It is all part of the same leftist way of life that drove along the crusade for “free” higher education (June through August 2011). The relatively small Marxist and radical left minority in Chile makes a lot of noise, at least once a year. For instance, the CUT (“Central Unitaria de Trabajadores”) or general workers trade union, headed by Arturo Martínez, went out en masse August 24 and 25, 2011 to create a paro nacional (“national work stoppage”).
They wanted more “rights,” which they believe had been denied them, along with social “justice.” Their other demands were no less vague, and stand in stark contrast to the fact that they live in the most civilized and prosperous country in Latin America. Protesters seeking “free” university education stood right alongside them. About five and one-half per cent of Chile’s bureaucrats stopped working, too, and joined the CUT protesters. Overall support among public employees was just over fourteen per cent.
Many people moved into the street and erected barricades, which burned into the night. Some masked people lit tires on fire in the street, while others set fire to tipped-over cars, an idle bulldozer at a construction site and a kiosk. Others threw rocks and Molotov Cocktails at the cops, which responded with water cannon and tear gas. Still others dropped rocks and heavy articles like fire extinguishers from upper floors to the street below. A few looted stores, smashing an impressive amount of glass at times, others vandalized a total of two hundred eighty-five buses under cover of darkness. Some held banners asking for things like free (or at least heavily subsidized) education, housing and medical care. In a word, they wanted socialism in a country where socialism has been largely rejected.
The goal had been to paralyze economic activity by preventing people from going to work. These leftists claimed that the barricades they erected were their response to the “verbal violence of the authorities.” Such tired rhetoric is typical of leftist claptrap heard in other parts of the world.
If you were a radical leftist what would you have done? Such people are committed to social upheaval and creating conflict. Protests and chaos are core elements of the Marxist religion. What joy to live around hard-core Marxists! (At least they make life interesting and give free market economists something to write about.)
The main problem is that relatively little socialist policy has been enacted in Chile relative to other First World countries. And the radical lefties do not like it. So they protest and cause havoc. President Piñera lamented that it was too bad that these people wanted to cause pain and destruction when the country is moving along so well. Other members of the executive branch proclaimed, at the end of the first day, that the protesters had failed “to complete their objective to paralyze the country.” They were correct.
Most of Santiago’s chaos happened in south central Santiago. Other than privately-owned bus lines deciding to stop operating at 5 p.m. both days, and thus businesses closing and maids going home early, the protests were hardly noticeable in northeastern Santiago and other parts of Santiago. Protesters knew that they would not get much sympathy or mileage in those parts of town. According to the government, ninety-five per cent of the country’s public transportation functioned without interruption. Indeed, life went on normally for those living in northeastern Santiago. At the time, most of us would not have even known that a protest was going on had we not seen it in the news.
The protests were not been hyper-massive, as in over one hundred thousand people participating, although the main march was very large. Police estimated that close to fifty thousand leftists and unionists paraded through downtown on August 25th. For the most part, hundreds of radicals gathered in several key public squares (plazas) in Santiago, Valparaíso and Concepción. There were also protests in Iquique, Antofagasta and Punta Arenas.
Tear gas has been used at times, like when the protestors tried to stop the Metro at the Santa Rosa station of línea 4A. The protesters managed to cut the flow of traffic for a while on Ruta 5 just south of Santiago as well, the main north-south highway in Chile. All told, one thousand three hundred ninety-four arrests were made and two hundred six injuries were reported (several cops and two civilian having been hit by bullets, one of them a teenager who proved to be the only fatality), one hundred fifty-three of them being police officers. Such is the ongoing saga of radical leftist action in the world.
There are a few things to bear in mind about these protests. First, you can be sure that the events have been exaggerated or distorted by the overseas media. They seem to have a penchant to make it seem that life is fearful in Chile, and that most Chileans are unhappy, in order to sell more coverage. Neither thing is true. None of the “colonists” that I know who have come to Chile were affected in the least, other than one or two which saw some protesters marching.
Second, the protests are being undertaken by a relatively small number of Chileans. Chile is known for having a vociferous minority of hard-core leftists and living here requires that one occasionally put up with their antics.
Third, the protesters do not speak for most Chileans. Like in the case of the bureaucrats, the vast majority of Chilean workers went to work on August 24 and 25, 2011. They had an interest in feeding their families and progressing in their lives. And by and large they are content since Chileans continue to become more prosperous.
Fourth, these protests are a function of radical leftist activity. There is clearly an identifiable ideology behind all the protesting. Nevertheless, economists (and Twentieth Century experience) have shown that Marxism, socialism, communism and interventionism simply do not improve people’s quality of life. The protesters are ignorant of this fact and most do not realize that what they are pushing for will not help them. Instead it would bring misery, poverty, backwardness and uneasiness to the country.
Finally, bear in mind that there are a lot of libertarian and constitutionalists in Chile. If Ron Paul were running here he would get twenty per cent of the vote instead of the meager three to five per cent he gets in the USA. That fact should be encouraging to prospective immigrants in spite of occasional leftist wrangling.
At least in Chile there is not a lot of socialist policy on the books, unlike other First World countries. While those places are usually free of the kind of protesting that in Santiago in 2011, they have their own form of suffering caused by wayward monetary policy, high taxes, intrusive interventionism, abusive police, pro-war policies, stifling regulation and ideologically-driven aggression against personal liberty, the family and entrepreneurs.
Chile got a lot of positive worldwide publicity in 2010 on account of the thirty-three miners rescued, the recovery from the 8.8 Richter scale earthquake and tsunami and Chile’s (unusual) trip to the World Cup with a victorious first round of play. Hence, Chile entered the 2011 protest period with a lot of goodwill. Insurance will cover the damage caused by protesters. Criminal justice will handle the delinquents. At the moment the protests are supported merely by a small minority of radicals who have been joined by criminals. Consequently, by playing their cards right, Chilean authorities looked civilized compared to the Left, which has ended up with egg on its face due to these protests. And normal life in Chile will continue unaffected.
Sure, those who come to Chile will have to put up with disagreeable things like leftist festivities, lying, cheating, petty theft and bureaucratic hassles. No place is perfect. The only relevant question for you today is whether or not your country, with all its associated social and political maladies, is better than Chile. My guess is that most honest readers will have to answer that question, “No.”
Dr. Cobin’s book, Life in Chile: A Former American’s Guide for Newcomers, is the most comprehensive treatise on Chilean life ever written, designed to help newcomers get settled in Chile. He covers almost ever topic imaginable for immigrants. This knowledge is applied in his valet consulting service, where he guides expatriates through the process of finding a place to live and settle in Chile, helping them glide over the speed bumps that they would otherwise face in getting their visas, setting up businesses, buying real estate, investing in Chilean stocks or gold coins, etc.
Dr. Cobin’s sequel book, Expatriates to Chile: Topics for Living, adds even further depth on important topics to expatriates who either live in Chile already or who have Chile on the short list of countries where they hope to immigrate. The book deals with crucial issues pertaining to urban and rural real estate transactions, natural disasters, issues pertaining to emigration and its urgency, money and the quality of life, medical care and insurance, business opportunities, social manifestations (including welfare state and divorce policy concerns), Chile in the freedom indices, social maladies (lying, cheating, stealing and murder), as well as discussion of a few places worth visiting and some further comments about Santiago.
Buy Dr. Cobin’s Public Policy books at Amazon.com:
Christian Theology of Public Policy: Highlighting the American Experience (2006)Bible and Government: Public Policy from a Christian Perspective (2003)A Primer on Modern Themes in Free Market Economics and Policy (2009)
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