On the night of October 19th 2019, the Chilean capital trembles and a forty-six year-old poorly healed wound bursts open. The memory of Pinochet’s Chile overcomes the country’s towns from north to south, each of them flown over by helicopters and asphyxiated under tear gas. It is then, after four decades of painful heritage, that Chile despertó (Chile has awoken), so speak the Chilean People who now strive to take control over politics. For days without end, outraged cacerolazos* take to the streets to protest in the name of democracy, in a country where the political elites seem to be completely disconnected from the governed.
Piñera’s** speeches failed to tranquilize the masses, thus justifying a proclamation of “war against protesters”, and an immediate declaration of “state of emergency”. Similarly to the 1973 coup, military forces and carabineros*** invaded the streets in a merciless repression. But this time, fear no longer restrained popular mobilizations. On the contrary, it nourishes the revolt. On a day to day basis, protests take place, strikes multiply, and marches take over the country from Patagonia to the Atacama desert. The Chilean People have had enough, and there is an urgent need to end the neoliberal era. Workers no longer accept economic and military elites’ wealth concentration, who have prevailed ever since the arrival of the Chicago Boys****.
Universal and inter-sectional protests
The protests go way beyond mere claims for better material conditions. Indeed, they are fueled by the continuous rise of public transport fares, of pension systems, and exclusive access to health and education. However, other issues emerge on the streets, drawing strength and visibility from the ongoing protests and parades. Protests are, in fact, the ultimate incarnation of fraternity, a palette of social movements strengthening one another, and giving each other a chance to shine. Among these movements stands feminism, and it holds a rather essential role. Deeply embedded in other social relations, gender relations (particularly sexism) disturb more than the coronavirus.
The latin-American states share a lot more than their colonial past: they stand invested in a range of common struggles. For over a century, US imperialism has taken over the continent, harboring neoliberal instructions. All over, inequalities widen as does a deep injustice feeling, and Chile is no exception, as it bares the reputation of a historical “lab” for liberalism in Latin America. It is in a context of structural social differences, conservative heritage, and especially popular protests traditions, that anti-racist and anti-sexist movements are born. Thus, it is impossible to dissociate the feminist fight from the social and racial hierarchies. It anchors and finds its roots in this raging opposition to the consequences of a neoliberal globalization.
Authoritarian heritage
From the decade of 1970 and the birth of military dictatorships, a new generation of feminist is born, deeply influenced by the Marxist-Leninist movement, and the “Theology of Liberation”***** (a widely implemented thought stream in a continent strongly influenced by Catholicism). In other words, feminists openly stand against military regimes. In Chile’s case, the dictatorship has been over for thirty years. However, can we consider it to be overturned? Pinochet’s influence in Chile has extended over time. One can still find authoritarian residues shaping the country’s political sphere, all supported by the 1980 Constitution, still effective to this day. The overrepresentation of right-wing parties, paired with a non-existing Welfare State help maintain the status-quo, in a country where the military possesses massive power. In reaction, feminist groups stand with the opposition, protesting against the rooted authoritarian principles leftover from the dictatorship. So, Chile’s situation is particularly effective when studying the connection between an unequal gender system and the questioning of democratic effectiveness.
Structural inequalities
A few human rights’ related policies have been implemented ever since the ending of the dictatorship in 1990. However, “sensitive” subjects regarding temas valóricos****** are often left aside. Institutionalized feminist committees are born, supported by the SERNAM (Women’s National Service), but public debates remain shy. Michelle Bachelet’s******* first mandate (2006-2010) will formally balance gender relations, thanks to the adoption of mainstream basic measures concerning themes such as divorce. However, only in October 2019 did we witness a demand for equality that goes beyond the bureaucratic role of the law.
Chilean women are not only moved by a sense of identity. Although commonly perceived as a progressive and developed country, Chile ranks fifth in the global ranking for most striking gender wage disparities. Moreover, for the same job, a woman will earn in average 12.4%. less than a man. Besides the wage discrimination, the excessive exploitation of women is even more evident within the walls of her family home.
"A rapist in your way"
Thus, the domination system crosses domestic barriers to become a structural and transversal problem. Abuses are noticeable all over the public sphere, harbored by men and, particularly, police forces. As of now, and since protests began, the INDH (Instituto Nacional de Derechos Humanos) has registered more than forty cases of sexual violence, perpetrated by State agents. As the “weaker sex”, the feminist Chilean protester is thus repressed, abused, and humiliated at the comisarías (police stations). Political and sexual violences are not a specificity to present protests. They are as old as the dictatorial years. In the wise words of Silvana del Valle (Chilean lawyer fighting violence against women), this comes as no surprise, “considering that the police structure has been educated with the sole goal of serving patriarchal structures”.
Being a feminist today comes down to realize and identify the existence of several oppression systems. Only then are we capable of understanding and applying the female emancipation movements (in Chile’s case, it goes hand in hand with the anti-capitalist fight). You might have seen Las Tesis’ feminist chant going around on social media in the last few months. The song, which quickly spread internationally, answers to this need of questioning the whole system and its institutions: los pacos (the police), los jueces (the judges), el Estado (the State), and el Presidente (the president). Un violador en tu camino became a feminist hymn, which crossed physical borders in order to denounce the worldwide institutions responsible for the system’s perpetuation. Women are more and more aware and skeptical of the patriarchal and capitalist “naturalization”’s speech, and of the perpetual submission of this “class of women” to the “class of men”. In other words, in Chile, the political patriarchal critique goes hand in hand with the fight against capitalist organizations and political classes.
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*cacerolazos: Protesters that manifest their discontent by making a lot of noise, notably with household ustensiles.
** Sebastián Piñera: Current president in Chile
*** carabineros: Carabineros de Chile are the chilean national police force.
****Chicago Boys: Group of econiomists from the 70s, educated at Chicago University and influenced by M. Friedman and A. Harberger. They worked alongside Pinochet during the dictatorship.
*****Liberation Theology: synthesis of Christian theology and socio-economic analyses, based in far-left politics, particularly Marxism, that emphasizes "social concern for the poor and political liberation for oppressed peoples. » It was particularly present in Latin America, in the 70s.
******temas valóricos: themes that surround three social life pillars: the church, the state, and family. Eg: abortion, euthanasia, gay marriage, etc.
*******Michelle Bachelet: Chilean politician who served as President of Chile from 2006 to 2010 and again from 2014 to 2018 for the Socialist Party of Chile, the first woman to occupy the position.
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