“We Are Not at War” in Plaza de Italia
This past Monday Santiago’s large central plaza played host to a massive demonstration against rising inequality and continuing military control.
On Monday, October 21st multiple groups, including CONFECH (the confederation of studunt unions in Chile) called for mass demonstrations and strikes as Santiago de Chile headed into day three of military control. A State of Emergency order has now been called for several Chilean cities, including Concepcion and Valparaiso, which hosts the country’s National Assembly. Roughly half the country’s population is now under some form of emergency order due to the ongoing backlash to growing economic and social inequality.
National news outlets are beginning to publish and broadcast some of the violent actions undertaken by the military during the last 100 hours, such as the killing of a demonstrator along the country’s Route 5 highway, the striking of an interview subject in Valparaiso with a tear-gas canister, and the accidental shooting of a famous actor in Plaza de Italia. Still, much more reporting needs to be done on the brutality of the military and police at the national level in order for the public to understand the intimidation tactics being used against demonstrators and by-standers.
Above: a man is beaten by police officers in the Ñuñoa section of Santiago.
As city services and volunteers attempted to clean up damage caused by vandalism (in some cases damage exacerbated by looting) protests continued and in some areas intensified on Monday in the capital. A main stage for demonstrations is Santiago’s large Plaza de Italia, connecting a major metro station, Metro Baquedano, and one of the cities most picturesque parks, Parque Forestal.
On Monday afternoon I ventured into Plaza Italia as a major demonstration developed. Here is a short video of my experience:
