Reports from Chile Uprisings
Our very own Rodrigo Starz is in Chile, documenting the uprisings and providing reports on the peoples' resistance to a violent military repression. Peep the FB feed below and stay tuned for daily reports!
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21st Century Chicago Boys: How the Chilean Enemy thinks
This is the enemy. Maybe not this guy in particular but what he represents- a 21st Century Chicago Boy
Filed by G1 of Rebel Diaz in Chicago- November 5, 2019.
Yesterday, I got last minute notice of a talk on the Chilean protests at (of all places) the University of Chicago. I didn't know exactly what to expect but what I encountered was far more sinister than I could have imagined. A room full of technocrats- and soon to be 21st century Chicago Boys- dissecting the protests in Chile. I almost got security called on me, the lady next to me complained about my manner of talking 'gesticulating' with my arms lol, and I was called a violent machista for interrupting a white Chilean lawyer who was saying some right wing bullshit but I stuck it out to get a full report on what the enemy is thinking right now. Some takeaways:
- There is a sector of the Chilean ruling class that is willing to raise the minimum wage, reform the pension system, amend the constitution, even get rid of Piñera. They want order and are willing to make concessions because long term street disturbances are a threat to capital interests. Inherent in this argument is the need to preserve the ruling order long term. The three possible future scenarios they explicitly presented were: 1.) Incremental reforms that will appease protestors and eventually diminish the power of the uprisings. 2.) Drawing parallels to Venezuela's 1989 'Caracazos', the potential these protests may lead to a Chavez-style Leftist popular government. 3.) Drawing parallels to Brazil's fascist Bolsonaro, the potential of a populist far-right wing leader rising to power- in this case someone like Chilean demagogue Jose Antonio Kast.
In my analysis, the Chilean ruling class wants option #1, and the US ruling class wants to provoke option #3. Both are extremely fearful of option #2.