What had started as a peaceful day of protest and remembrance, ended with violence.
With more than 25,000 protesters gathering in Plaza Italia in Santiago, now known as ‘Dignity Square’, October 18 started as a celebration of unity. But as darkness fell, groups lit churches and re-erected barricades — an extreme contrast to the months of silence brought on by the pandemic lockdown.
Looting and disorder re-erupted in the Chilean capital. Police reported similar incidents in cities such as Valparaiso, Viña del Mar, Antofagasta and Concepción.
The fresh demonstrations to mark the anniversary of the start of Chile’s social unrest came just a few days out from a historic vote on whether to change the constitution put in place by dictator Augusto Pinochet.
Institutional Church of Carabineros de Chile set on fire during the demonstration. Source: AAP
Chile awakened: Breaking a 30-year silence
In October 2019, demonstrations were sparked when students refused to pay a rise of $30 pesos (five Australian cents) to use public transport.
That initial protest led to months of massive peaceful demonstrations that descended into serious bouts of vandalism and looting. Amid the riots, there was destruction of critical infrastructure, and some underground metro stations in Santiago were set alight.
A year after right-wing Chilean President Sebastian Piñera had labelled Chile a peaceful "oasis" in trouble-ridden Latin America, the country literally went up in flames.
"It is not 30 pesos, but 30 years," protesters clamoured on the streets.
Sebastian Pinera, the president of Chile. Source: AAP
The agitation was not just about a transport price surge, but to protest 30 years of ‘broken promises’ on the part of democratically-elected governments, both left and right, that governed the South American country since the end of Augusto Pinochet’s long, repressive dictatorship.
That weekend in October 2019 represented a rude awakening for a country that, according to its politicians and business leaders, was soon to join the group of prosperous and developed nations of the world.
The most massive protests since the return to democracy began in the capital but quickly expanded to reach other Chilean cities.
They showed an unexpected face: that of discontent citizens that disagreed with how Chilean elites, the government, and other institutions were running the country, until then considered the prime example of successful neoliberalism in Latin America.
A protester kicks a tear gas canister during clashes with police in Santiago, Chile in 2019. Source: AAP
Protesters vowed they would no longer tolerate what they considered as the ‘discriminatory’ and ‘unjust lack of opportunities for the middle and lower classes’, whilst the powerful ‘engaged in corruption’ and ‘enjoyed special perks’, driving inequity in the distribution of wealth amid increasing living costs.
Chile’s upcoming referendum on October 25 was a result of a transversal agreement between political parties with the intention of appeasing the protests.
The vote will decide whether to draft a new constitution or to keep ‘Pinochet’s Constitution’, originally enacted in 1980.
A woman holds a banner wave in favor of rewriting the Chilean Constitution ahead of a referendum on the matter. Source: AAP
For the Chilean-born Carla Villavicencio, a transport engineer and opera singer living in Brisbane, the causes of the unrest are many and have a long history.
“I think it has to do with historical events since Chile became Chile. There have always been abuses and lately, there is too much corruption. Foreign companies stuck their hands in the environment. Natural resources no longer belong to Chile. There is a depletion of energy resources”.
According to Villavicencio, the “military dictatorship and its legacy” is at the core of social discontent, but also the loss of authority and credibility of institutions and their representatives. This is a widely quoted argument among protesters.
“You no longer believe in anything, you no longer believe in any institution,” she tells SBS Spanish.
“Faith and credibility were further lost with how the Chilean Police acted. Our public health is not for real public health, and justice is not justice ”, Villavicencio stresses.
Fears of foreign instigation
However, not all Chileans believe that the mass mobilisations are solely the product of public discontent.
Some think there has also been a constant instigation and intervention on the part of foreign governments and organisations linked to left-wing parties attempting to destabilise the country.
Chilean businessman Eduardo Gonzalez is one of them. He considers the social unrest to be "part of an international conspiracy of communism."
Although Gonzalez acknowledges that there is genuine dissatisfaction on the part of the Chilean population, he believes that foreign intervention by leftist parties has increased and extended discontent, as well as instigated the violence.
"People from the left joined in to stir things up and overthrow the government," he claims.
"The social unrest for me was 'criminal unrest'," he explains while adding that in Chile "hordes of savages" were the ones to burn Metro stations and churches.
"They have destroyed the country and they will continue to do so."
Gonzalez also believes that President Piñera "has not had the pants" to confront violence and defend the constitution.
People attend a protest performance called by the Las Tesis group to ask for a new and egalitarian Constitution, in Valparaiso. Source: AAP
Who are the leaders?
One of the features of the social unrest is the lack of clear leadership in the mobilisations.
The demonstrations seem to have brought together different groups of people belonging to different social classes with no major ties, except for dissatisfaction.
Political parties have also failed to garner support from demonstrators, so analysts fear there is a lack of clear direction.
Chilean philosopher and researcher, Pablo Monje, tells SBS Spanish that given the "total loss of legitimacy among political institutions", he questions how the political leaders will ultimately legitimise the will of the people as expressed in the plebiscite.
Marcela Cornejo, a Chilean refugee who came to Australia fleeing the Pinochet dictatorship, describes the past year as ‘painful’, but at the same time, she remains ‘hopeful’.
“Painful, because Chile has been fighting for more than 30 years for dignity, for human rights, for health, for education, for the indigenous Mapuche and their lands,” she explains.
[But I’m also] hopeful, because despite the fact that our struggle for rights has never ceased, on October 18 it brought together all those people who have fought together, without discrimination: young people, adults, the elderly, students. All these people came together and finally something was done in unison.”
Supporters of the 'Rejection' option of the next referendum demonstrate in Santiago, Chile, 17 October 2020. Source: AAP
Violence in large numbers
But despite the shows of unity, the violence and destruction have been shocking.
Chilean security forces, especially the Chilean Police (Carabineros), have been harshly criticised for excessive use of force.
Accusations of human rights violations are in the thousands, and for many, the methods used to contain the violence are reminiscent of the Pinochet dictatorship.
According to the figures collected by different human rights organisations and the government, as of March 2020, 34 people died in different circumstances linked to the protests.
Fifteen of these victims lost their lives in fires or electrocuted in damaged environments. Seven died in clashes, six perished due to the actions of security forces, and five in the midst of protests and demonstrations. There is one gunshot fatality of unknown origin.
In the first four months of the protests, more than 3,700 people were wounded. A shocking number of them suffered severe eye injuries as a result of pellets or tear gas cannisters fired by police.
People burn objects as demonstrations against the increase of Metro fares take place, in Santiago, Chile, 19 October 2019. Source: EPA
According to the Chilean Institute of Human Rights, between October 18, 2019 and March 18, 2020, there were more than two thousand cases of unlawful coercion and torture. The police are considered responsible in 2,340 of these.
However, the Chilean Interior Ministry also reported that 4,817 police officers were injured in the riots, and 1,198 police vehicles were damaged or destroyed.
The health crisis on top of the social crisis
On March 3, 2020, the first case of COVID-19 hit Chile. By March 18, a "state of catastrophe" had been declared in the country.
The pandemic achieved what neither the government, nor the political parties, nor the other leaders had achieved: that the demonstrations and violence in the country subside.
The pandemic and the health crisis forced to delay the plebiscite that had been organised for April, which was rescheduled for October 25.
Despite the Piñera government boasting, through its former health minister Jaime Mañalich, to be well prepared to face the pandemic, over the following months, Chile became one of the top countries in the world with most infected and per capita deaths from COVID-19.
At the time of this publication, the Andean country has nearly half a million infected and close to 14,000 deaths from coronavirus, according to figures from John Hopkins University.
Chilean journalist Jorge English says that the South American country is beginning to get used to the "new normal" as it sees infections diminish.
However, the fresh anniversary demonstrations and the upcoming plebiscite raise fears of a possible relapse in the number of infected.
English says the country is experiencing a moment of uncertainty, between the pandemic and the political events derived from the social unrest.
Government employees help people process their request for an early withdrawal of a percentage of their pension in Chile in July, 2020. Source: AAP
“The anniversary of the social unrest has brought about an atmosphere of ‘we have to take back to the streets to show that things haven’t changed’,” English says.
“People are gathering in Plaza Italia almost every day. Once again, there is disruption, serious problems with the police, which is an institution that does not know how to react adequately to these situations. There is a lot of uncertainty in Chile,” the journalist adds.
A plebiscite for the constitution
Chile's National Plebiscite is a referendum to determine through a popular vote if Chilean citizens agree to start a constituent process to draft a new constitution. The most appropriate mechanism to carry out this process out will also be determined.
This will be the first national plebiscite since 1989.
This plebiscite will have two ballots, each with one question and two alternatives to choose from.
In the first question, citizens are asked if they want a new constitution. The alternatives are "Approve", for a new constitution, and "Reject" so that the current one remains.
Protesters commemorate the one-year anniversary of the start of massive anti-government protests. Source: AAP
In the second question, citizens are asked if the "Approve" option wins, what type of body should draft it.
The alternatives are "Mixed Constitutional Convention", in which an assembly would be formed with 50 per cent of constituents directly elected, and 50% by members of the current Congress. While the second alternative is "Constitutional Convention", in which an assembly with 100% democratically elected constituents would be formed.
In the event that the "Approve" option wins, the election of the conventional constituents would be held on April 11, 2021.
Polls have so far shown a significant advantage of the "Approve" and "Constitutional Convention" options in voting preferences.
Political communication expert, Marcelo Santos, who is running an independent poll on voting intentions in the next Chilean plebiscite, tells SBS Spanish that, although his measurements show an advantage for the “Approve” option, this is mostly among young voters and Santiago residents. Among the elderly and the regions, both options are head to head.
All Chileans over 18 and with no convictions can vote. Foreigners living in Chile for more than five years and a clean record are also entitled to vote.
A man with a mask holds a Chilean constitution as demonstrators participate during a march at the Plaza Italia in Santiago, Chile, 18 October 2020. Source: AAP
For Chileans abroad, those over 18, registered on the electoral roll overseas can also vote.
However, since there is no postal or electronic voting in Chile, expats must vote in person in Chilean consulates and embassies.
Controversial voting in Australia
In Australia, voting centres will be set up in Sydney, Canberra, Perth and Melbourne. In Victoria, special measures will be taken due to current COVID restrictions.
This has caused controversy among some Chileans, due to the difficulty faced by those who do not live close to polling places and who wish to vote.
Brisbane resident Carla Villavicencio believes that this is not something fortuitous, as it benefits the government. She complains that there are no polling stations in her city, despite the many calls to enable polling stations in all Australian states and territories.
“They don't care about us at all. The opinion of those outside Chile does not matter to them.”
Marcela Cornejo, another Brisbane resident, says “it is frustrating that people who want to exercise their civic right to vote cannot do so abroad, especially because some of them, like students, will eventually return later to Chile.”
Cornejo is also disappointed that "there was no response or interest" on the part the Chilean mission to Australia, to organise more polling stations.
SBS Spanish has approached Chilean authorities in Australia seeking comment and is awaiting a reply.
Back in Chile, many expect demonstrations to erupt on voting day.
The police have announced they will deploy 40,000 agents throughout the country to quell unrest.
But regardless of the outcome of the vote, the question remains — can a Carta Magna, old or new, satisfy the needs of the many Chileans yearning for a more equitable nation?
