Chile

Chile And Its Night Of Witches

October 20, 2019 Paul Walder, Internationalist 360. Resist! Austerity, Chile, Neoliberalism

Perhaps October 18 will be recorded as a moment of popular uprising. Or perhaps it will be followed by other moments of greater intensity. But without a doubt, from this day on, something changed in Chile. The neoliberal model, today administered by Sebastián Piñera but loved from Ricardo Lagos to Michelle Bachelet, is mortally wounded. The president’s declaration of a state of emergency, which empowers the army to restore order in Santiago, does not solve the problem but only aggravates it. It is no coincidence that a little more than a week after the end of the protests in Ecuador, which forced Lenín Moreno to step back on the rise in fuel prices, Santiago de Chile is experiencing similar incidents and demonstrations.

Uprising Spreads In Chile—Military Occupations And Curfews

October 20, 2019 Pauline Lipstein and Rico Gutstein, Chitown and Chile Blog. Resist! Austerity, Chile, Education, health

Today, October 19, the crisis in Chile escalated with rebellions breaking out in Concepción, Punto Arenas in the South, Valparaíso, and elsewhere. Despite the state of emergency and military with tanks and armored vehicles patrolling the streets, people were out continuing to protest. Santiago continues to be a war zone. By 3:15 pm 16 buses were burned. At 4 PM, tanks rolled into Plaza Italia, one of the city’s central plazas. More metro stations were consumed by fire. By 6 pm there were fires and barricades in Concepción, the third largest city. The government seems to be on the defensive. About 6 PM Piñera came on TV to say “I have heard the voice of my compatriots.” He said he would suspend the fare increase (that would be a victory) and next week host a roundtable to discuss the issues.

How Officials Discuss Foreign Policy When Nobody’s Watching

July 20, 2019 John McEvoy, The Canary. Educate! Chile, Ruling Class, US coup, Wars and Militarism

On 11 September 1973, the Chilean military violently removed the elected government of Salvador Allende and installed a dictatorship under Augusto Pinochet. UK-manufactured arms were used in the coup, and prime minister Margaret Thatcher would go on to call Pinochet a “true friend” and lobby against his persecution for war crimes. Less known, however, is how UK officials discussed Chile’s coup behind closed doors. Declassified foreign office documents published by historian Mark Curtis shed light on how UK officials discuss foreign policy when nobody’s watching. UK planners were quite aware of the bloody nature of the coup.

80,000 Chileans March To Legalize Medical Marijuana, Regulate Recreational Use

May 22, 2019 Staff, Telesurenglish.net Resist! Chile, Legalization, Marijuana, Regulation

Thousands of Chileans demonstrated Saturday in the center of Santiago to demand immediate changes to the way medical and recreational cannabis is regulated and accessed. The fifteenth "Cultivate Your Rights" march brought some 80,000 people together, according to organizers at the Daya Foundation, Mama Cultiva and Movimental, entities that have been working for years to legalize the use of medical marijuana and regulate its use recreationally. The demonstration toured the center of the Chilean capital and passed in front of the Palacio de La Moneda, home of the executive branch, in a festive, carnival atmosphere, with no violence reported.

Chilean Police Repress Thousands Of Protesting Students

April 26, 2019 Staff, Telesurenglish.net Resist! Chile, Protests, Repression, Students

Thousands of students peacfully demonstrated in Santiago Thursday during a renewed protest to demand sweeping education reforms, but were attacked by anti-riot police. The march, which had started peacefully with thousands of students carrying signs and banners demanding reforms, turned into violent clashes as anti-riot police attacked protesters. Police used water canons and tear gas to disperse the large crowds of students who responded by throwing rocks and other objects at police.

Chile’s Feminists Inspire A New Era Of Social Struggle

January 30, 2019 By Bree Busk, Roarmag.org Resist! Chile, Class Struggle, Women

It is May 2018 and as winter descends on Santiago, Chile, a new wave of feminist activity is exploding into life. Anti-patriarchal graffiti covers the city walls and streets are littered with the evidence of recent marches. Tension is rising in the universities and social media are flooded with posts ranging from cautious inquiries to joyous declarations: “Is the downtown campus of PUC occupied?” “Was UCEN taken over?” “Instituto Arcos on feminist strike!” Almost every day, a new selection of feminist banners can be spotted hanging from the fences of Santiago’s most prominent institutions.

Chile: 36 Former Pinochet Intel Agents Sentenced

December 12, 2018 Staff, Telesurenglish.net Educate! Chile, History, Intelligence, Latin America

The Court of Appeals of Santiago de Chile sentenced 36 former agents of the National Intelligence Directorate (DINA) for their participation in the forced disappearance of hundreds of opposition leaders during the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990). At least 32 former agents of Pinochet's secret police were sentenced Monday to 10 years and one day in prison for their involvement in the disappearance of hundreds of members of the Communist Party, the Revolutionary Left Movement (MIR) and activists of the Christian community of Villa Francia de Santiago. All of them are already serving prison sentences for other state crimes.

Chilean Workers Observe National Strike Demanding Labor Rights

November 17, 2018 Staff, Peoplesdispatch.org Resist! Chile, Class Struggle, Strikes, Workers, Workers Rights and Jobs

On November 8, hundreds of thousands of Chilean workers organised a massive rally in Santiago as part of their national strike. The call for strike was given by Worker’s United Centre of Chile (CUT) demanding an increase in wages, equal pay, decent pensions, decent housing, quality public health, protection from workplace abuse, etc. They also protested against massive layoffs, pro-rich tax reforms, pension reforms, and the overall labour policy of Chilean president Sebastian Piñera. Several trade unions and student federations attended the march. Similar rallies were held in 40 other locations across the country.

Relatives Of Chile’s Disappeared Are Exposing Dictatorship-Era Torturers

October 14, 2018 Ramona Wadi, Waging Nonviolence. Create! Chile, Dictatorship, Pinochet, Torture

The return of the right wing to power in Chile has come at the expense of those still seeking justice for crimes committed during the 17-year U.S.-backed dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, which ended in 1990. Former President Michelle Bachelet’s failure to close the luxury five-star prison of Punta Peuco that houses ex-torturers and military agents convicted of crimes against humanity has led to repercussions during the first year of Sebastian Pinera’s presidency. Over the years, the Chilean military has lobbied for “understanding” the context in which torture and disappearances occurred, in order to procure release for convicted agents of the dictatorship.

Chile Convicts 20 Pinochet-Era Intelligence Agents For Role In Operation Condor

September 24, 2018 Telesur. Resist! Chile, History, Latin America, Pinochet, US Imperialism

Chilean judge Mario Carroza ordered 20 former agents of Chile’s infamous National Intelligence Direction (DINA) to serve prison time for their roles in the kidnapping and murder of 12 victims of the CIA-backed Operation Condor Friday. “The intelligence agents of our country, in these cases, in collusion with those of Argentina, Paraguay, and Bolivia did not only coordinate the detention of the victims, but also created the conditions to lock them up and transfer them to our country with the sinister purpose of confining them in clandestine centers to interrogate them, torture them and later eliminate them with extreme cruelty,” Carroza’s ruling states. Operation Condor was a joint intelligence operation, in which the intelligence services of Argentina, Brasil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Bolivia worked together to hunt down political opposition across borders in an attempt to eliminate dissent against United States-backed military regimes.

Chile’s Political System Shaken By Rise Of New Anti-Neoliberal Left

December 6, 2017 Staff, socialistproject.ca Create! Chile, Electoral Politics, Left Politics

By Staff of The Bullet - First, it’s clear that the result, for any observer, was a complete surprise. Although looking at it now we can see that there were many signs pointing to the possibility of a high vote for the FA, the truth is that no one believed it was possible to go into double digits. Polls showed it with about 8% support, and the history of the left in the past three decades in Chile is one in which it has never surpassed this limit. Moreover, the FA went to the elections without the backing of the biggest left force in the country – in terms of history, number of activists and organising capacity: the Communist Party. In this context, the first point is the surprise factor. The second is the political chaos that has been generated in Chile. If the FA is seeking to alter the balance of forces that has dominated Chile for almost three decades since the final years of the dictatorship, it has still not achieved this. But [the election] was a big step forward in this direction: it created electoral uncertainty, not only in terms of the second round, but for years to come in Chile. In this way, the FA went from being ignored by the traditional political forces, to being the third political force in a system accustomed to only two players. And it is not just any third force, but one whose program is based on the big anti-neoliberal social struggles of the past decades.

Newsletter: Color Revolution Comes Home?

July 1, 2017 Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers, www.PopularResistance.org Newsletter Chile, CIA, Color Revolution, Democratic Party, Donald Trump, Iran, Mosaddegh, NED, Regime Change, Russia, RussiaGate, Ukraine, US Empire, USAID, Venezuela, Vladimir Putin

By Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers for Popular Resistance. The United States has perfected the art of regime change operations. The US is the largest empire in world history with more than 1,000 military bases and troops operating throughout the world. In addition to military force, the US uses the soft power of regime change, often through 'Color Revolutions.' The US has been building its empire since the Civil War era, but it has been in the post-World War II-time period that it has perfected regime change operations.US military presence around the world Have the people of the United States been the victims of regime change operations at home? Have the wealthiest and the security state created a government that serves them, rather than the people? To answer these questions, we begin by examining how regime change works and then look at whether those ingredients are being used domestically.

Chile’s Indigenous Mapuche Protest Deadly Police Brutality

March 20, 2017 Staff, www.telesurtv.net Resist! Capitalism, Chile, Indigenous Peoples, police brutality, Protests

By Staff of Tele Sur - Chile’s Mapuche, who make up roughly 10 percent of its population, are more likely to be killed by police than non-Mapuche people. Dozens of Chile’s Indigenous Mapuche protested police terror in Temuco on Friday, calling on law enforcement to stop violence against their youth. The protest was organized by the parents of Brandon Hernandez, a 17-year-old Mapuche student who was shot by police last December during an anti-government demonstration. Chilean police sergeant Cristian Rivera shot Brandon in the back with a shotgun, leaving the teenager in critical condition.

Month Long Miners Strike In Chile

March 19, 2017 ALBA Movements, www.thedawn-news.org Resist! Chile, Mining, Workers Rights and Jobs

By ALBA Movements for Dawn News. The 2,500 organized workers of the Chilean mine La Escondida, the biggest copper mine of the world, reached the first month of strike today, in the middle of the talks paralyzation and of the radicalization of the conflict. “We’re no longer fighting for the 2,500 workers, what we stand for here is the future of mining in the country, we’re creating a precedent for all Chilean workers”, said today Enrique Thenoux, leader of the Syndicate Number 1 of the mine to Efe Jaime. Since the past February 9, the 2.500 organized workers of La Escondida mine, that employs 4,500 people, paralyzed the extracting work in repudiation to the collective agreement proposed by the company. The workers sustain that the company, operated by the Australian BHP Billiton, offers them a new agreement that reduces in a 14,5% their salaries and benefits, and implements discriminatory terms in the contracts of new workers.

The Heavy Price of Chile’s Privatized Water

September 25, 2016 Daniel Gallagher, www.theguardian.com Resist! Chile, Privatization, Water

By Daniel Gallagher for the Guardian. When it comes to water, Chile is failing its citizens. In Santiago, the nation’s capital, millions of people are regularly left without running water for days at a time and experts are warning of water scarcity to come across the country astemperatures rise and glaciers retreat. “What we need is a transformation away from the private model of water ownership and to recognise water as a human right,” says Francisca Fernández, spokeswoman for the Movimiento por la Recuperación del Agua y la Vida which campaigns for public ownership of water. The organisation emerged four years ago at a time of mounting climatic stress in Santiago. A recent protest saw at least 2,000 people take to the capital’s streets to demand the repeal of laws that privatised Chile’s water supply. At the heart of the protest and others like it in recent years lies frustration that the privatisation of water has kept prices unnecessarily high, delivered poor service and done little to address concerns over insufficient supply in the future.

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