Snapshot: Memories of Pinochet – in pictures

Soldiers on parade during the Pinochet era. "They were on parade outside the presidential palace, so I just pretended to be a silly tourist. After I took this picture they tried to confiscate my camera, but I managed to get away with it. It was incredible to see the Nazi-style helmets - this was in 1980, not 1940!"
Photograph: Julio Etchart/Julio Etchart

Women soaked by water cannon during a demonstration against Pinochet on International Women's Day in Santiago in 1985. "This was the first time the protest came into downtown Santiago, the capital. The women were assaulted by rubber bullets and water cannons, and I was on the receiving end of that as well. We had to carry a handkerchief and some lemons, which helped against tear gas apparently, but you would still get blinded for a few minutes. Now we're used to seeing pictures like this, but in those days it wasn't that common."
Photograph: Julio Etchart/Julio Etchart

Chilean expatriates celebrate the arrest of Pinochet for crimes against humanity in London in 1998. "Chile had gone back to democracy, Pinochet retired and came to London for medical treatment - he was a millionaire by then, having stolen a lot of money while in power. When the Chilean exiles in this country found out, they started demonstrating. This picture shows people outside the House of Lords celebrating when they found out that he had been officially detained. The guy at the front is holding a double-page spread of a newspaper showing the faces of people who had disappeared."
Photograph: Julio Etchart/Julio Etchart

Relatives of disappeared political prisoners demand justice at a Santiago rally in 1985. "Those protests were outside the magistrates court and became like a weekly vigil. A lot of women were arrested but momentum built and they became more established."
Photograph: Julio Etchart/Julio Etchart

Relatives of disappeared political prisoners demand justice at a rally in 1985. "This was in the lead up to the referendum (to decide whether or not Pinochet should remain in power). They would shout 'Libertad! Libertad!', meaning 'freedom'. Pinochet had semi-promised that there would be an amnesty for political prisoners after the referendum, but the people said: 'No, we're not going to wait for that.'"
Photograph: Julio Etchart/Julio Etchart

Journalists attacked by water cannon during 1988's "No" referendum campaign against Pinochet. "I got soaked by water cannon a few times - I always carried a waterproof covering for my camera. I think it's important to show how the press was mistreated at that time, and the pressure that the dictatorship put on the international press, probably hoping they would go away and not cover the referendum." Photograph: Julio Etchart/Julio Etchart Chile

Mother and child with an anti-Pinochet poster saying "No to the Devil" during the '"No" referendum campaign. "Pinochet was campaigning in civilian clothes (although he was a general) because he wanted to show that he was a nice guy. So at the anti-Pinochet rallies, they used the pictures he was using in his campaign for the 'Yes' vote and just painted in the horns of the devil."
Photograph: Julio Etchart/Julio Etchart

General Pinochet at a 1988 rally. "We - the photographers - got quite close and you could sense the tension. Pinochet was uneasy because he wasn't used to dealing with foreign press."
Photograph: Julio Etchart/Julio Etchart