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Episode 906:The Chicago Boys, Part II

General Augusto Pinochet took power in Chile following the 1973 coup, and appointed the Chicago Boys to preside over economic affairs.
CRIS BOURONCLE
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AFP/Getty Images
General Augusto Pinochet took power in Chile following the 1973 coup, and appointed the Chicago Boys to preside over economic affairs.

This is the second part in our series on Marxism and capitalism in Chile. You can find the first episode here.

In the early seventies, Chile, under Marxist President Salvador Allende, was plagued by inflation, shortages, and a crushing deficit. After a violent coup in 1973, the economy became the military's problem.

Led by Augusto Pinochet, the military assigned a group of economists to help turn around Chile's economy. They had trained at the University of Chicago. They came to be known as the Chicago Boys.

Today's show is about the economic "shock treatment" they launched. It eventually set Chile on a path to prosperity, but it did so at an incredible human cost. One that Chileans are still grappling with today.

Music: "Deeper Than We Know," "Haunted Highway" and "La Partida."

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Jasmine Garsd is an Argentine-American journalist living in New York. She is currently NPR's Criminal Justice correspondent and the host of The Last Cup. She started her career as the co-host of Alt.Latino, an NPR show about Latin music. Throughout her reporting career she's focused extensively on women's issues and immigrant communities in America. She's currently writing a book of stories about women she's met throughout her travels.
Noel King is a host of Morning Edition and Up First.