Chile experienced an Explosion of violence, as it has in the almost 30 years of democracy, is not given. It is a short Protest because of isolated problems, or the call for a completely different economic system?
In less than two weeks everything seems to have in Chile is rotated 180 degrees. Still on 8. October, the Chilean President, Sebastián Piñera, said pride in, the television cameras, that “in the midst of this turbulent Latin America, Chile is a true haven with a stable democracy” is. On Sunday (20.10.2019) he spoke of a “war against a powerful enemy,” in which Chile was just. He seemed to make no distinction between the political demands of the citizens, and violent rioters. Not 24 hours later, Piñera appeared again on television and appealed to the Opposition to work with the government to find solutions to the severe social crisis. His criticism of the road, the President maintained.
And the protests go on. But between the barricades, Fire, subsidence and other excesses, there are hundreds of thousands of Chileans, the strike peacefully as a sign of protest, on pots, in the middle of a curfew and, in the presence of soldiers. “Chile is awakening”, is the cry one hears in the streets in many places.
Marta Lagos: “The Chileans have no more fear of the military”
“The Situation was at once so new and violent, that the government was clearly overwhelmed,” says Roberto Méndez, an economist at the Catholic University in Santiago de Chile. “The proclamation of a state of emergency is an expression of this helplessness. But if the military had not left the barracks, would become the Chaos is much greater,” says Méndez.
Late Response
Since 1987, the times of the dictatorship, the military, the tank in the streets of Chile to the public order. However, even this measure has failed to calm the anger of the population on the streets. Not even the abolition of price increase in public transport – the immediate trigger of the protests – seems to appease the protesters.
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Dead in protests in Chile
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Dead in protests in Chile
“The President has tried to extinguish a fire with gasoline. With the military on the streets there can be no dialogue,” says the former student leader and current Deputy of the Communist party of Chile, Camila Vallejos on Twitter. A phrase that was heard from many representatives of the Opposition.
Marta Lagos, Director of the surveys, NGO Latinobarómetro, told DW: “The government has left the military on the streets, although she knew that the soldiers were not able to restore order. The Chileans have no more fear of the military and are soldiers even defiant.”
Ticking Time Bomb?
But is the Protest against the price increase in public transport is only the beginning, as comments suggest in social media? “There are problems with the pensions, the health, and the increase of crime, where the state makes mistakes. Add to this the corruption scandals in politics, the economy, and in the military,” the economist Méndez. “I think that this was a COP-out, but not a Manifestation of a political movement.”
The Head of Latinobarómetro, Marta Lagos, contradict in this point, and says that it is a “Revolution” that “will result in an amendment to the Constitution – one way or the other”.
The former presidential candidate Alejandro Guillier on Twitter: “The people have the nose full of unredeemed promises.”
Manuel José Ossandón, a Senator in the Chilean house of lords and a member of the center-Right coalition of President Piñera to exercise at least self-criticism: “We must not turn a blind eye to the discontent. Everywhere there are people who strike in Protest on pots and pans. I’ve seen people complain that the policy just does not want to understand that there is injustice and inequality. I condemn violence, but I call us together to find solutions. There is no economic growth without social peace.”
The government now faces the major challenge of lost trust in the company to recover, and to develop viable solutions to problems that go far beyond the issue of public transport fares also. And to bring back peace to the country, is also important in another respect. Chile is the host country for two major international events: the summit of the Asia-Pacific economic community (APEC) in November, which also includes the presidents of China and the United States, Xi Jinping and Donald Trump, announced and the United Nations climate change conference (COP25) in December.