I know very little about Chile and about Pinochet, the former Chilean dictator who died a few days ago, but I read an interesting comparison. They both killed thousands of their enemies and detractors, and jailed many more. Castro made Cuba communist at gunpoint, whereas Pinochet instituted free market policies at gunpoint. Pinochet stepped down voluntarily in 1990 after losing a referendum (I want to read more about that, sounds crazy), whereas Castro has clung to power even as an old man in a sickbed. Pinochet left behind a country poised to become the most economically viable in South America, with free market policies still in place. Castro will leave behind a country crippled by poverty, with citizens frequently trying to escape by pretty desperate measures, like water sealing a car and floating away.

After all this, the most mind boggling difference between the two. You can find Castro defenders all over the place, but Pinochet defenders are few and far between. Possibly neither one deserves defense, but if you look at their actions and results, as opposed to propaganda, Pinochet might be the dictator of choice. I'm going to have to read more about him now. I gots the curiosity bug.

I forgot to mentioned that I got all this from Instapundit and from The Washington Post.