From about 1975 on, Gen Pinochet came under the influence of the "Chicago Boys", a group of free-market economists. Under their guidance, government spending was slashed, state services privatised and restrictions on foreign direct investment lifted.

Gen Pinochet's supporters say he created long-lasting prosperity in Chile; detractors say his legacy was a boom-and-bust economy. One admirer of such techniques was the UK prime minister from 1979 to 1990, Margaret Thatcher (pictured in 1999).