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When several youths set fire to the San Francisco de Borja Church in downtown Santiago de Chile last Sunday, protesters who had gathered in front of the building cheered. They danced in the street, just as they had done a few hours before when the nearby church, the Iglesia de la Asunción, caught fire; they too were victims of wanton destruction.
Santiago’s photographs went around the world. They were even more shocking because they were reminiscent of the burning cathedral of Notre Dame a year ago, and because the contrast to the tragedy in France could hardly be greater: In Paris, people who had gathered near the burning national symbol were crying. . In Santiago, protesters clapped and danced in the street when the burning tower of the Church of the Assumption collapsed.
The country, one of the most unequal nations in Latin America, has been fermenting for years
It was a deliberate breaking of the taboo that shattered the illusion of Chile as a conservative and pious country. Because the country has been fermenting for years, one of the most unequal nations in Latin America.
A year ago, discontent manifested itself in massive demonstrations. What began as a protest against increases in bus and metro fares in Santiago quickly turned into an uprising against the economic and political system that has ruled the country since the end of the Pinochet dictatorship thirty years ago.
“To put it with brutal clarity: the protesters enjoyed the destruction of the churches because it hurt the system,” says Marta Lagos, director of the Latinobarómetro polling institute in Santiago. “They applauded because the ruling class was raped. It was a symbol.”
“Peace returns with the plebiscite”
The pollster also believes that the tension in the streets will diminish on Sunday: on this day, Chileans vote on whether to give the nation a new constitution and how it should be drawn up. Lagos says: “If proponents win, as polls predict, calm will return.”
The plebiscite marks a break at one time: if a majority votes for a new constitution, the last and most stubborn legacy of the Pinochet dictatorship would be buried. The current Magna Carta was drawn up in 1980 by a commission without democratic legitimacy; it cemented many of the rules and laws against which young people in particular take to the streets today.
“Only when the protesters threatened to destroy Santiago a year ago did the government and the opposition sit around a table and clear the way for a new constitution,” says Lagos.
Since the end of the dictatorship, Chile has been in the hands of two political groups: the center-left Concertación and the right, which is represented by two parties and whose most famous representative is the current president, Sebastián Piñera, businessman and billionaire. “80 percent of the population is not represented by any of the parties,” says Lagos. “These are the people who take to the streets.”
For these people, the plebiscite is a great success: it shows a democratic departure from the corset of Pinochet’s constitution. The Magna Carta prevents the modernization of the State and society: Changes in the pension system, state health, education and labor legislation require qualified majorities of two-thirds, five-sevenths or four-fifths, which in practice are almost impossible to achieve. “The constitution blocks any change in the political structure,” says Lagos. “This has meant that calls for social change have grown stronger and stronger.”
Almost no crown restrictions in Santiago
The referendum was originally planned for April, but was postponed until October due to the crown pandemic. Meanwhile, the situation in Santiago has eased and the number of infections and deaths has decreased. Offices, shops, restaurants and cinemas have been reopened. “Normalcy is gradually returning,” Lagos said. However, this does not apply to the interior of the country: in the north and south, large regions are still under quarantine.
For Sunday’s vote, authorities issued a huge catalog of hygiene measures to prevent another corona outbreak. However, experts expect the turnout to be lower than under normal conditions. “It doesn’t have to be 80 percent, but 60 or 65 percent would be good,” says Lagos.
Meanwhile, police and the public are puzzled by the history of last Sunday’s arson. Videos from several television stations show a small group of young people starting a fire inside the San Borja warehouse.
Lagos believes that his act was a reaction to the increasingly brutal repression by the security forces: three weeks ago, a 16-year-old girl fell from a bridge on the Mapocho river in Santiago during a demonstration. There is no water in the river, the boy hit the river bed with concrete slabs and hurt himself.
The videos seem to show that the young man was pushed from the bridge by the carabinieri, the policemen. “The arsonists wanted revenge for the police violence,” says Lagos. “Violence has often noticed you.” This hypothesis is supported by the fact that one of the places of worship was specially dedicated to the security forces: the Church of San Borja is also called “Capilla de los Carabineros”.
