Chile reborn with (political) earthquake emanating from the streets – OpEd – Eurasia review

Written by Patricio Zamorano *

It seems that what happened in Chile last weekend was one of the historical events that cannot help but follow its unforgiving course. It is like a huge and powerful tsunami whose size cannot be estimated on the high seas, until it collides with the coast, and amazes everyone with its tremendous power. This happens with the processes of change from the left and the right, in times of democracy and times of dictatorship.

Can any human force stop the ruthless attack of this immoral showman Donald Trump on his way to the presidency of the United States? Who would have believed that someone with major dysfunction on so many levels could have ruled the most powerful country on the planet for four years? It received more than 70 million American votes, making it the Republican party that wins the most votes in history, legitimizing its pseudo-ideological and political program, whether we like it or not. His rise to power was unstoppable.

Fidel had the same historical power of history behind him when 12 disciples of José Martí, decimated by the disastrous landing of the Granma, made an impossible revolution from the Sierra Maestra in just three years. This feat stirred the passions of revolutionaries and reactionaries alike for nearly 60 years now.

Some political processes simply cannot be stopped.

What just happened on May 15 and 16, 2021 in Chile has the same atmosphere as re-establishing an entire nation. It signifies the end of traditional party politics and the creation of groups with diverse origins. These groups focus on contemporary issues such as the environment, gender equality, and focus on local issues against centralization of capital (Santiago), and the demands of other sectors.

Historical Constitutional Assembly

First, the numbers. The severe social unrest that raised demands on the streets was met with a bloody suppression by the security forces, who used tear gas and rubber bullets, destroying the eyes of dozens of Chileans. The path was opened to something that people believed was impossible within formal government institutions: 155 delegates were elected to draft a new constitution for Chile. These are people from the political class, social movements, grassroots organizations, and many independents. Of those 155, according to data from the Electoral Service in Chile (SERVEL), 77% identify with left-leaning values, oppose Pinochet’s legacy, and reject the neoliberal model established in the military repression of September 11, 1973.

Collectively, the right-wing parties in “Famos Chile” needed 54 delegates to the Constituent Assembly to break the two-thirds majority and exercise their veto power. They won only 37 seats, which in practice means they would only have limited power from the political margins.

These results make perfect sense. Right-wing parties in Congress, in the executive branch of Sebastian Pinera, and in the media have spent all these years systematically blocking all efforts by the majority in the country to reform and make the healthcare system fairer; To reform the education system and make it accessible to all residents; And reform the tax system to make it more equitable. The actual fact is that with an agenda completely separate from the despair of the overwhelming majority of the Chilean people, the leaders of the right and the Chilean capital cannot escape responsibility for their defeat at the end of last week.

Neoliberal ideology pretended to be in favor of markets that would be free of state interference. However, as the Chilean experience shows, it took widespread social control by the state without checks and balances (no Congress, no political parties, no social movements) and a tough era of terror, to impose structural adjustment packages that imposed austerity to facilitate economic exploitation. Human and natural resources. In fact, corporate interests have politically seized the state, placing their institutions at the service of capital, for all governments after Pinochet, whether from the center-left or the center-right. Moreover, the promises of “capital accumulation” to all Chileans that the “downstream economies” would create have been totally unsuccessful, except for a minority of the high income earners.

Chile today defends the language of “sexual diversity,” “gender equality,” “equal rights and opportunities,” “inclusion,” “tolerance,” and “social dignity”. Some of the more conservative Chileans of the Right seem disconnected, reactive, and very uncomfortable with this new reality that they have yet to grasp.

Mayor of Santiago from the Communist Party

The historical gestures are impressive for a conservative country like Chile. Besides representatives in the Constituent Assembly, mayors and city councilors were also elected.

The capital, Santiago, will now be headed by Irassi Hasler as mayor. She is an economist from the University of Chile and a prominent member of the Communist Party. After 50 years of the policy of extermination and torture imposed by the Pinochet dictatorship on the Chilean Communist Party (Pablo Neruda’s party, Nobel Prize winner for literature, the great singer-songwriter Victor Jara), there is no doubt that this election victory is a symbolic blow to the most conservative and military sectors of the world. And anti-communist in the country. Social media has revealed their ideological anxiety: Dozens of memes draw constituencies with the Communist Party symbol (hammer and sickle) and the words in Russian. This is a reminder of the irrational policies still going strong among this radical minority in a country undergoing a profound transformation.

There was also an apparent effort to inject gender equality and cultural parity into the Constitutional Conference elections, ensuring that at least 45% of the seats are reserved for women and 17 seats are reserved for indigenous communities. This is vital to reflect the desires of the Chilean people when 80% of them voted for a new constitution in the October 2020 referendum. The goal of this popular influx is to eliminate all the anti-democratic provisions inherited from the 1980 military constitution inspired by the Chicago Boys.

The delegates have the opportunity to remove the capital equations from areas such as health, education and pensions, and to return those key aspects of Chilean life to the category of basic social rights. In general, delegates can now create a more equitable constitutional framework in order to better distribute wealth and income among the entire population and neutralize the country’s massive inequality – one of the worst on the planet.

The numbers reflect a seismic shift

Electively, it is a big change scenario. Valparaiso, the second largest city in the country, was held by the independent left-wing mayor, Jorge Sharbo. Viña del Mar, another major urban center near Valparaiso, was carried by Macarena Ripamonte, a member of the new leftist group Amplio Front. The Amplio Front is not one of the traditional parties, and it has wrested from the right-wing the usually conservative city. In Concepción, independent left-wing Camilo Revo finished second, leaving the right winger third.

In Santiago, the right lost big municipalities, to name a few, Maype, Noa, Estacion Central, and San Bernardo.

In short, the entire region around Greater Santiago, home to a third of the population (about 6 out of 19 million people), according to reports to date, SERVEL has 27 mayoral offices left of center, while the right won 14 (of course, including many affluent neighborhoods). In eastern Santiago). Add to that the total of 11 independents.

What’s Next

Next steps include launching the new constitutional convention between June and July of this year. It will have nine to 12 months to draft the new charter. About 60 days after this task is completed, a new and final public referendum will take place to approve or reject the new constitution. In other words, the year 2022 must herald a new constitution for Chile.

Besides the numbers and electoral engineering, what happened last weekend lends immense legitimacy to what people were demanding on the streets, from the grassroots of society. He left no room for doubt that the country’s business and financial sector needed to take a closer look at the urgent need to support the reconstruction process, whose representative at La Moneda, Sebastian Pinera, was in the end. Cant do. Six points of negative growth in 2020, amplified by the pandemic, social explosion and chronic inequality in the country, left no room for ideological protectionism among conservatives.

Either they join the process of change, and try to influence it as much as they can with the seats they won in the polls, or they remain isolated from millions of families’ yearnings of a recovery – expectations that cannot be suppressed. The other track is the failure strategy they have been implementing throughout Chilean history: launching a plan to boycott the country’s political and social development, using their de facto power to continue to impede the reforms the country needs. The obstruction path would harm their pocketbooks, keep the streets burning, and betray the intrinsic value of “home” that is supposed to be their most cherished value.

For the right-wing in Chile, the popular vote has made it brutally clear: It is time to get on the right side of history.

* Patricio Zamorano is a political scientist, journalist and director of the Council for Western Hemisphere Affairs, COHA.

Translation was written by Jill Clarke Golub, Assistant Editor / Translator at COHA

What Are The Main Benefits Of Comparing Car Insurance Quotes Online

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 24, 2020, / Compare-autoinsurance.Org has launched a new blog post that presents the main benefits of comparing multiple car insurance quotes. For more info and free online quotes, please visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/the-advantages-of-comparing-prices-with-car-insurance-quotes-online/ The modern society has numerous technological advantages. One important advantage is the speed at which information is sent and received. With the help of the internet, the shopping habits of many persons have drastically changed. The car insurance industry hasn't remained untouched by these changes. On the internet, drivers can compare insurance prices and find out which sellers have the best offers. View photos The advantages of comparing online car insurance quotes are the following: Online quotes can be obtained from anywhere and at any time. Unlike physical insurance agencies, websites don't have a specific schedule and they are available at any time. Drivers that have busy working schedules, can compare quotes from anywhere and at any time, even at midnight. Multiple choices. Almost all insurance providers, no matter if they are well-known brands or just local insurers, have an online presence. Online quotes will allow policyholders the chance to discover multiple insurance companies and check their prices. Drivers are no longer required to get quotes from just a few known insurance companies. Also, local and regional insurers can provide lower insurance rates for the same services. Accurate insurance estimates. Online quotes can only be accurate if the customers provide accurate and real info about their car models and driving history. Lying about past driving incidents can make the price estimates to be lower, but when dealing with an insurance company lying to them is useless. Usually, insurance companies will do research about a potential customer before granting him coverage. Online quotes can be sorted easily. Although drivers are recommended to not choose a policy just based on its price, drivers can easily sort quotes by insurance price. Using brokerage websites will allow drivers to get quotes from multiple insurers, thus making the comparison faster and easier. For additional info, money-saving tips, and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ Compare-autoinsurance.Org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc. "Online quotes can easily help drivers obtain better car insurance deals. All they have to do is to complete an online form with accurate and real info, then compare prices", said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company. CONTACT: Company Name: Internet Marketing CompanyPerson for contact Name: Gurgu CPhone Number: (818) 359-3898Email: [email protected]: https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ SOURCE: Compare-autoinsurance.Org View source version on accesswire.Com:https://www.Accesswire.Com/595055/What-Are-The-Main-Benefits-Of-Comparing-Car-Insurance-Quotes-Online View photos