February 26th, 2020 | Written By - Maeve Cassidy '22
In October, demonstrations erupted across Chile, more specifically in the capital city of Santiago. What began as a response to an increase in subway fares ignited to represent an accumulation of economic and political failures by the Chilean government. People are specifically protesting the high prices of consumer goods, low working wages, poor pensions, poverty, debt, and political corruption. Mob-like violence primarily involving the raiding of shops, destruction of property, and arson, has resulted in twenty-seven deaths and an investigation by the United Nations Human Right Council. President Sebastián Piñera’s early response to the demonstrations was to implement a redrafted constitution, state of emergency, a new cabinet, and a curfew. However, despite his outlines, Piñera favors military force, which had not been utilized since Chile became a democracy in 1990. The economic hardships causing the protests stem from Chile's enforcement of strict free market principles. In prior years, political leaders reassured Chileans that “free markets would lead to prosperity, and prosperity would take care of other problems.” These principles, however, have resulted in a huge disparity of wealth, with some in economic prosperity while many other citizens live in poverty. CNN authors, Helen Regan and Bethlehem Feleke, write, “Chile is one of Latin America's wealthiest countries, but it also has one of the highest levels of income inequality in the world,” a statistic which many protesters confront in their demonstrations. Economically, Chile is under stress by global trade tensions, rising oil prices, and a lowering of the price of primary exports. Protestors echo these reports, citing poverty, debt, and economic instability as the reason for their demonstrations. They list their demands as: Piñera’s resignation, the end of capitalism, a new constitution, and a generally better life. The Chilean government proposed to draft a new constitution with focus on “government recognition of health care and education as basic human rights” to be approved in 2021. They also put forward a plan for a constitutional convention if voters would like. Although these means appease protestors, the government is firm on maintaining Piñera’s presidency. Because the Chilean Government is scarcely meeting demands, protesters are planning additional mass demonstrations to begin in March. According to Latin America expert at the United States Naval Academy, John Polga-Hecimovich, “This might just be the wake-up call some of these governments and political parties need to improve their representation and governance.”
Comments