"In the 1988 plebiscite in Chile, the Chilean people at last had the option to vote General Pinochet and his military junta out of office. The film "NO" follows the ad campaign to get people to vote NO, trying to convince people that they could vote without fear, and that they could choose democracy once again for their country..."
"Pinochet lost the plebiscite (against his own expectations), but he still got over 40% of the vote. Over 40% of Chileans were fine with military dictatorship. They were fine with people disappearing and being tortured, raped and murdered by the government. They were fine with propaganda, and the shut-down of a free press, and years without a chance to vote … They liked having a strong man in power. They found him thrilling and commanding. They didn’t want a democratic leader; they wanted a king. I spent years studying Latin American countries, and I had a sense that democracy can be quite fragile. But I did not realize how casual a huge portion of the American people could be about tossing it away."
"When Trump obstructs justice and tears down the firewall between different branches of government — again, they find him terribly thrilling and commanding! They watch State TV (aka FOX) and they believe what all the king’s men tell them about the state of the world. And sadly, that probably will not change. We may be able to save US democracy, just as democracy was restored in Chile and other countries that allowed it to be destroyed — but we should never, ever forget that the 40% who do not value it at all are out there."
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