In pictures: Crowds celebrate death of Pinochet's widow in Chile

18th Dec 2021 | Source: BBC

Crowds gathered in the capital, Santiago, shortly after the news was announced

Lucia Hiriart, the widow of the former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet and a polarising figure in the country, has died at the age of 99.

Within minutes of the news, crowds celebrated in the capital, Santiago, what they see as the end of a dynasty.

To some, Hiriart was a philanthropist. To others, she was reviled for her perceived influence on her husband.

Pinochet ruled between 1973 and 1990, when more than 3,000 people were murdered by the state or disappeared.

Her death comes ahead of Sunday's presidential election that has divided the country.

Voters will choose between former student leader Gabriel Boric, a left-wing candidate who has condemned Chile's military past, and a far-right candidate who has praised it, José Antonio Kast.

Many demonstrators see in Hiriart's death the end of a dynasty

This protester wore a T-shirt saying: "Fascism never again"

The death comes days before a presidential election that has divided the country

The couple, seen here in 1984, were married from 1943 to 2006, when Pinochet died

Pinochet, seen here alongside his wife in 2000, led a regime that killed and tortured thousands of people