The creation of a monster
The image of Augusto Pinochet in foreign press cartoons

Few things irritate and provoke more than the lacerating edge of irony and mockery that stands defiantly before tyrannical power. Perhaps more than the pamphlet and well-founded denunciation, political caricature and humor can be an effective weapon to expose the weaknesses of dictatorships and those who lead them: their bravado always uttered from a safe distance, their genuflecting and excessive gestures, their absurd displays of pomp and enthronement. This is precisely what this book is about, bringing together caricatures published outside of Chile, especially in Europe and the United States, centered on the figure of Augusto Pinochet. With the acuity and rigor that characterize his research into Chile's contemporary history, Manuel Gárate Chateau offers an original perspective in this book on the Chilean dictator and the way mass culture constructed an imaginary around his opaque figure.