For the first time since 1990, the end of the military dictatorship under Augusto Pinochet, the Chilean military patrolled the capital Santiago again. The government mobilized 9,500 soldiers ( â–ºReport SRF) to end the social unrest. Since Friday, October 18, demonstrators and police have been engaged in violent clashes in Santiago. The seven victims so far died in looting.
The trigger for the demonstrations was an increase in ticket prices for the metro. But this comparatively modest amount was only the trigger that broke the camel's back. This is what Daniel Godoy writes in an open statement. Daniel Godoy is the rector of the Comunidad Teológica Evangélica de Chile (CTE), a partner organization of Mission 21.
Situation of hopelessness
In his opinion entitled "Peace will be the fruit of justice ...", Daniel Godoy analyzes the causes of the sudden outbreak of protests. He sees these in the neoliberalism that shapes economic and social policy in Chile. Godoy writes:
"But to interpret the reactions and social demonstrations only in terms of the increase in the price of the metro ticket is to fail to see the fundamental reality in which the country lives. More and more people can no longer afford medical treatment. There are pensions lower than the subsistence level, low salaries and a commercialization of education. More and more people can only find low-paying jobs. Corruption is on the rise, and crime in general. It is becoming financially impossible for more and more people to own their own homes, and the cost of electricity, water and fuel is also increasing.
We see the country being privatized: Copper and lithium, water, hydroelectric plants, the pension system. (...) This has led the country into a situation of suffocation and hopelessness. Social demonstrations are partly an expression of this reality. They are demonstrations against the model, the system, the abuses and, to a large extent, the style of government."
Criticism of the violence
Daniel Godoy also clearly criticizes the violence, both the destruction and looting that have taken place since the beginning of the rallies and the vehement reaction of the authorities, the declaration of a state of emergency and the deployment of the army. This, he said, is only an expression of the inability to perceive social needs.
Like Daniel Godoy, Jorge Zijlstra also expresses his sadness about the violence in Santiago's streets. Zijlstra is president of the Latin American Confederation of Churches (CLAI), also a partner organization of Mission 21, and addresses his letter as an open letter to Chile's president, Sebastián Piñera. He says the unrest is a reaction to the fact that the population experiences scandalous inequalities on a daily basis. It is a risk to ignore this social discontent and to see the unrest only as a problem of security and order, he says.
Call for dialogue and prayer
Daniel Godoy and Jorge Zijlstra, in their open statements, each invite the authorities to seek dialogue and civil society to be actively involved in the search for solutions.
They call for prayer that God may show all parties peaceful ways out of this difficult situation. Daniel Godoy writes that everyone should pray for the country and the entire continent that solidarity will prevail and that justice will govern actions.
Text: Christoph Rácz, photo: zVg
