By Atilio Boron on October 18, 2021
That October 18, 2019 was a blow that, in one fell swoop, brought down the deceptive facade of the conservative regime and inaugurated a new stage in the history of Chile. The enormous injustices maintained and deepened during the very slow (and failed) “democratic transition” initiated in 1990 were exposed. The explosive combination of free-market without anesthesia and a democracy lacking in substance and completely delegitimized -thus becoming a rapacious plutocracy- was able to stay afloat thanks to the resignation, demoralization and apathy of the citizenry, skillfully induced by establishment politicians and the media oligarchy, partners of the ruling class. The spell was broken on October 18. The governmental response revealed the bloodthirsty nature of a regime that did not hesitate for an instant to fiercely repress popular protests in order to preserve the intangibility of its irritating privileges. The class nature of the regime was obscenely exposed before the eyes of a swindled and indebted citizenry, as well as the deceptions and ploys used by its oppressors to perpetuate themselves in power.
"The explosive combination of free-market without anesthesia and a democracy lacking in substance and completely delegitimized -thus becoming a rapacious plutocracy- was able to stay afloat thanks to the resignation, demoralization and apathy of the citizenry, skillfully induced by establishment politicians and the media oligarchy, partners of the ruling class..."
The persistence of the popular struggles against the government of Sebastián Piñera throughout these two years is inscribed in the most luminous pages of not only Chilean but also Latin American history. That is why it is a mistake to describe what happened on the foundational day of October 2019 as an outburst, as if it were an unusual lightning strike on a serene day. What happened, instead, was the maturation of a hidden but growing process of segmented and territorially dispersed struggles that, lacking a national coordination, were not visualized either by the government or by the opposition sectors in solidarity with the economic-political model inherited from the dictatorship.
Or, in case they were perceived, they grossly underestimated their scope and their deep roots in Chilean society. The repudiation of the Pinochetista constitution and the call for the Constitutional Convention is one of the external manifestations of this movement of the tectonic plates of the Chilean political system. And although the long and nefarious tradition of the Chilean right wing in the bad arts of manipulation and mockery of the popular will has been set in motion to castrate the critical edge that the new constitutional piece could have, the truth is that this move will hardly achieve its purpose. It may have some tactical victory, which remains to be seen, but in a social and political context that has changed in such a way that the institutionality itself, once unperturbed by the onslaught of civil society and the political forces of protest, is now much more exposed to the irruptions of social protest.
The changes in the correlation of forces among the main political formations in Chile are impressive. For the first time in at least a century, the hard right has no presidential candidate. The favorite of the regime, Sebastián Sichel, is sinking without remedy to an unseemly fourth place. But we must not lower our guard because, in view of this situation, the Chilean right wing and US imperialism, historical partners if there are any, will unscrupulously appeal to all kinds of compromises in order to prevent a possible victory of the Frente Amplio. Will they succeed in such an infamous design? Not necessarily, especially if the formations of the heterogeneous popular camp act with strategic intelligence and a spirit of unity. If so, they will be able to frustrate the reactionary counter-offensive and finally manage to open those great avenues invoked in the moving final speech of President Salvador Allende.
Source: Atilio Baron / See original text below
(Por Atilio A. Boron)
Aquel 18 de octubre del 2019 fue un mazazo que, de un solo golpe, derribó la engañosa fachada del régimen conservador e inauguró una nueva etapa en la historia de Chile. A la vista quedaron las enormes injusticias mantenidas y profundizadas durante la lentísima (y fallida) “transición democrática” iniciada en 1990. La explosiva combinación de libre mercado sin anestesia y una democracia carente de sustancia y completamente deslegitimizada – devenida por ello en una rapaz plutocracia- pudo mantenerse a flote gracias a la resignación, desmoralización y apatía de la ciudadanía, hábilmente inducidas por los políticos del establishment y la oligarquía mediática socia de la clase dominante. El hechizo fue roto ese 18 de octubre. La respuesta gubernamental puso de manifiesto la naturaleza sanguinaria de un régimen que no titubeó un instante en reprimir ferozmente las protestas populares para preservar la intangibilidad de sus irritantes privilegios. La naturaleza de clase del régimen quedó obscenamente expuesta ante los ojos de una estafada y endeudada ciudadanía, así como los engaños y las tramoyas utilizadas por sus opresores para perpetuarse en el poder.
La persistencia de las luchas populares en contra del gobierno de Sebastián Piñera a lo largo de estos dos años se inscribe en las páginas más luminosas de la historia no sólo chilena sino latinoamericana. Por eso es un error calificar a lo ocurrido en la jornada fundacional de octubre del 2019 como un estallido, cual si fuera un insólito rayo que cae en un día sereno. Lo que aconteció, en cambio, fue la maduración de un soterrado pero creciente proceso de luchas segmentadas y territorialmente dispersas que al carecer de una coordinación nacional no fueron visualizadas ni por el gobierno ni por los sectores de la oposición solidarios con el modelo económico-político heredado de la dictadura. O, en caso de haberlas percibido, subestimaron groseramente sus alcances y su profundo arraigo en la sociedad chilena. El repudio a la constitución pinochetista y la convocatoria a la Convención Constitucional es una de las manifestaciones externas de este movimiento de las placas tectónicas del sistema político chileno. Y si bien la larga y nefasta tradición de la derecha chilena en las malas artes de la manipulación y burla de la voluntad popular se ha puesto en movimiento para castrar el filo crítico que pudiera tener la nueva pieza constitucional, lo cierto es que esta movida difícilmente logre su cometido. Podrá tener alguna victoria táctica, cosa que está por verse, pero en un contexto social y político que ha cambiado de tal manera que la propia institucionalidad, otrora imperturbable ante los embates de la sociedad civil y las fuerzas políticas contestatarias, está ahora mucho más expuesta ante las irrupciones de la protesta social. Los cambios en la correlación de fuerzas entre las principales formaciones políticas de Chile son impresionantes. Por primera vez en por lo menos un siglo la derecha dura no tiene candidato presidenciable. El favorito del régimen, Sebastián Sichel, se hunde sin remedio a un indecoroso cuarto lugar. Pero no hay que bajar la guardia porque ante este cuadro la derecha chilena y el imperialismo norteamericano, socios históricos si los hay, apelarán sin escrúpulo alguno a todo tipo de componendas con tal de impedir una posible victoria del Frente Amplio. ¿Tendrán éxito en tan infame designio? No necesariamente, sobre todo si las formaciones del heterogéneo campo popular actúan con inteligencia estratégica y espíritu unitario. De ser así podrán frustrar la contraofensiva de reaccionaria y lograr finalmente abrir aquellas grandes alamedas invocadas en el conmovedor discurso final del presidente Salvador Allende.
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