention in his government. El Mercurio was a Spanish newspaper; clearly, the use of El Mercurio specifically was chosen in part for its language and target audience. Like we discussed in class through three Caballeros, this was intentionally done to draw in the Spanish speaking audience to the propaganda, promoting US views through the language of the people rather than the language of the creator. By the end of the obituary, it is clear that Edwards, El Mercurio, and the CIA were deeply involved in the dispelling of democratic institutions as well as the promotion of an authoritarian military regime. Reading this in contrast with the excerpt from the Pinochet Files serves as a reminder that framing exists. The two readings portray different pictures of the situation and the people involved - showing the power of the media to influence opinion.
The third reading, The Revolution Will be Televised, shows yet another viewpoint of this "revolution" in Chile. From the beginning, we see the impact of the media - specifically the Television - on opinion through the broadcasting of political debates and the promotion of newspaper articles employing anti-communist rhetoric. Rather than focusing on Edwards or the CIA, this focuses on Allende and the "creation of a new culture and new person" through those who make culture - artists and poets. Nevertheless, the article continues to mention the "terror campaign" from the 1960s which I had to look up because the author never really explains it. This contrast between the power relations of different governments and politicians is evident throughout the piece as we watch Chileans consume it through media just as we the readers consume the same information as we read now. I found the image of US government officials and heads of US-based multinational corporations meeting to discuss Chilean politics funny. This itself depicts the importance of consumption of Latin America to the US, it is the sole reason these players were interested in the outcome of the government at all, for their own profit and continued success as corporations.