Military dictatorship of Chile (1973–1990) themselves by trying to burn and destroy incriminating evidence. Such actions had the effect of justifying the existence of heavily armed forces in Chile. And by extension, justified the dictatorship's conduct against such "violent" offenders. In the 1970s junta members Gustavo Leigh and Augusto Pinochet clashed on several occasions beginning in the day of the 1973 Chilean coup d'état. Leigh criticized Pinochet for having joined the coup very late and then pretending to keep all power for himself. In December 1974 Leigh opposed the proposal to name Pinochet president of Chile. Leigh recalls about that moment that, "Pinochet was furious,
Ministry General Secretariat of the Presidency (Chile) Ministry General Secretariat of the Presidency (Chile) The Ministry General Secretariat of the Presidency () is the cabinet-level administrative office (equivalent to the president's Chief of Staff) which serves in an advisory role to the President of Chile and her or his ministers in the governments' relations with the National Congress of Chile, the development of the legislative agenda, and keeping track of the bills and other legislative activity in Congress as they pertain to the government. The ministry was created in 1990 during the government of Patricio Aylwin, and the first appointee and longest-serving Minister so far was Edgardo