by CAROLE CONCHA BELL
PHOTO/Daniel Espinosa Guzman
Carole Concha Bell speaks to defiant protesters who have been met with violence and intimidation ahead of Chile’s historic plebiscite to overturn Pincohet’s constitution.
It’s been one year since the ‘Estallido Social began in Chile. The uprising began in October 2019 with a student rebellion over metro fare hikes and culminated in months of protests and socio-economic demands from a wide coalition of groups, from trade unions to feminists. Activists converged on the push for a new constitution, that is, to remove the constitution that was imposed by the ruthless dictator Augusto Pinochet in 1980.
Some change has been won and a plebiscite on whether the current constitution should remain (Rechazo) or be removed (Apruebo) will be held on 25 October. While the Sebastiaán Pinera led administration appears to be conceding in the face of increasing inequality and discontent, by agreeing to hold the historic vote, recent months have been marred by allegations of brutal human rights abuses and the downgrading of expectations.
While it’s expected that the Apruebo vote will win, providing the catalyst to finally enable change in one of the world’s most unequal economies and feeble democracies, some are skeptical that the plebiscite will bring any substantial reform to Chile’s extreme free market systems.
‘This is not a plebiscite that has been called for by the people. It is one initiated by Chile’s corrupt political class that has benefited over the last 30 years’ says Michel Saez, an activist from La Legua, a working-class area in Santiago that was a symbol of resistance and militancy during the Pinochet Regime.
‘We, the people, have taken to the streets to ask for a Constituent Assembly, free, sovereign and plurinominal. The political class have twisted our demands to their advantage and to protect Pinera’s interests. We have now been presented with two options: Mixed assembly or Constituent Assembly, neither of which include us grassroots movements.’
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