by Nina Patel
Discontent with the status quo had been brewing in Chile long before the end of the dictatorship in 1990. Despite a transition to a democratic government, few social changes were made to level out the huge inequality created under neo- liberal economic policies in the late 1970s and 1980s. The richest 10% own 66.5% of national income whilst 50% of the population own just 22%.
In October 2019, following an increase in the price of the metro fare in Santiago and insensitive comments from ministers while responding to complaints, the Chilean population decided they would not put up with unfair policies any more. Whilst protests broke out, accompanied by destruction of public property and lootings, it was responded to with disproportionate oppression and police brutality.
Amnesty International and the Chilean organisation, National Institute for Human Rights (INDH) have conducted various investigations into the injuries, and in some cases fatalities, sustained as a result of excessive police force. They have listed gratuitous actions by the Carabineros (Chile’s police force), such as beatings, running protestors over with bikes or vans, torture, sexual assault, and tear gas being aimed directly at people.
Additionally, many lost their vision due to being hit with “rubber” bullets fired by the Carabineros and were later discovered to contain metals including lead. The image of a bleeding eye became a symbol of the protests.
The graph shows how many formal reports were made against the Carabineros (yellow) and how many were processed. In June, around 8 months since the protests began, only 16 Carabineros had been dismissed. Less than 10% of the complaints had been fully investigated.
On the 25th October 2020, Chile held a referendum to decide whether or not to rewrite the Constitution that was written under the military regime in 1980. Around 78% voted in favour, indicating that the country is heading in the direction of social justice and reform. It will be interesting to see how the violations of human rights committed by the police force over the past year will be addressed.
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