Statement Issued by Quebec City Area Organizations and IndividualsWhereas, for over a week Chile has been the theatre of growing popular protests denouncing the cost of living and transportation. Whereas, young high school students have collectively organized themselves to occupy the Santiago metro and no longer pay fares.
Whereas, while the Chilean people are thus expressing their discontent everywhere, the conservative and neo-liberal government of Sebastián Piñera has found no other solution than to opt for the criminalization and repression of these rallies and demonstrations. He has declared a 15-day state of emergency for the metropolitan region of Santiago and numerous other large cities in Chile. He has decreed a 7 pm to 7 am curfew and sent the police and the army, now responsible for policing, into the streets, under the control of General Iturriaga del Campo, a man known for his harshness and fidelity towards the regime of General Pinochet. Suffice it for Chileans to recall the tragic memories of the 1973 military dictatorship. And exacerbate all the tensions and acts of desperation. From Quebec, where we are following the events with concern (10,000 soldiers occupy Santiago, 42 people have died, 12 women have been raped by armed forces, 84 people have suffered bullet wounds and 1,465 people have been arrested), we denounce the silence or disinformation of a large part of the media. We demand an immediate end to the state of emergency, we demand the withdrawal of the army from the public space and an end to police violence. We call for solidarity with the Chilean people. For the list of signatories: www.pressegauche.org/Solidarite-avec-le-peuple-chilien-40897. (October 22, 2019. Translated from original French by TMLW. Photo: TMLW)
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Whereas, the huge
concerts of pots and pans in working- and
middle-class neighbourhoods have begun to be heard nationally,
denouncing cuts to education and health care, miserly
pensions and the increasing transfer of public resources to the
large ever-wealthier consortiums.