The Chilean People Remember the Reasons for October 2019 by Returning to the Streets

By Marcos Maranges on October 21, 2021

photo: Mario Aguirre Montaldo

This week the Chilean People have been demonstrating in the main cities of the county to demand freedom for those who are still in jail, for the crime of exercising their right to fight for a better country. It’s been two years now since one of the most important social outbreaks in the country’s history started. It was the spark that turned up the fire on the demand for a new Constitution. Demonstrators also claimed justice for all those who were killed or injured during the October 2019 demonstrations.

People took the streets in the main cities of the country Concepción, Temuco, Valdivia, Iquique, Copiapo, Valparaiso, and Santiago. The most crowded demonstration took place in the capital city, where people got to the outside of the Constituent Convention to protest. Among the demonstrators were Recoleta’s Mayor Daniel Jaude and the victims of eye trauma Fabiola Campillai and Gustavo Gatica, who demanded accountability for the damages they suffered from the deliberate attacks by the police on their eyes.

“We pay tribute to all those who are missing here today. They were very brave too for what they did. They should be remembered until the end of times since they gave their lives for us, for supporting us, and for wanting a better Chile,” Campillai said.

The protesters marched to Dignity Square (officially Baquedano Square) and placed a sculpture of Negro Matapacos, a dog that became a symbol of the protest. The square, which was one of the hottest places back then, was not under police custody, and the demonstrators peacefully placed their “hero” where the statue of General Manuel Baquedano used to be.

Another important action took place in Providencia where the Secondary Students Coordinating Assembly (ACES) hung a poster reading “October is the only path we have”. The Police (Carabineros) immediately got to the place to end the demonstration. This time the police seemed to use a new tactic by sending in police officers wearing jackets reading “dialogue agent” who approached girls heading to the protest to persuade them from attending. This new police strategy seems to be an attempt to wash away their violent record that goes back to their inception during the Pinochet dictatorship. It’s hard to believe this will convince anyone since police officers remain unpunished for their crimes against peaceful protesters.

Regarding the protests, Homeland and Public Security Minister Rodrigo Delgado reported over 50 arrests in Santiago and dozens more all around the country. According to the minister, the arrests were related to a few incidents of looting during the protests.

The presidential candidate representing “I Approve Dignity” Pact Gabriel Boric called attention to this particular issue reminding people that violent acts and vandalism are only worthy for those who want everything but a real change for a better in Chile.

On the other hand, the presidential candidate Yasna Provoste directly attacked demonstrations by calling them acts of common delinquency and violence, just as Boric predicted. Meanwhile, the right-wing presidential candidate Sebastian Sichel strongly criticized the violent acts and took them as an example to back his opposition to the Pardon Law draft.

The October 2019 social outbreak started after Santiago’s authorities decided to increase the subway ticket price to the equivalent of a US dollar, while the minimum wage in the country is about US $400 per month. Over one million people, mostly young, went to the street to protest not just against the subway price but against the lack of social policies during the Sebastian Piñera administrations.

The government tried to tackle the protest with the usual police and army violence, but it did not work. There were over 10,000 soldiers and police officers deployed in Santiago alone during the height of the protest, and the state of emergency spanned over most of the country. At the same time, Piñera announced a set of social measures trying to make up to the situation, but years of neoliberal policies and negligence could not be settled by tiny reforms and a bunch of new ministers.

Police violence grew and so did the size of the protests, turning the situation unbearable for the government. Over 18,000 were arrested and Piñera had to cancel the COP 25, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, and the final match of the Libertadores Cup, which were planned for November 2019.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) and former President of the South American country Michelle Bachelet sent a special mission to study the violation of fundamental rights after the National Institute for Human Rights (INDH) had reported over 2,300 cases of human rights violations including 72 cases of torture, and sexual assaults. Piñera and the Carabieneros are under investigation for the eye trauma to over 400 people but little has come from it.

In November the protest turned more political and many people supported the leftist alliance Progressive Convergence’s proposal calling for a new constitution. It seems like the only possible way to solve the crisis; however, the government first rejected it, and later, it tried to kidnap the idea by suggesting that the current parliament would be in charge of writing the new constitution. But the Chilean People were not looking for cosmetic change but rather real change, one that could erase once and for all Pinochet’s legacy starting with a new and different Constitution.

As of today, a new Constituent Assembly was elected and its members are writing the new Constitution, which should take into account the wide variety of social groups living in Chile, including the Mapuche people. However, with this month’s demonstrations, the Chilean People have shown that besides all their achievements, they will not give up being in the streets until justice has been done.

Source: Resumen Latinoamericano – English