SANTIAGO, Chile—On the evening of Oct. 5, 1988, Eugenio García, a 36-year-old advertising executive, sat hunched in front of a flickering television set, waiting anxiously for news. That afternoon, polls had closed in a historic referendum: Chile would choose between another eight years of General Augusto Pinochet’s repressive dictatorship (1973-1990) or a transition to democracy.
García had been part of the team that masterminded the NO campaign against Pinochet’s continued rule. With a rainbow as its symbol, the campaign used its two 15-minute televised slots each day to project an explosion of color, hope, and forward-thinking to the nation. Its slogan? Chile, ¡la alegría ya viene!, or ‘happiness is coming!’
