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CHRONOLOGY - 1984
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JANUARY 15, 1984
The Housing Minister temporarily
suspends construction of a mansion being built by Pinochet because of
questionable property transactions behind the project. The mansion,
located in the wealthy sector of Lo Curro, on grounds expropriated from a
private sporting club, cost an estimated US$12 million. Opposition leaders
point out that the extravagance of the three-storey mansion equipped with
underground bunkers, contrasts with the deep economic crisis the country
is undergoing at the time.
MARCH 20, 1984
Jorge Lavandero, editor of the
opposition daily Fortin Mapocho, is brutally attacked. Lavandero had
been preparing to expose Pinochet's questionable real estate transactions,
in particular his property in Melocoton. Lavandero is dragged out of his
car, clubbed and left for dead. Files documenting the scandal are stolen
from the vehicle.
MAY 1, 1984
The First Labor Day rally in dictatorship
draws an estimated 250,000 to O'Higgins Park in Santiago.
MAY 5, 1984
A group of attorneys file a suit against
Pinochet, accusing him of corrupt real estate dealings involving his
Melocoton property. The attorneys claim they obtained documents that
reveal Pinochet acquired the 13-hectare property at the price of 585,000
pesos from the State Treasury, which had previously paid more than three
million pesos for the same land.
SEPTEMBER 4, 1984
French priest Andre Jarlan is shot
dead during protests against the regime. Jarlan, who had arrived in
Chile in 1983, lived with fellow priest Pierre Dubois in the La Victoria
poblacion where the two had set up an informal clinic to treat people
injured in the protests. On the first of two consecutive days of national
protest, Jarlan was killed inside his home by a police officer. Another
eight civilians and an Army Lieutenant also died during the protests.
SEPTEMBER 5, 1984
The military government issues a
list of 5,000 Chileans prohibited from returning to Chile. The list is
distributed to airlines, which are prohibited from selling tickets to
these people.
OCTOBER 16, 1984
A blackout affects much of central
Chile for the fifth time in the year, the result of bombings of
several high tension towers.
OCTOBER 18, 1984
Truck driver and Christian Democrat
Party member Mario Fernandez dies in La Serena as a result of torture
by CNI agents.
NOVEMBER 6, 1984
The Junta imposes a state of siege
throughout the country. Five opposition magazines are shut down and
Spanish priest Ignacio Gutierrez of the Vicaria is expelled.
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