In 1988, the fate of Chile and its dictator came down to a ballot as simple as a middle schooler's do-you-like-me? note. A referendum offered citizens a simple choice: a "yes" for allowing President Augusto Pinochet to return to office for another eight years, having clung to power since his 1973 overthrow of Salvador Allende, or a "no" for something — anything — else. Tyrants control their media, of course, but the opposition wasn't entirely shut out. The national "debate" platform was two 15-minute television slots  in which opposing viewpoints could be voiced, after which regularly scheduled programming — that is, flagrantly pro-Pinochet propaganda — would resume for the remaining 23½... More >>>