This seminal book was inspired by a series of questions: what explains the endurance of Augusto Pinochet's authoritarian regime in Chile, a country with a lengthy democratic tradition? What mechanisms secured the regime's political stability and broad-based support? What role did neoliberal ideas play in authoritarian discourse and policy? How could two such opposite forces as political coercion and economic freedom coexist? And why the fascination with Pinochet's personality and leadership among elites and lower-income sectors alike? Carlos Huneeus's authoritative work explores and reveals the very nature of the Pinochet regime, examining its structures, its policies, and the complex of factors that made its lengthy duration possible. ""The Pinochet Regime"" helps us to understand not only Chile's past, but also the nature of the democracy that began on March 11, 1990.