Day of the Fighting Young Man: the aftermath

By Nono Barahona. March 30, 2017

SANTIAGO, Chile. Two police officers were injured, a guard was shot in the hand, and two cars were set on fire last night, in the aftermath of the Day of the Fighting Young Man which was commemorated yesterday in Chile, according to several media outlets.

Separate outbursts of violence occurred around the city during the night and in the early hours of the morning, the media said.

The police said that Sargent Dagoberto Santana Pardo sustained wounds to his nose and jaw from a stone thrown at his face while deployed in San Bernardo, a southern district of Santiago.

Another officer, Second Sargent Álex Zepeda Santos, sustained wounds caused by 16 pellets, said the police, while on patrol in Quilicura, a north-western district of Santiago.

And the guard of a car dealer shop was shot in one of his hands, news shows reported.

TV and newspapers stories said that barricades were set on fire in 6 districts of Santiago, and that in one of them, the district of La Granja, at least two cars were set ablaze.

In the district of Estación Central, a gas station was looted and clashes between police officers and demonstrators were reported in the media. 

From the perspective of the Chilean audience, all of this is expected on the Day of the Fighting Young Man. For Chileans, it's not a matter of if, but of how much, how many, where...

In fact, people tune in to TV news and read the papers to know how much damage was caused to private or public property, how many were injured or arrested, where the worst violence occur, or if someone was killed, because unrest is always expected on March 29, with many companies and government agencies closing at 4 p.m. so that workers can leave at 5 p.m.

The Day of the Fighting Young Man commemorates the murder, 32 years ago, of two young brothers, aged 18 and 19, at the hands of agents of the dictatorship led by the late General Augusto Pinochet, which then ruled the country.

But the day is synonym of unrest and demonstrations, which leads workers to leave their jobs early to seek shelter at home.

Chileans seek shelter at home, on the Day of the Fighting Young Man

By Nono Barahona. March 29, 2017

SANTIAGO, Chile. Every year, on March 29, Chile commemorates the "Day of the Fighting Young Man".

In practical terms, that means that you have to hurry back home early.

The Day of the Fighting Young Man commemorates the horrific killing of two young brothers, aged 18 and 19, 32 years ago, in the times of the Pinochet administration, at the hands of dictatorship henchmen.

Their names were Rafael and Eduardo Vergara Toledo. They were members of a leftist group. The day was March 29, and the year 1985.

How many people know this story? This writer can not tell. But the story doesn't matter. 

What matter is that, every year, come the Day of the Fighting Young Man, if you don't want to risk a stone thrown at your windshield, or being stranded in an overcrowded subway wagon, or, worse still, not being able to find a public bus to get back home (some companies pull their buses early from the streets, buses being an easy arson target), you'd better leave that errand you have to run, that dentist appointment, that birthday celebration, for the next day when, magically, everything will be back to normal.

At the time of writing this story, breaking news reported clashes between the police and young men demonstrating in several slums of Santiago.

In a way, it's a self-fulfilling prophesy. Morning news shows tell you that you have to be extra-careful this day, because typically young men take to the streets late in the day to set barricades on fire.

And typically, companies tell their workers, at about noon, that today, exceptionally, they can leave at 5 p.m. or earlier (workers typically leave at 6 or 6:30 p.m. in Chile), because usually the flare-ups of violence occur in the poor neighborhoods, which is where most workers live.

And for this reason also, shopping malls, supermarkets, cinemas and shops in general close their doors earlier.

The morning news shows, tomorrow, will tell us how bad this Day of the Fighting Young Man was, how many people were arrested, how many were injured, if someone was killed... And people will resume their lives, and soon will forget this Day of the Fighting Young Man, until March 29 next year.

But for now, the safest place to be is home.

Whopping 77%-80% jump in profits of Chilean retailers in 2016

By CTN. March 28, 2017

SANTIAGO, Chile. 2016 was a rosy year for Chilean retailers, because they saw profits jump between 77% and 80% relative to 2015, according to two Chilean newspapers.

The stories covered the 6 major retailers in the country, with 3 of them reverting losses posted in 2015, the newspapers said.

In Chile, the 6 largest retailers play a major role in society.

There is a chance that you will come into contact with one of them every day, because the two largest ones, for example, operate not only big department stores in malls or in the shopping areas of the cities, but also country-wide supermarket chains, malls, and they have even branched out into banks offering you loans, bank accounts and credit cards.

The stories indicated that the profit figures were taken from the reports submitted by the retailers to the Chilean regulator of the industry, known has Superintendency of Securities and Insurance.

But, it was noted, the success came at a price ---the retailers slashed 22,000 over the last 5 years.

Chilean Mayor donates monthly salary to low income students

By Nono Barahona. March 27, 2017

SANTIAGO, Chile. Familiar with the plight of students from low income families, Boris Chamorro, 33, the Mayor of Coronel, a city located 466 kilometers south west of the capital Santiago, decided to donate his monthly salary to 16 students who graduated from public high schools in the city, according to a TV news report.

The 16 are starting this year their university lives after getting the city's  highest scores on the test to be eligible for a university curriculum.

In Chile classes typically begin in March.

There is a consensus in Chile about how low quality public education is. Therefore for a student to make it to university after graduating from public education is a feat in and of itself.

In a television interview on March 24, Mayor Chamorro cited his student days as motivation for giving his salary away.

Waking up very early in the morning to commute long hours to arrive at the classroom, skipping lunches and meals, verbal abuse by public transportation drivers, and saving your last penny for photocopies were staples on his daily agenda, he said in the interview, mirroring the daily life of many university students from low income families.

In a country where the police is currently in the whirlwind of an embezzlement scandal, and many high-profile politicians have been involved in corruption scandals over the last two years, a mayor giving his monthly salary away to low income students is a breath of fresh air and an example for others to follow.

Massive anti-AFP demonstration took place in Chile

By CTN. March 26, 2017

SANTIAGO, Chile. Approximately 600,000 to 700,000 people took to downtown streets of Santiago, according to Luis Mesina, the leader of the "No + AFP" movement, as quoted by media outlets, to call for an end of the current Chilean pension system, known as AFPs.

However, the Chilean police, the "Carabineros", estimated the number of demonstrators at only 50,000, approximately, according to one newspaper in its website.

Many eyewitnesses stressed that the demonstration was not marred by vandalism against public or private property. In fact, news reports have emphasized that in Santiago the demonstration had an air of a family outing.

In Valparaiso, police estimated at 8,000 the crowd that marched in the streets to demand the end of AFPs.

And despite the rain, at least 2,000 people took to the streets in Concepción, Chile's third largest city, according to TV reports.

The current Chilean pension fund systems dates back to the government of the late Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet.

The mastermind behind the system is one of the brothers of the former Chilean President Sebastian Piñera. Front-runner in the polls, Sebastian Piñera last Tuesday, March 21, launched his presidential campaign to be elected President of Chile for a second time.

The "No + AFP" is a grass roots movement that claims that the AFPs, which are the private companies that handle the pensions of Chilean workers, pay pensions that are only a third of the workers' last salaries. For that reason, the "No+ AFP" movement wants an overhaul of the current Chilean pension system.

This is the year's first "No + AFP" demonstration, and the fourth since the inception of the movement.

2017 is a presidential election year in Chile. It will be interesting to know how the presidential candidates approach the issue of the AFPs in their campaigns.

Tensions between Chile and Bolivia heat up after arrest of 9 Bolivian nationals

By Nono Barahona. March 24, 2017

SANTIAGO, Chile. Seven Bolivian customs officials and two military officers were arrested last Sunday, March 19, 2017 in northern Chile, sparking the most recent border incident between the two neighboring countries.

According to Chilean law-enforcement agencies, the suspects, all male, were involved in an attempted armed robbery of a cargo truck, for which they would have entered Chilean territory.

However, Bolivian authorities put out a completely different account of the incident. According to them, the men were carrying out an anti-smuggling operation, and never left Bolivian territory.

The incident has escalated into a war of accusations between the two countries, with Bolivian President Evo Morales playing a leading role in the controversy.

The backdrop to the incident is the recent history of border disputes between Chile and Bolivia. A landlocked country, Bolivia resorted to the International Court of Justice in The Hague seeking help to force Chile to negotiate in good faith with Bolivia so that Bolivia may have direct access to the Pacific Ocean.

The Bolivian authorities and in particular the Bolivian President have consistently played the underdog in their relations with Chile in an attempt to attract international favor to the Bolivian effort of gaining access to the Pacific Ocean, depicting Chile as a richer, larger and aggressor country.

Last Wednesday, March 22, 2017, a judge in the northern city of Pozo Almonte decided to send the Bolivians to jail for 120 days while an investigation is conducted into the incident, infuriating Bolivian authorities, who expected the release of the men.

A colorful figure who usually takes a defiant stance against Chilean government officials, President Evo Morales was quick to say that the judge acted on orders of the Chilean Minister of Foreign Affairs Heraldo Muñoz, suggesting that no separation of powers operated in the treatment of the Bolivian nationals.

Heraldo Muñoz is the Chilean diplomat that heads the Chilean effort to deny Bolivia's request in the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

In the wake of the arrest, Bolivian authorities said that they are taking the case to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

If the men were actually carrying out an anti-smuggling operation in Bolivian territory, as claimed by the Bolivian President, then Chile runs the risk of having shot itself in the foot.

Chilean construction industry takes a dive

By Nono Barahona. March 23, 2017

SANTIAGO, Chile. If you take a walk around Santiago, especially in the districts located in the eastern part of the city, you'll see a lot of shining new buildings. This writer lives in an eastern district of Santiago and he is used to seeing new buildings spring up everywhere, changing the face of the city and well known streets. And if you drive around in your car, you have to be careful not to fall into one of those "craters" opened up in the streets by those heavy duty construction trucks.

But now it seems that the construction industry itself has fallen into one of those craters, because the latest figure indicates a massive slump in the industry.

The Chilean Construction Chamber said that construction had taken an annual dive of 5.9% as at January 2017, the worst since October 2009. 

And the Chairman of the Chamber said that such drop was consistent with the country's low GDP growth and low private investment, which translates into pessimism among construction businessmen and high uncertainty about the Chilean economy, according the Chilean Construction Chamber website.

The Chamber said that a clear sign of what is going on in the industry is that applications for construction permits (a statutory requirement if you want to build something in Chile, regardless of the nature and no matter the purpose) registered an annual drop of 24.4% as at January 2017.

Leading the polls, former President Sebastian Piñera launches presidential bid

By Nono Barahona. March 22, 2017

SANTIAGO, Chile. In a rally seemingly timed to draw the attention of prime time TV news, former President Sebastian Piñera, 67, a right wing politician, officially launched yesterday, past 21:00 hours, his campaign to become President of Chile for a second time.

"I announce my decision to run again for President", said Mr. Piñera to the people attending the rally.

The rally took place in Quinta Normal, a district to the north-west of Santiago not associated with right wing sentiment. The districts located in the eastern part of Santiago are traditionally regarded by Chileans to be right-wing or right-wing leaning.

News reports showed that the rally was attended by like-minded politicians and supporters of Mr. Piñera, totaling over 1,000 people, according to the media.

Although the rally started at about 19:30, the former President came on stage at about 21:20, according to news reports.

In his typical no-nonsense style, Mr. Piñera delivered a speech in which, on the one hand, he harshly criticized the current administration led by President Michelle Bachelet and the governing coalition, known as "New Majority", considering that they are doing a very poor job that is hurting Chile on many levels, and, on the other, he pointed out a long list of things that he considers to be achievements and successes of his own 2010-2014 administration. 

His assertion that his office term was dominated by strong economic growth, investments, and the creation of "one million new good jobs", as he said, came one day after the Chilean Central Bank released a report stating that 2016 was the sixth year in a row with declining GDP growth and the third year in a row with negative investment (See our story "Chile's GDP growth of 1.6% lowest since 2009").

A well known billionaire, Mr. Piñera also said that, if elected President again, he would not be involved at all in the management of his many companies, thus addressing recent criticism that, while in office, he made decisions that benefited his own business interests.

Today the Chilean media were abuzz discussing the former's President speech, with focus shifting from the various topics covered by the former President to the views of both supporters and critics.

The former President's announcement that he would run for President again came as no surprise to Chileans, most of whom regarded the announcement as just a matter of time.

Former president Piñera is leading the polls with 24%, 8 percentage points over the second presidential contender. 

The presidential election in Chile is scheduled for November 19, 2017.

Chile's 2016 GDP growth of 1.6% lowest since 2009

By Nono Barahona. March 21, 2017

SANTIAGO, Chile. Citing figures released yesterday in a report by Chile's Central Bank, newspapers and TV news shows focused today on the fact that Chile's 2016 GDP growth of 1.6% was the lowest in the last 6 years since 2009 and they also pointed out that 2016 marked the third year in a row with falling investment.

The story took center stage today on the cover of one of Chile's leading newspapers.

The Chilean Central Bank report stated that the Chilean GDP grew 1.6% in 2016 and that investment fell 0.8% in the same year.

The media was quick to point out that the Chilean economy hadn't seen 3 years in a row of negative investment since 1971-1973.

For many Chileans, the 1971-1973 period conjures up images of economic chaos.

Experts quoted in the media said that the declining GDP growth was caused mainly by the negative investment figures and suggested that the negative investment figures combined with the low GDP growth figures point to a downturn in the Chilean economy over the last 3 years.

Economists were quoted as saying that the reasons for the negative investment figures lie with some policies of the current Chilean administration and with the low copper prices in the international markets.

Asked about the GDP and investment figures, Rodrigo Valdés, the current administration's economy minister, stressed that Chile has a "healthy" economy that is able to grow more. For him, what is important is that the Chilean economy has no macroeconomic tensions that could prevent economic growth and that the government has been able to keep low unemployment figures.

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet lashes out at critics of her daughter

By Nono Barahona. March 20, 2017

SANTIAGO, Chile. "Leave my daughter alone" the Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, 65, said today to Chilean reporters. She was referring to accusations leveled against her youngest daughter, Sofía Henríquez, 24, for buying a plot of land in the vicinity of "Dominga", a proposed huge mining project.

The President said today that she was the one who decided to buy the land but had her youngest daughter register it in her own name. And she added that the purpose behind the purchase was "recreational", not turning a profit as some critics have suggested.

She explained that she first caught wind of the place in 2013 through a nurse who runs a meditation center there. The President said that she was told that the place had "good vibrations" and was "mystical" and for that reason she had decided to buy it to leave it to her daughters in the future. And she denied that the purchase was linked to the proximity of the Dominga mining project, adding that at that point she ignored the existence of such project.

The news disclosed yesterday by a Santiago newspaper that the President's youngest daughter was the owner of land only 12 kilometers away from the proposed mining project caused a political storm.

Critics claimed that the Dominga mining project located in the vicinity was initially turned down last March 9, 2017 due to pressure from the Bachelet administration, who didn't want the public opinion to know that members of the Bachelet family (her youngest daughter and her daughter-in-law) own land in the vicinity. 

Critics pointed out that the project's initial shutdown denied the region in which it is located of a critical source of income and employment. 

The newspaper story referred to by President Bachelet indicated that the Dominga project would have brought 1,450 permanent jobs to the region, plus 9,800 jobs involved in building a port.

The project was rejected on environmental grounds.

Critics have claimed that the Bachelet administration put pressure on the commission assessing the project to shut it down, because the Bachelet administration anticipated that, if the project was approved, the public would know that the daughter owned land that would increase its value as a result of the project's approval, causing a public backlash against the President, because of the conflict of interest involved.

President Bachelet's reaction to the newspaper story comes in stark contrast to her reaction in 2015 to the so called "Caval" scandal involving her son. On that occasion she waited months before discussing in public the issue. By then, the scandal had taken a huge toll on her credibility, according to polls and the President's own acknowledgement.

OPINION: Chile prey to nature's unpredictable forces

By Nono Barahona. March 19, 2017


SANTIAGO, Chile.  Highlights of this 2017 summer that still lingers on: seemingly unstoppable wildfires in January and February engulfing mountain trees and brushes against a backdrop of unprecedentedly high temperatures. Cars, parked outside houses, covered in a thin layer of ashes and the air heavy with smoke in some districts of Santiago, Chile's capital. Two foreign planes, one brought from the US and the other from Russia, high in the sky dumping cascades of water and playing a critical role in putting out the blazes ---symbols of hope and reminders that Chile has no defense against nature's unpredictability.

And then, on February 26, when the wildfires had subsided, sudden rains high in the mountains near Santiago left most of the population in the capital without drinking water for nearly two days ---and 3 people dead, and other 19 missing, said Chilean authorities on February 27.

The heavy rains caused landslides that threw mud and stones into Maipo river, the main source of water for the capital, rendering its water undrinkable. Fortunately the rain stopped and the weather switched back to summer sunshine in the following days over the mountain tops ---and drinking water came out of faucets once again in Santiago.

A pattern seemed to be at work here. A pattern that started with the tsunami that hit Chile on February 27, 2010: nature strikes, the government, taken by surprise, reacts slowly (and that's how the government's reaction is perceived by the population) and in the process innocent people die, and the disasters destroy millions worth of property.

This summer will soon be over, and fall and winter loom on the horizon. Will they bring massive snowfalls, floods as never seen before, now that climate change is here to stay? (Just two days ago, on Friday 17, 2017, there were alarming reports in the Chilean press of an electric storm and heavy rains and floods which were wreaking havoc in the northern city of Copiapo).

There is a need to overhaul the agencies that deal with the forces of nature. Maybe they don´t have enough resources, maybe their leaders lack the skills for the job, maybe they lack training. But something needs to be done, because something is not working, as we were reminded just last Sunday, March 12: under a scorching sun and strong winds a wildfire broke out in the hills near Valparaiso, Chile's main port, smoke blocking out the sun over the city, according to eyewitness accounts. When the dust (or the ashes) had settled, 400 hectares of brushes had burned down and 16 houses had been destroyed, a government agency reported. But the real problem was that, again, we felt taken off guard, with no game plan, defenseless in front of nature.

Rafael Garay, back in Chile, in handcuffs, amid huge media coverage

By Nono Barahona. March 17, 2017

SANTIAGO, Chile. According to a story in a Chilean newspaper, on the eve of his journey to France to seek treatment for terminal cancer, Rafael Garay, 41, would have paid a visit to one of his favorite places: a stripper club in Santiago, Chile's capital. According to the manager and the girls there, he was a regular since approximately 4 years who would spend large amounts of money in a single night drinking in the company of several of the dancers at a time. In the story, the girls said that he behaved like a gentleman but after a few drinks he would turn aggressive. But the girls said that he never asked for sex.

This is just one of the many stories making the rounds in the Chilean media about this man who claimed to be an economist. Other stories have focused on his penchant --strippers aside-- for expensive clothing and luxury cars. Still others have discussed his personality, his senatorial race, the mysterious woman that allegedly would be pregnant with his child.

Until his downfall, he was a respected and trusted financial commentator for several publications, and radio and TV shows, attaining even the status of TV personality.

His announcement in June 2016 that he had brain cancer made instant headlines. He explained that he would be returning the money he managed in his privately-run company. When the money didn't materialize, his investors decided to sue him. But he left the country for France, to seek treatment for his alleged terminal illness.

In Europe, he ended up in Romania, home country of his girlfriend. Reporters took turns to interview the woman's parents, villagers who spoke through an interpreters, offering no clues to the whereabouts of Chile's then most wanted fugitive. But the media never gave up.

Until they found him.

He spoke to the press on the doorway to his Romanian house. Following that, Chilean authorities asked for his arrest. And Romania decided to extradite him.

All these stories have fascinated the Chilean media and Chilean audiences, and yesterday, when he arrived back in Chile in handcuffs to stand trial accused of 36 counts of embezzlement, he was given as much air time by the four major Chilean TV stations as they devoted to the latest wave of wildfires that hit Chile in January and February of this year. Some of them even broadcast live a boring courthouse hearing in which the judge, in the end, decided that, if left loose, Garay would attempt to flee the country and, besides, that he was a danger for society, and for that reason the judge decided to send Garay to jail for the length of the investigation about the alleged embezzlement of which he is accused.