Recently, with all the confusion over Brexit and\nthe various misdemeanors of our radical friend President Trump the political\nstate of other countries has not reached our news; that is, unless it concerns\nus. In fact, the Chilean Spring has been ongoing for the last twenty-two days\nand has received very little media coverage. When I searched it up I was met\nwith \u201cthe five best places to visit Chile in spring\u201d, a far cry from the\nreality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The actual reality is that the country has been\nin a state of emergency since the 17th October, with riot police backed by the\nUS government. The corruption and mistreatment of the general population has\nbrought about civil disobedience and rioting. Over one million citizens have\njoined the protest, and it is seen to be the worst civil unrest since that to\nend the dictatorship of General Pinochet. Originally caused by the increase in\ntransport tax, the riots have become much more than that. Sick of the\ninequality that plagues their country \u2013 for instance, 33% of the wealth in\nChile is controlled by 1% of the population \u2013 the rebels have some goals that\nif implemented would give them a higher standard of living: reduced charges to\ntransport, education and the minimum wage being among then. They also are\ncalling for the resignation of President Pi\u00f1era, a member of a\ncentre-right party named National Renewal. As he has a huge net worth, it\u2019s\neasy to see how the Chilean citizens are calling for his removal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Furthermore, the Chileans are asking for a\nrevisit or complete change of the Chilean constitution. Currently the\nconstitution of Chile is that of the dictator General Augusto Pinochet. It was\nput into effect in March 1990 and is considered illegitimate and undemocratic\nto the citizens for the following reasons. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Firstly, it was drafted by a commission hand-picked by an authoritarian dictator who had chosen authors sympathetic to his cause. Secondly, it was voted into action by a referendum in 1990, a time period in which Chile was still controlled by a military dictatorship; therefore, it can be gauged that this referendum was not a free one. Thirdly is the content of the document. The constitution limits what issues can be voted on by referenda, as well as limiting the citizens\u2019 other opportunities to get involved in political decisions, therefore limiting the people\u2019s power via direct democracy. It does not make explicit how it may be replaced, and hence it is hard to do so legally and with no struggle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fourthly, experts comment on the authoritarian and capitalist bias of the document, for instance the systems of social rights such as social security, health, education, work and trade unionism are written as less significant than private property and entrepreneurship. This further entrenches the capitalist ideology of the constitution, which subsequently angers the people today suffering from the injustices of a vast wealth gap and sky rocketing price of living (Chile is reported to have the highest cost of public transport worldwide). The rioters are hoping to gain a higher standard of living and some more radical rioters want completely to overthrow the governing classes and have a structural change of the Chilean economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As these are the amongst the largest marches in\nChile\u2019s history, they should not be ignored. Whilst the debate is rife at home\nabout the upcoming election, we must look beyond ourselves to these people who\nare being mistreated by a CIA- backed oppressive government acting on a piece\nof paper written and enacted in a time of such cruelty and mistreatment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"