The long struggle of the Mapuche
Before the arrival of the Spanish, their territory covered 100,000 square kilometers: today, they live on 5% of their original territory. Persecuted for centuries and gradually driven off all their land, the Mapuche are now organizing to regain use and ownership of their land following the return to democracy. In recent years, a number of extremely violent events have led to the deaths of many Mapuche who were demanding the return of their land, which had become a virtual wasteland. However, the government of Michelle Bachelet (2014-2018) has endeavored, with the help of the Church, to return as much land as possible (66,000 hectares in all), and in 2016 organized a special commission that concluded with a request for forgiveness for the horrors committed in past centuries. During October 2017, a Mapuche committee had sent a letter to the Pope asking for his help as a mediator in the face of the violence that continues to mount. The anti-terrorist law grants special powers to the forces of law and order, which exercise permanent control and systematic repression over the people. Closely watched by the Chilean state, the Mapuche have become suspicious and do not hesitate to act clandestinely. As a result, Mapuche minority groups who have set fire to logging companies and religious buildings have found themselves behind bars. In 2018 and 2019, Mapuche resistance became more radical: sabotage actions linked to territorial claims continued against private companies. The consequences were not in vain: the region gradually stopped receiving foreign capital. Faced with the drop in investment, President Piñera declared that he wanted to "restore order in the face of these terrorist acts". However, this was not the opinion of the UN Human Rights Commission, which condemned Chile in 2013 for its unjustified use of the term "terrorist" in the conflict, and recognized the legitimacy of the Mapuche social protest. The situation seemed at a standstill until the election in 2021 of a Mapuche woman, Elisa Loncon, to head the future constitution: the election of an indigenous woman from civil society to head the Constituent Assembly represented a historic event and a major step forward for the representation of the country's communities. Time magazine included her in its list of the 100 most influential personalities of 2021. However, the rejection of the new constitution in September 2022, followed by the Constituent Assembly elections won by the opposition on May 7, 2023, put a serious brake on this progress.
The political and social crisis of 2019
The political and social climate has become electric over the course of 2019: despite significant economic growth, the country has failed to tackle social inequalities. Touted as one of the most enviable economies on the American continent, Chile faced a social explosion as vivid as it was unexpected after the announcement of the subway ticket hike on October 18, 2019. The announcement was one too many, prompting citizens to take to the streets in protest against President Piñera's reforms. Although politically and economically stable (GDP growth of 3.5% in 2019), Chile is one of those countries where wealth is concentrated in the hands of a particularly wealthy minoritý: 1% of the country's richest own just over a quarter of the national GDP where 1/4 of Chileans live below the poverty line. And even if poverty has declined since the end of the dictatorship, the gap is not closing fast enough, since Chile is the most unequal OECD country in terms of income, with a minimum wage amounting to just 370 euros. This poor distribution of wealth, the result of ultra-liberal policies dating back to the dictatorship, has aroused the anger of Chileans, who are determined to demand social justice. Paralyzed by numerous strikes and massive demonstrations that brought together up to a million people in the capital, the country was faced with an unprecedented social movement, galvanized by the return of the armed forces to the streets: a first since the Pinochet dictatorship. After announcing a state of emergency and awkwardly asserting that the country was "at war", President Piñera took to the negotiating table to propose new measures capable of calming the discontent. Despite the President's concessions, the country coordinated a general strike on November 12, 2019. In Santiago, in particular, violence and confrontations were extreme between the forces of order and the people, frustrated for decades by austerity. After an initial brutal reaction from the government (reinstatement of the curfew for the first time since 1987 and the army in the streets), President Piñera gradually opened up to a series of gradual responses. The announcement of the abandonment of a number of economic reforms and measures, as well as the cabinet reshuffle, was followed by the announcement of a 20% increase in the minimum pension. Finally, a few months later, the country suffered a double shock: after the social crises, the crisis caused by Covid-19 paralyzed the country. Between confinement, curfews and hospital overcrowding, Chile was one of the world's most heavily vaccinated countries. Chile eventually stabilized its health situation and gradually opened up to tourism at the end of 2021. It was not until the end of 2022 that the obligation to wear a mask was lifted.
In the meantime, a new president was elected, the youngest in the country's history: 35-year-old Gabriel Boric was elected President of Chile in December 2021, giving the country a new political color: radical left.
Towards a new Constitution?
Beyond the concessions adopted in the emergency of the social movement, the government's real challenge seems to be that of social refoundation, so long hoped for and expected by the Chilean population. It should be remembered that the country's shortcomings stem in part from the current Constitution, which dates back to the dictatorship. Health, education, pensions, the environment, indigenous rights, access to water... debates on the privatization system are heated. It seems that the real democratic and social transition can only take place once a new constitution has been voted in and put in place to break once and for all with the neo-liberal authoritarian model inherited from Pinochet. One year after the popular uprising, on October 25, 2020, tens of thousands of Chileans celebrated in the streets of the capital the result of the referendum on the new constitution approved by almost 79% of the vote. On May 15 and 16, 2021, Chileans were once again called to the polls to elect the 155 citizens responsible for drafting the new constitution. A historic vote that gave the country an institution representative of society (with 17 seats reserved for indigenous nations and a gender parity mechanism). But then, on September 4, 2022, the new constitution was rejected by 62% of voters. A real surprise. The rejection underlined the people's immense distrust of their institutions. On May 7, 2023, new constituent elections were held to elect an assembly responsible for drafting a new version of the Constitution. But the results confirmed this distrust: the Republican Party, fervently opposed to the drafting of a new Constitution, won the majority of votes. Add to this the votes won by the Chile Vamos party, a coalition of three right-wing parties also in favor of the current text, and the President and the Left Alliance find themselves on the losing side.
How has such a political about-turn been achieved in the space of four years? There are several factors to consider. Firstly, the passage of the coronavirus, which weakened the economy of the most fragile part of the population, prompting them to review their priorities in terms of demands. Added to this is a major migratory crisis: for some years now, many Venezuelans fleeing the difficulties in their homeland have been illegally entering Chilean territory via the desert to the north. Part of this clandestine population (in reality a tiny minority) settles in the cities, and more specifically in the capital, and indulges in all kinds of petty theft, even forming gangs. While some of these gangs are particularly violent and spectacular, they are almost exclusively settling of scores between gangs. This reality has been covered - and continues to be covered - by the country's media to such an extent that other social issues have gradually fallen by the wayside (notably the fact that thousands of people die every year while waiting for care that never arrives).
Naturally, the right-wing and far-right parties have used this migratory crisis to their advantage, winning over a growing proportion of the population worried by this security issue and motivating the rejection of the proposed constitution. Finally, it's important to point out that the referendum on the adoption or rejection of this new constitution had been made compulsory. It was the very first compulsory vote to which the Chilean population had been called since the return to democracy. A huge swathe of the population who had never voted before found themselves forced to vote on the adoption of a very long text containing 380 articles of law, written in legal terms not necessarily easy to understand for those unaccustomed to such prose. The lack of education among the working classes did not play in favor of acceptance. In the next episode, the election of the new Constituent Assembly on May 7 2023, the process was once again made compulsory for all. The media and political campaign then once again focused on security issues, playing on the uncertainty of the future. It's worth pointing out here that Chile's dominant media are in the hands of a few private groups (the few families that hold Chile) unwilling to see the passage of a new Constitution that would threaten their interests. So, while certain problems linked to security and immigration are very real, the growing media hype around these themes over the past two years has helped to create a climate of fear. Fear prevailed, giving the right and far right a majority of seats.
The ecological problem
Massive pollution, soil exploitation and ecological disasters: Chile's landscapes have been disfigured by the world's biggest companies that have set up shop in the country over the last few decades. Between hydroelectric dam projects, mining and intensive livestock farming, the country seems to be paying a heavy price for its abundant natural resources. Shale gas, lithium, copper, aquaculture... there's no shortage of economic opportunities to attract foreign capital. With global energy demand on the rise, factories producing lithium, the new white gold (needed for our computer and laptop batteries), are drilling wells in the Atacama desert, and water consumption is abundant in such an arid region. As a result, factories pump water and dry up the water tables. Copper mining (Chile has 20% of the world's copper resources) also pollutes rivers and attacks glaciers, the country's main water resource.
Fishing, which is still flourishing, also has an impact on the environment. The country ranks5th in the world with 5 million tonnes of fish annually. It is the world's second-largest salmon producer after Norway, with 650,000 tonnes and over $5 billion in sales by 2021. Some 2,400 aquaculture centers produce over 90% of the country's output. However, the exploitation of fish-bearing waters by industries generates unprecedented pollution, and small-scale fishermen, unable to compete with industrial fishing, no longer even feed on shellfish: toxic algae poisons fauna and flora, while salmon creates havoc as far north as the Pacific in the USA and Canada (thousands of farmed salmon escape every year, endangering wild fish to which they transmit parasites).
In March 2019, despite plans for a network of national parks in Patagonia, authorizations for mining concessions were issued, notably for the Los Domos mining project, comprising 19 drilling platforms and 12 mining concessions. The result? The mining project has cut 5,000 hectares from the proposed national park. Finally, in July 2019, a major incident occurred on the site of one of the country's leading mining groups, Pacific Steels Company. The Chilean navy was mobilized after 40,000 liters of diesel were spilled into the sea off Guarello Island, renowned for its pristine waters and marine ecosystem. The authorities reacted immediately and the damage was limited: 1/3 of the contaminated water was recovered during a major clean-up operation. It is in this context that two opposing visions of the use of natural resources clash: that of exploitation and that of conservation of natural areas. The latter receive only a minimal share of the Chilean budget, which struggles to guarantee their management and development. In the wake of numerous governmental indifferences to the serious environmental and social impacts, a number of private initiatives have been launched to protect these wild spaces. In Chile, three national parks were created in 2017 following the donation of over 400,000 hectares of land by the foundation of Douglas Tompkins (1943-2015), creator of The North Face brand.
