Protests in Chile: The Straw that Broke the Camel's Back

Image Courtesy of CAPX.CO

By Maximilian Frederik van Oordt

As the demonstrations in Chile near the two-month mark, observers around the world have been astonished at the extraordinary violence and destruction of the past weeks, as well as the seemingly endless nature of it all. The hike in Metro fares that sparked the now nationwide social movement has been frozen and prices are back to where they were before; so why are protestors still on the streets? The United States has claimed that Russia is behind the unrest and, within Chile, there are many who believe that socialist Venezuela is to blame - with the latter theory being especially popular among far-right supporters. Nevertheless, neither of these claims possess the necessary evidence to substantiate their accusations. The reality is that Chile suffers from deep-rooted social issues, almost all of which relate to the enormous inequality visible in the country; issues that no government has properly tackled for almost half a century and that, under the administration of incumbent President Sebastián Piñera, finally erupted into a movement that threatens to plunge the country deep into recession.

One of the most discernible injustices in the country is reflected in the salaries and wealthy lifestyles of representatives. The average Chilean MP receives CLP $20,784,173 (GBP £20,338.79) per month, while Senators can expect to earn up to a monthly CLP $33,485,695 (GBP £32,768.13). Annually, the figures are astonishing: over £240,000 per MP and almost £400,000 per Senator. To put this into perspective, this is three times the total allowances of backbench MPs in the UK and £100,000 more than the British Prime Minister earns. Within Chile, the contrast is even starker: incomes of parliamentarians are equivalent to almost forty minimum wages. The bill to reduce politicians’ wages had been hushed up for six years by Congress, and was finally passed by the Lower House and sent to the Senate only a few weeks ago as a result of the protests. This has been received with disgust amongst Chileans, who perceive all figures across the political spectrum as out of touch or flat-out corrupt. 

Away from the glitter and gold of lawmakers’ homes, the average Chilean has seen their life become more expensive without an increasing income to match it; in the words of one protestor: “we live like Latin Americans but with a European cost of living”. An example of this is the Metro fares which have almost doubled from 380 pesos in 2007 to 720 pesos in 2019. The privatised pensions system is another cause of the protests, with the average monthly pension being equal to a rather miserable USD $286 with which the retiree is expected to pay their rent, food, water, electricity, gas, as well as taxes. This has led to heart-breaking interviews on live television during some of the peaceful marches, with elderly retirees using their moment on air to beg for help so they may pay their rent or simply get through the month. The founder of the Administradoras de Fondos de Pensiones (AFPs), Chile’s private pension system, dug in and defended the system, claiming that it was “the most noble thing that could exist.” Those who share this opinion point to statistics that show the enormous profits rather than losses that the AFP companies have made, indicating the sustainability and economic soundness of the model. These arguments are easy to make when one is not fighting to simply get through the month, and the insensitivity of such arguments has justifiably strengthened a widespread anger against the nation’s political and economic elite.

Up until now, extraordinary indifference by the Chilean government seems to be a running theme, and this pattern sadly continues.  Large corporations operating in Chile have shown little to no ethical thought with their behaviour and recent controversies involving their activities have fanned the flames of unrest on the streets. Between 2008 and 2011, three major supermarket chains, Cencosud, Walmart, and SMU, colluded to fix the price of chicken so consumers would be forced to pay more. For this they were fined a total of USD $12.4 million which they appealed all the way up to the Supreme Court. In the south of the country, the city of Osorno was affected by an almost week-long collapse in the water distribution system, - privately managed by water company Essal - as fuel was detected leaking into the water supply. A subsequent investigation into these kinds of companies found that, out of the 346 districts in Chile, 216 were supplied by companies that do not have emergency plans in cases of disasters of this sort because legally they are not required to have them. This level of laissez-faire government policy has led many to believe that in Chile, the interests of corporations override those of the general public. To further illustrate this point, the 1980 Political Constitution of Chile established water as a commodity that could therefore be privatised. Since then, there have been twenty-one constitutional reforms - mainly under left-leaning governments - and yet none have changed this. All of this despite a decades-long push by Chileans to nationalise, either partially or fully, the country’s water resources, at a time when there is increasing desertification and more dangerous heatwaves brought on by climate change.

Sending the armed forces onto the streets, as was done during the first week of the protests, is a deeply controversial and unpopular manoeuvre in a country that suffered one of the most brutal military dictatorships which ended only thirty years ago. It will keep order on the streets, but it will fail to quell an anger that could not possibly be more legitimate. Rather, the government of Sebastián Piñera and the current National Congress should get on with the reforms that have been demanded so clearly in these past months, and then trigger early elections for both the Executive and Legislative branch. Chile deserves better. Chile deserves a political class that can actually remember the struggles of the hard-working people who put them into their plush office armchairs. Until competent and ethical government becomes the norm, the marches can only be expected to continue. 

Maximilian Frederik van Oordt is a first-year International Relations student at King’s College London. interested in politics, history and law, he enjoys focusing on Latin American affairs, with a particular emphasis on these three areas.