The reign of Augusto Pinochet was the darkest period in Chilean, and possibly South American, history. This biography studies the defining events of the dictator’s life and notorious rule, from his birth in 1915, through the development of his military career and his connections to fascist leaders, to his overthrow of the Allende government in 1973 and subsequent imposition of a murderous right-wing regime. The program also outlines the decay of the aging despot’s power—his eventual arrest in England, his return to Chile, and the removal of his immunity from prosecution, raising the possibility that he might be tried for human rights abuses. (Spanish, 48 minutes)