“Total Politics”. The Revolutionary Disposition of El Mercurio 1973/1974

Abstract

In the wake of the 1973 military ‘pronunciamiento’, the editorial page of El Mercurio elaborates and publicizes the ideological bases of Pinochet’s dictatorship. It does not recommend the restoration of broken down institutions, but their refoundation. The refoundation sought is inspired by the economic philosophy of neoliberal thinkers like Hayek, Friedman and Becker, and at the same time adheres to the political philosophy of carlism espoused in Chile by Eyzaguirre, Lira y Guzmán. A reading of the editorials of the months following the ‘pronunciamiento’ allow one to discern how the traditional conservatism of the newspaper became radicalized by the simultaneous adoption of carlist and neoliberal political and economic ideas. Freedom and authority, specifically free economy and strong state, become the conceptual polarity that defines the ideology of El Mercurio, This study of the paper’s editorial line during the months following the coup d’état culminates with “A Total Politics”. This editorial piece recommends that prices be determined solely by the market and by consumers which requires the implementation of a total politics which is a strategy that authorities must manage with prudence. The following takes hold: “Economic freedom needs to be total politics”. One could say that this principle encapsulates the refoundational attempt to harmonize a free economy and strong state authority.