Alejandra Ruiz-Dana

A esa hora de la tarde, el centro de Santiago estaba inusualmente tranquilo y despejado. El indicio lo hallé en la estación de metro Universidad de Chile. Se trataba tan sólo del residuo, pero bastó para comprender cuán nefasto es. Gas lacrimógeno. Más nefasto me parece el que lo emplea. ¿Acaso no hay otra manera? Si un bando presiona, ¿debe el otro contraatacar? Por mucho que se justifiquen los métodos de dispersión, lo cierto es que no resuelven nada. Y, que quede claro, el diálogo no es sometimiento.

Bienvenidos a Chile, plataforma de inversiones para América Latina y país de enorme riqueza natural. Chile es, también, una sociedad sumamente desigual – la suya es la segunda desigualdad socioeconómica más marcada en la region, después de Brazil. La falta de un progreso generalizado ha llevado a algunos sectores a la calle para protestar en incontadas ocasiones. Trabajadores, estudiantes de secundaria, maestros, deudores habitacionales, daminificados, proveedores y defensores de la anticoncepcion... Todos ellos han tomado la batuta en nombre de sus respectivas luchas.

Es difícil evitar hacer juicios parelelos entre estas protestas y aquellas que ocurrieron antes y durante la dictadura pinochetista. La intrepidez de los manifestantes parece ser la misma. Lo mismo se puede decir acerca de el desdén que sus acciones provocan en la clase privilegiada. Es un refrito, un mal déjà vu. Obviamente algo sigue sin resolverse.

Pienso mucho en la juventud chilena. En su ser está latente un espíritu de lucha feroz que hace caso omiso a viejas represalias, y es capaz de desplegarse en forma unánime y multitudinaria. Los Pingüinos (estudiantes de secundaria) lo ejemplificaron con su revolución (y, de paso, lograron su inclusión en la toma de decisiones respecto al sistema educacional). Trato de imaginarme qué sería de ellos si no tuvieran que protestar sus circunstancias. Tendrían que desatar todo ese potencial de alguna forma. Incitiarían, quizá, un retorno a la tierra prometida.

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Order = Progress?

At that hour of the afternoon, downtown Santiago was unusually calm and clear. I soon discovered the reason, inside the Universidad de Chile metro station. It was only a remnant, a chemical residue, but it was enough for me to identify the foulness of tear gas. And those who would use it are fouler still. Is there not another way? If one part of society exerts pressure, must the other strike back? Regardless of how states justify tactics to disperse people, the truth is that they do not solve anything. And, let it be clear, dialogue is not tantamount to submission.

Welcome to Chile, Latin America’s investment platform and a country of vast natural wealth. Chile is also an extremely unequal society - it is home to the second worst socioeconomic inequality in the region, after Brazil. The lack of a generalized progress has, in various instances, spurred some sectors of the population to take to the streets in protest. Workers, high school students, teachers, mortgage holders, the stricken, providers and defenders of contraception… All of them have carried a torch in the name of their own causes.

It is difficult to avoid drawing parallels between these protests and those that took place before and during the Pinochet dictatorship. The protesters’ boldness seems unchanged. The same can be said about the disdain that their actions cause in the privileged class. It is a sequel, an awful déjà vu. Obviously something remains unaddressed.

Chile’s youth is constantly in my thoughts. Latent in them is a ferocious fighting spirit that does not pay heed to old reprisals, and is able to mobilize in unanimous and multitudinous fashion. The Penguins (high school students) exemplified this with their revolution (earning their inclusion in the educational decision-making process along the way). I try to imagine what would be of them if they did not have to protest their circumstances. They would have to unleash all that potential somehow. They would, perhaps, rally a return to the promised land.

Alejandra is a proud Mexicana currently living in Washington, D.C., where she promotes sustainable energy solutions. She still keeps with one foot out, closely watching the world turn, and dreams in both English and Spanish.