CHILEAN POLITICS

Online Special: Politics in Chile Browse the NewsHour's coverage of Latin America   Chilean Embassy in Washington Chile's Executive Branch (in Spanish) Spotlight on Chile Pinochet Decision from Human Rights Watch	The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour -- September 8, 1986 AN ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT Five bodyguards were killed and several wounded in an assassination attempt on Chilean president Augusto Pinochet. The attack came after an economic downturn in the country sparked protests against the general's military-run government. Six dissidents were arrested in connection with the incident and Chilean troops moved into the countryside looking for members of an alleged underground leftist movement. Pinochet declared a heightened state of emergency, suspending personal freedoms and allowing the government to shut down opposition magazines and place those suspected of anit-government activism in jail for up to 20 days without evidence of wrongdoing. Duke University professor Arturo Valenzuela said the government crackdown had led to a "substantial amount of repression" in Chile. "By imposing a state of siege, the Pinochet government is now going to strengthen its hand," Valenzuela said. "I think the government is probably stronger today than it was before this incident, because it can marshal its support among the armed forces and among its supporters in the business community." Valenzuela said the opposition, while somewhat united in its stand against Pinochet, was sharply divided between those on the far-left and those wishing to restore democracy in Chile.