Alanis: Welcome back to Radio Evasión, from the Ex-Worker.

Clara: Radio Evasión, el programa para lxs que ya no patean piedras, sino las tiran. Y con las entrevistas en español a descargar en nuestro sitio de web, crimethinc.com. I’m Clara

Alanis: And I’m Alanis, and we’d like to start off this episode with a heartfelt greeting of revolutionary gratitude to all the rebels in Santiago who have now been fighting in the streets for ONE WHOLE MONTH. Y’all are fucking incredible and fucking inspiring.

Clara: That’s right, the first night of barricades and street conflicts took place October 18, following a week of student-led fare evasions, and here we are…still covering this ongoing and dynamic revolt. There is SO much going on that we can’t pretend to bring you a perfect, condensed documentary of what’s happening, but we’ve tried to focus on some of the most inspiring and important things to know about this struggle. And we will try to keep covering it, because anyone you talk to in Santiago will tell you that this isn’t ending any time soon.

Alanis: We’ve had some incredible help from people all over the world translating between English and Spanish for us, and we’d like to give a big, big thanks to all of y’all who have e-mailed us to help. We truly couldn’t do this without you. We can always use more translators, but right now what we could really use are people who can transcribe our interviews in Spanish, so that the texts of the interviews can get out there too. Just hit us up at podcast@crimethinc.com. You’re also welcome to send us any tips about interesting projects to interview in Chile, if you know of them.

NOVEMBER 25 REPORT

Clara: And with such a packed episode, let’s just get right into it. This first report came to us on Monday, November 25.

Report November 25: Has normality returned to Chile? NO! Social peace? Neither! The people don’t want peace without dignity. To borrow a phrase from the Situationists, the people don’t want the peace of the graveyard. Ok, maybe it’s not all of the people—but it’s important to understand that it isn’t only the tens of thousands who fill the center of Santiago daily. All around the city you find pockets of creative resistance. A march blocking traffic here, a student-led fare evasion there, clever inspiring graffiti EVERYWHERE.

Hatred of the police has pretty much generalized. On Sunday, I saw police directing traffic at a critical intersection downtown. EVERYone was yelling at the police. Drivers shouted from their car windows or honked the horn in the 1–2–123 rhythm that permeates the city. People got off their bikes to stand and hurl abuses at the police. I saw a father holding his young daughters hand and using the other to flip off and point at the cops. Everyone on the sidewalk was whistling and booing… at noon on a Sunday!!! A few days earlier I was at a main shopping street downtown, and a small circus act was setting up. They put on a playlist of music while they got ready, and one of the songs was a well-known anti-police cumbia that has become an anthem of the demonstrations. Most of the block began to sing along, especially the street vendors.

So, I wouldn’t say that “normality” has returned, however, a kind of functionality has, at least in Santiago. It’s important to note that while a third of Chile’s population lives in the Santiago region, and thus most of the news channels and media focus on what happens there, there have been conflicts and demonstrations all over Chile, with varying levels of repression that go unreported. But, I’m in Santiago, so I’ll tell you what I know here: the majority of metro stations are in operation, and buses are running somewhat normally, although less frequently in the evenings, and after 4 in the afternoon all routes avoid Plaza Italia, which had previously been a major bus thoroughfare. Lots of people go to work in the day, then head downtown for the protests in the evening. Events with big crowds, which had been prohibited during the week of martial law, have slowly been coming back, kind of. There have been plenty of big concerts in large indoor theaters, and there’s more and more nightlife, but stadium events are another story.

On Friday November 22, professional soccer returned with the first match in over a month. However, due to rowdy demonstrations outside the stadium, they closed the doors to the public. The first soccer game since the revolt began was played in the eerie ambiance of an empty stadium, with only a few league businessmen and family members watching. The demonstrators making a fuss outside were actually soccer hooligans. Just like in the Egyptian revolution of 2011 and the Gezi Park uprising in Istanbul 2013, soccer hooligans have been on the frontlines of many of the confrontations with police, and there’s a previously unimaginable alliance between the different fanclubs. If you’ve seen any epic photos of demonstrators atop the monument in Plaza de la Dignidad, ex-Plaza Italia, you can probably spot a few soccer hooligan fanclub flags. About halfway through the match the hooligans actually managed to break into the stadium and caused the game to be cancelled. Social media praised the hooligans for not allowing a distracting spectacle to take place while people should be in the streets—but it wasn’t only the hooligans who showed solidarity with the demonstrations. Before the game, both teams held up a banner reading, “For a more just Chile,” and one of the team’s players lined up and each player covered one eye, in recognition of the more than 200 eyes that have been lost due to the pellets that police are shooting at demonstrations.

Allow me to make a weird little aside about large events and concerts here… Iron Maiden played just a couple of days before the first weekend of rioting and martial law, and there are still Iron Maiden shirts everywhere. Honestly, it was probably one of the last events for a long time in which rich and poor, right and left, Pinochetistas and anti-Pinochetistas could peaceably gather together in the thousands. Now, most of the rich have locked themselves up in their gated neighborhoods towards the majestic cordillera–the Andean mountain range. Although even in the rich neighborhoods, cacerolas and chants and demonstrations echo throughout the tiled interiors of the malls that have only recently re-opened their doors.

At this point, the rich right-wingers have changed out their t-shirts for ties. Those you see on the streets, that is. I’m told that the rich here have cars, they don’t depend on the mass transit system whose steep fares started this whole thing. However, in the still-gritty downtown of Santiago Centro, Eddie the Head is very, very presente. Some of the people in Iron Maiden gear seem to have not taken it off since the concert. They’re covered in calcified layers of the chalky water and baking soda mix that everyone uses to survive the teargas. Their shirts are torn up from hurtling teargas canisters and tripping when running from the police and the occasional friendly fire of stones. The real rockers are in the streets. Run to the hills you bougie motherfuckers.

Ahem, while the future of large, mainstream events remains uncertain, countercultural events are flourishing. And I’m intentionally choosing the word counterculture instead of subculture… because there is a level of participation that cuts across social divisions. On Sunday, November 24, there were over 10 open-air concerts in plazas and parks all over Santiago, each with different kinds of music, activities like banner-making, and speakers and discussions about the movement. While anarchists here roll their eyes at the popular slogan “Chile has awoken,” there is nevertheless a kind of awakening that is marked by the creativity and cultural activity happening. Some anarcho-punks have taken to calling it post-Chile.

If anything, there is a new kind of normality, a new routine for many of us. Put a flag on your car or bike, beat out the 1–2–123 rhythm on a pan while you walk somewhere, check the memes and the counter-info on your phone before you go to bed, and protest every day starting at 5 PM at Plaza de la Dignidad. It’s not just daily routines either. By this point everyone knows that Fridays have the biggest crowds.

This past Friday was especially big, and especially combative. The most notable thing that happened requires a little bit of explanation.

First, the conflicts on Alameda, the main boulevard, have different focal points. One of them is in front of the monument to police officers who died in the line of duty. The police treat is as their fort to defend, partially because behind the monument is the police officers church—cops get married there, funerals for dead cops take place there, they have a true, albeit disgusting, connection to the place. Which is to say that it’s hard to tell whether they chose it out of self-interest or strategy.

Secondly, it’s important to understand the lines of combat. A kind of division of labor has arisen on Alameda. In the first line you have shields. In the second line, stones, molotovs, and slingshots. The third line has a few different tasks—medics with stretchers, the people who extinguish teargas in buckets of water, and the people who bring the stones to the second line from the fourth line, because in the fourth line you have the, well, here they’re called miners—basically the people who break up the sidewalk into throwable pieces. Fourth line is also where you’ll find people with spray bottles with water and baking soda to spray on the face of anyone who got teargassed—although at this point, between the use of gas-masks and the people dunking the canisters into buckets of water, the teargas doesn’t do much anymore. Oh, and in the fifth line you got everyone with their lasers, pointing over the heads of all the preceding lines of combat. There is a true reverence for the first few lines. When someone extinguishes a teargas can, everybody applauds. There are videos of normal citizens cheering on young first liners with their shields as they head to the front of the demonstration.

All of this is to say that on Friday, November 22, something happened that had not yet happened in any of the protests in Santiago: the lines of combat withstood the police long enough that the police ran out of ammunition. Or, at least they were conserving it. They were shooting teargas and pellets but much, much less frequently that normal. Once everyone realized this, a strange low bellow resonated through the crowd, growing into a stirring roar as encapuchados rushed forward, breaking through the fences in front of the monument for the first time yet and taking the monument! It got doused in paint, and marbled tiles were pulled off and broken into projectiles thrown at the very same cops the monument was built to honor. The police, without much ammunition, took to hurling stones back at the demonstrators. But thanks to the first line and their shields, masked demonstrators were able to hold their position for a long time.

An aside about the shields—a favored material to make shields out of is old satellite dishes. Try to think about it from the Dishy’s point of view. Twenty or so years ago, a working Chilean with a little extra money thought, “Hey, things are going well for me, I’ve got a little extra income with this whole newfangled democracy thing we got going on, how about I treat myself to a few dozen or a few hundred extra channels of nightly distraction from my alienating existence.” So Dishy got installed and connected to a family. But then things changed—the money stopped flowing and at some point, Dishy’s human stopped paying the bills and the channels stopping coming through. Dishy got lonely—they went from a few electrifying years of bringing smiles, however opiated, onto the faces of a whole family, to then just sitting and gathering dust for decades… when suddenly one day in November 2019, wait—is that the child Dishy used to show programs like The Simpsons and 31 Minutos to? Why, it is, but she’s all grown up now! And why is she taking Dishy apart—Oh my goodness, are we going for a stroll through the city? Look at all these other Dishies! And humans! And they’re smiling just like we used to while watching The Simpsons together. In fact, there’s tons of Simpsons characters all around them on signs, saying things like, “Me so hungee for Piñera’s blood.” There’s other characters Dishy used to transmit also—Pikachu, Vegeta, and even spiderman! Although this spiderman is somehow stupider…but… sexier? Wait. What the fuck. “Who are those monsters in faceless green uniforms?” thinks Dishy. “They look just like the stormtroopers from that one movie that always showed on channel 254…what was it called? Star…Wars? And—NO—are they shooting at THE CHILD? THE CHILD WHO GREW UP WATCHING THE SHOWS I TRANSMITTED? YOU FUCKING MURDERERS! CHILD, HOLD ME UP, I SHALL PROTECT YOU.”

Anyway, these satellite dishes are the discarded remains of upwardly mobile ambitions, left as useless trash in the city but now on the frontlines—just like the rest of us.

After watching people take the cop monument on Friday, I just walked around. When the crowds are that massive, you can’t know all of what’s happening without going for a stroll. The conflict is decentralized with multiple points of confrontation, but also meaningful acts of memory and dignity. Across the street from the cop monument there’s an arts center under renovation. People broke into the construction site and hauled out material for the burning barricades, but I just sat on top of a scaffolding and watched everything unfold from on high. However, even higher up someone managed to get on the roof of the building, and they were playing surveillance camera whack-a-mole with a long piece of rebar from the construction site. Down below, responsible encapuchados made a barrier on the sidewalk to make sure no one was in harms way in case the rebar fell.

It didn’t feel right to sit still though, so I got down and danced with others in a circle stomp around a fire, chanting for very bad things to happen to the president and the police. As I left the circle dance I saw a stream of people leaving the arts center with more material for the fire. One encapuchado in full bloc had a globe in their hands, surely looted from some desk inside the arts center. I know there are tons of beautiful things I have seen in the last few weeks here that I will surely forget, or have even forgotten of by now, but I will never forget seeing that masked figure with the globe in their hands, illuminated by the fire of the barricade—not ruling the world, but freeing it. They didn’t burn the globe, if that’s what you’re thinking, and I’d like to imagine they took it back to the autonomous education project in their poblacion, but who will ever know.

I strolled on and a block away a hot dog cart was blasting the punk rock singalongs of 2 Minutos and the synthpop anthems of Los Prisioneros. Everyone sang. Another block away a saxophonist belted out Bella Ciao while encapuchados hurled rocks and burnt barricades at another point of confrontation with police. Finally I made it to the Plaza de la Dignidad, full of people drinking, lasering the police, and chanting and the top of their lungs. Fireworks shot into the sky as the sun set. Next to the statue there was a small pocket of somber, quieter people all wearing the same shirt with a portrait of a smiling man. They were the friends and family of a demonstrator who died a week earlier when the cops cleared the demonstrators. He fell from the horse statue in the middle of the plaza, and while Red Cross medics were resuscitating him, the police continued to shoot teargas and water cannons directly at the Red Cross volunteers around him. That’s how he died—and if it hadn’t been for the police he could have lived. It was beautiful seeing his loved ones there keeping his memory alive and reminding the demonstrators of one more reason to take the power away from the police as soon as we can.

Eventually the Plaza got cleared this last Friday too, just like every night—but this time, just as the cops cleared the Plaza, a procession of at least 100 motorcycles rolled in from the east, swooping in like the eagles in The Hobbit and interrupting the police. They rolled in circles around the plaza and held up police as people got away.

It was significant that the Friday November 22 demonstrations were so large because for the week prior I actually believed things were slowing down. There were three specific dates that led me to believe that. On November 18 the movement celebrated one month since the first night of riots that kicked everything off. November 14, likewise, was hyped up to be a big date of conflicts because it marked one year from a scandal in which the police shot Camilo Catrillanca, a Mapuche activist and villager, in the back, killing him. Neither date saw that many people in the streets, by which I mean there were only tens of thousands rather than hundreds of thousands, but still, it seemed like things were quieting down. I was worried it also had to do with an announcement Piñera made on the 12, saying that in April 2020 there will be a plebiscite for a new constitution—which is something totally historic. The consitution in place now has been amended since democracy returned in the 1990s, but it is fundamentally the same constitution that was written from scratch in 1980, in the middle of the military dictatorship. Then on November 15, a majority of the parties in congress approved a more specific deal for how the plebiscite will be run, calling the deal “The Agreement for Social Peace.”

There was some anxiety in the movement that this concession would finally placate a critical mass of people in the streets. Some of the popular assemblies and cabildos, or, colonial style councils, started to orient their discussions around a new constitution. Even some politicians were encouraging cabildos. I was nervous that what Piñera couldn’t achieve with the iron fist of the military, he was achieving with the velvet glove of democratic potential. I was wrong though. The most important slogan of the movement arose to the surface again, just like it had with previous concessions like Piñera’s tablescrap social reforms, the cancelling of the metro fare hike, and when he fired his cabinet: “Aún No Ganamos Nada” or, “We Have Won Nothing Yet,” basically a call to keep filling the streets, to not settle for scraps, to keep fighting for dignity.

There’s a spectrum of opinions within the movement about the demand for a Consitutional Assembly. Most anarchists, for example, see it as a distraction and a way for the state to recuperate the legitimacy that it has lost. On the other hand, I think Piñera’s announcement did actually surprise people and give them a sense of their power—a plebiscite to decide whether people wanted a new constitution is totally historic. That wasn’t even on the table during the 1988 plebiscite that ended the dictatorship. However, I think most of the popular assemblies and people in the streets, including some anarchists, see the process Piñera proposed as illegitimate because they don’t see it as leading to a “true” constitutional assembly, and a “true” constitutional assembly means all kinds of different things to different people.

Just to give you a taste of what this sounds like, here’s the communiqué about rejecting the “Agreement for Social Peace” from the neighborhood assembly in Plaza Bogotá:

“We wholly reject this agreement. The content and proposal of this illegitimate ‘agreement’ do not seem motivated towards generating a consititutional process that is representative and participatory for the people, rather, it simply reproduces the old form of making deals that benefit the elite. We do not accept any constitutional process that doesn’t work towards truth and justice—we say NO to impunity. We demand that President Piñera step down immediately, having been the chief politician responsible for multiple violations of human rights. Our assembly considers any agreement without a solution for the current needs of justice and diginity to be an illegitimate agreement.

“We will self-organize a people’s plebiscite in coordination with other regions and neighborhoods. We will work to build horizontal links of organization and coordination with other self-organized popular assemblies toward the goal of holding a people’s plebiscite that can be carried out in different areas and, through this, we can freely and sovereignly self-determine what it is the people actually want in a new constitution.

“We will not give up the streets. We will keep protesting actively in our territory since we believe that the struggle must go on in order to demonstrate our rejection to the imposition of the state and its institutions onto the current process of social constitution in the streets.

“We call on the people to reject this agreement, in which we weren’t invited to participate or form, which is presented to us today as an exit from conflict. Furthermore we call on people to join this call for an autonomous plebiscite throughout the territories as an exercise of our own independent power. Until diginity becomes the custom.”

As an anarchist, there are some things I agree with in the communique, and some things I don’t, and surely there were even other anarchists who helped shape the communique. Overall though, I wish more of the assemblies were oriented towards things we can do rather than what we think about ongoing issues…because when it comes to ideology, we’ll never all agree. The assembly in my neighborhood has trotskyists, anarchists, liberals, and those identities aren’t changing any time soon, and whenever we talk about what needs to happen with the constitutional assembly it’s just a broken record of grand schemes for social change. Instead, I wish we were discussing things like, if martial law is declared again, what will we do? What is our neighborhood’s policy on looting—like, maybe immigrants and mothers get first pick? How do we stop our neighbors from getting evicted? When something big goes down, where will we gather? Orienting the discussions around breaking the law, together, rather than shaping the law. The communiqué about the plebiscite does call for the most important thing, however, which is not giving up the streets in light of the Agreement for Social Peace.

Peace has become the right-wing talking point. It’s telling that the only talking point the right believes can serve them and that might have some social legitimacy anymore is essentially a liberal one. The government is trying so hard, but in so much vain, to return to normality, whereas people in the streets know that the only reason the fare hike was cancelled, the only reason the military was taken off the streets, the only reason a new constitution is being explored at all is because people are fucking shit up.

The right-wing and liberal fixation on peace is also a way they try to divide the movement—between peaceful protesters and so-called violent protesters…but I can tell you that on the streets that division really doesn’t exist. You woulndn’t know it though from watching TV. Piñera makes speeches almost weekly saying the same bullshit—“we need social peace to ensure justice, to make change, blah blah blah.” But Friday November 22 proved that no one’s buying it. I used to await Piñera’s speeches with worry and fear about the next repressive measure to come, and sure, he still promises repression, he promises more cops and proposes laws against masking or laws to make it easier to bring out the military—but I no longer see his speeches as acts of strength, but acts of weakness. He’s lashing out.

If there is anything that will slow things down, it’s the summer. In October things were still cool and the sun set relatively early. Now the sun sets late and it is HOT in the day time. In fact, I think one reason Friday was so big is because it was finally a cooler day—bloccing up was a little more comfortable. However, if things die down for a few months, I believe they will only start back up again when everyone sees what a total sham the constitutional plebiscite in April 2020 will be. The task of anarchists now is to expose the sham of democracy, and to propose revolutionary alternatives. So far, this has been an insurrection, but I believe in April we might have a chance at a real revolution.

The last thing I want to end on is I asked a friend about what I should include in this report for people outside of Chile to know. Her response was soberingly simple—you need to know the police continue to kill, continue to rape, continue to shoot out people’s eyes, they continue to repress and they continue to uphold a system that keeps people poor, desperate, and competing against each other. The system they uphold murders the poor, murders the earth, and it murders those who stand up for the dignity of either. The deadly week of martial law was a rare, short-lived glimpse of the state at its core. If we fail at revolution, it will be that same version of the state that comes back again and again and again. This is a struggle for survival.

VIEW FROM THE STREETS

Clara: Next up, we received the following anonymous e-mail on November 12 as a kind of report about the daily routine of demonstrations at Plaza Italia and on AlamedA:

Report November 12: Greetings compañeros and compañeras and compañeres. I really don’t know where to start this report so I’ll just begin with what I saw today. It’s November 12 and there was a general strike. It was the fiercest day of street fighting I’ve seen yet—the energy was HIGH. Every day there’s more and more molotovs, and today I saw a lot of people injured by police. In a space of 30 minutes 7 different people passed us being carried on stretchers. Every single injury was from the metal pellets the police shoot—don’t believe them when they say they only shoot rubber bullets. I saw two people hit in the eye, one in the throat, and the rest were in the torso or leg. It feels like a warzone, honestly. Little alleys, driveways, and other urban nooks around Alameda—the main avenue through downtown Santiago—have been converted into first aid stations. According to one map I saw on social media there were 11 of these today.

No one really jumps at ambulance sirens anymore. After three weeks in the streets everyone’s ears have attuned to the audio taxonomy of the conflict: an acute burst? That’s pellets. A little bit deeper would be a tear gas canister, and a very deep explosion sound coming from the ground up is a spraypaint can exploding in a fire. An explosion with crackles afterward is fireworks, and then you have to account for the ambulance, fire truck, and police sirens.

No matter how much conflict is going down, demonstrators always open up a path for ambulances to get through. Food delivery mopeds get a free pass too, cuz you know, class consciousness. This is generally true with fire trucks as well, and people usually even applaud them. On one occasion, however, I saw firefighters put out a flaming barricade that wasn’t putting anyone’s safety at risk. It was in the very middle of the road, and the action of the firefighters generated an argument which eventually came to blows. Basically, on one side people defending the need for disruptive actions like barricades and others invoking their, “right to live in peace,” absolutely distorting the message of Victor Jara.

Songs are important here. It’s hard to go to a protest without hearing the resistance anthems popularized during the dictatorship: Victor Jara, Sol y Lluvia, Los Prisioneros… There are a few canonical chants—“Whoever doesn’t jump is a cop.” “Piñera, listen up, go back up where you came from!” “Soon they’ll see, soon they’ll see, the bullets they’ve shot at us will be coming back.” These get remixed in endlessly clever ways.

God, this is hard to write. I really don’t know how to capture what’s happening for you. Listen, there are daily protests. Literally almost every day. A favorite meme circulating lately says, “March at Plaza Italia tomorrow!” and then in parentheses, “(it doesn’t matter when you see this).” When there’s a general strike, like today, things start early, like noon. But on other days people usually start arriving around 5 PM. Honestly, a lot of people are at work or school all day and then get out and protest. However, with high school and middle school students so mobilized and involved in the struggle, hundreds of schools have asked the Ministry of Education if they can close the school year immediately. Normally, the school year ends in January.

But nothing is normal anymore. There’s a strange double life people are living. Work or school in the day, then protest in the evening. And people need the work during the day. Everyone is short on money, but in the same breath people are aware it’s because of the protests and they’ll say it’s worth it, because there are more important things right now. But there are some hard economic facts. The dollar has reached a record price—over 800 pesos.

For people who have niche or specialty shops or gigs, commerce has gone way down, and nightlife is only just starting to come back. I’ve gone out to a few parties, bars in the evening, stuff like that, and everyone seems to have the same energy—trying to have a good time, but too emotionally distracted with everything that’s happening. No one can even pretend like things are normal. I don’t know if it’s guilt or what, but if you want party, if you want euphoric celebration, you have to be in Plaza Italia, which actually has been renamed Plaza de la Dignidad. The biggest party is right when the sun sets, the magic hour—but that’s also when the cops start clearing us out. As they’re dispersed, people build barricades on the routes fanning out from Plaza de la Dignidad, and occasionally someone will put a speaker on the porch or even a band will play above the burning barricades and there will be a small party atmosphere—again, until the cops come. They always disperse us before 10 at night—there may not be a military curfew anymore, but there is effectively a police curfew on when you can demonstrate in the center.

Transit—metro and buses, stop running between 8 and 10 in the evening. I can’t begin to emphasize how much this changes the rhythm and economy of the city. If you’re a nocturnal bike punk it’s actually kind of awesome—Santiago has a rapid transit bus system with dedicated lanes, and being able to bike in them late at night without worrying about being run over by cars or buses is a dream come true. The only thing you have to watch out for is not running over the stones or glass leftover outside of university gates or other points of conflict on your route. If you’re not a cyclist, however, it can be a long walk home. I see lots of people hitchhiking.

The economy may be slowing down, but the street fair around the protests gets bigger every day. A few weeks ago all you could find were bandanas and lemons for the teargas. Soon after came the flag vendors. Then, two weeks in, spray paint and gas masks. As of today, I also saw merchants selling fireworks and lasers, and like, powerful ones too. Demonstrators downed a police drone with the lasers, and the police say they can’t use their surveillance helicopter anymore. I’ve only seen one person trying to sell stones…but there’s usually enough people around to break up the sidewalk into smaller, throwable pieces that there’s not much of a demand for them. There’s a good amount of food on the streets too, even a small vegan food cart mall. And plenty, plenty of beer and weed treats. Everyone shares water, and sometimes a neighbor will leave his hose on, or students will open up their university for water and bathroom use.

You can find a spirit of solidarity in stores away from Alameda too. If you go to one of the street markets outside of the center on the weekend and you pick up a snorkel mask or goggles, the first thing they tell you is how useful it is for teargas or police pellets—not snorkeling. A friend and I went to a hardware store to buy pellet-proof glasses—ANSI certification Z87+, for anyone keep track at home—and, without mentioning a word about the struggle during our interaction, the clerk wrote #RenunciaPiñera on the receipt when he handed it back to us.

I was at one bar last Sunday—just having beers with friends, more of a diner than a bar, and I realized every single table was talking about the revolt, Piñera, the cops, all of it. Someone else noticed too, because they started a chant “Pinera, escucha, andate a la chucha!” and EVERY SINGLE PERSON in the bar, even the waiters, joined in. To be clear this is not a metal bar or someplace where people get drunk and sing with their arms over each other…it was like nothing I’ve ever seen. On a Sunday night!

That’s not to say that everyone here loves the protests, obviously. In the upper-class neighborhood of Las Condes, on November 8, a rich piece of shit shot a demonstrator in the leg while she was riding her bike. Police, naturally, treated him with kid gloves when they came to arrest him.

Yesterday, in the bourgeois city of Viña del Mar, a gringo white supremacist neo-liberal economist also shot a protester. He drove through an action where people were blocking traffic and chanting “Whoever dances gets to pass.” Then, he got out of his car and fired five shots, hitting one demonstrator in the leg. Police allowed him time to record a video justifying his attack and he even took a selfie with police afterward. Disgusting.

Absurdly, one pundit here chose to put the blame on the demonstrators blocking traffic, saying that the trend of “whoever dances gets to pass,” was extreme violence itself. No wonder nobody trusts the television or the news anymore.

Fascists have begun circulating hashtags against the strikes and against a constitutional change. One of the more novel factions on the right has been right-wing Venezuelans. There’s a particularity that’s important to understand about Chile, which is that it has some of the strongest borders in South America. As a result, Chile was able to control its immigration coming from Venezuela and attract those Venezuelans fleeing with money and privilege first. I’ve heard a few people in the protests speak as if being Venezuelan was a synonym for right-wing, however there was one barricade I saw early in the revolt where Chileans, Venezuelans, and Haitians were all throwing trash onto the fire, and chanting against Piñera, Maduro, and Moise together. I can’t think of a more politically lucid moment from these last four weeks—against all authoritarianism, left or right. Some of these were even small business owners, like corner stores or hotdog carts.

I speak to immigrant street vendors whenever I can. The protests have brought them more business, and more safety, since most do not have a vendors’ license. However, some are nervous about the social movement turning into a protracted civil disaster and economic crisis, like those in their countries of origin, Haiti and Venezuela for example. A true reminder that a liberatory, anticapitalist revolution must be international….if not global. Despite economic anxiety, most of the immigrant vendors on the street aren’t upset about the protests themselves. And the carnaval atmosphere on Alameda has brought a smile to many of their faces… breaking through the tension and alienation that used to rule this city.

It’s not all kumbaya within Plaza Italia either. Aside from the police maiming people, there’s the occasional fight—either between bros from rival hooligan barras bravas, or occasionally someone doesn’t like the behavior of another demonstrator, a random right-winger or liberal will make a disrespectful comment, or someone accuses another in the crowd of being an undercover cop. When fights have started around the statue in the middle of the plaza, people adjust the “whoever doesn’t jump is a cop” chant to “whoever starts a fight is a cop.”

Ok, back to the conflict—actually, no wait, the disjointed rhythm of this very report captures how my time in the streets has been. You arrive, notice the build up, there’s some action, take a break and buy a sopaipilla and a beer from a street vendor, find a friend and talk about everything that’s been happening, share insight and analysis, look at some beautiful or clever graffiti, share stories and amazing things you’ve seen, horrible things you’ve seen, and then you’re back in the action.

There are a few basic roles on the street. There are the people who extinguish teargas canisters by submerging them in a bucket of water. We call them firefighters. The important thing is not just to submerge it but to shake the bucket after. It’s actually much more effective than throwing the teargas back—although there have been cases where people were miraculously able to toss the teargas canister into a police vehicle.

Then there’s the frontline—who often carry shields from behind which to throw rocks and occasionally molotovs.

There’s the medics, with helmets and stretchers. They generally don’t attend to the injured right there on the street, but rather move in groups and carry the most injured back to the first aid stations. This is because the rhythm of the protests is a war of positions—the cops gain a block, then are beat back with rocks and molotovs, over and over, so at any moment you could lose the block you’re on to the cops—not an ideal environment for triage.

There are squads of people producing material for burning barricades, people breaking the sidewalk into throwable pieces (we call them miners), crews covering the walls with wheatpaste and posters, and plenty of people writing graffiti.

There’s looting every now and then, mostly focused on corporate chains or symbols of wealth. Whatever doesn’t have value or use becomes fuel for a barricade—actually plenty of things that would be useful to us just get burnt anyway. Oh well. The very last thing to come out of any looted store are the rolls and rolls of receipt paper, which get thrown up in the air as streamers, and eventually decorate the trees lining Alameda. There’s a true sense carnival and playfulness that takes place here, for better or worse. The way the streamers of receipt paper fly in the wind isn’t just beautiful, it helps you tell which way the teargas will be blowing.

The police weapons we’re up against are the Guanaco—water cannon—named for the Patagonian camel that spits. The Zorrillo, which means skunk, a teargas tank. Pellets, teargas guns, and police batons.

It’s easy to think of the cops as machines, as robots who are programmed to yell at and hurt you, but after the Plaza was cleared out tonight, I biked by two officers who were standing against a wall. One held his head in his hands and the other was just staring up into the sky, like, for a long time. They looked tired. This evening Piñera announced he was going to allow retired cops to come back onto the force—at first I was paranoid about this being a dog whistle to the fascists that they had the green light to back up the police too, but when I remembered the pair of exhausted cops I saw… I really think we’re just slowly wearing them down.

There is resistance, and repression, all over the city, but like I said, the daily conflict takes place along Alameda, between Plaza Italia, I mean Plaza de la Dignidad, and La Moneda. There are certain spots on Alameda that are true frontlines. There is a monument to the Carabineros, the police—which is a straight up 11 for September 11, the anniversary of the 1973 military coup. Ok maybe it’s not officially an 11, but Google it and tell me it’s not. There’s always conflict there—people want to destroy the monument, and the police want to defend it, more than any other property along Alameda. There’s a bank that was burnt out across the street, and it has a second level—people can walk up the stairs inside it and peer out—gallery seating for the riots. One of the entrances to the Baquedano metro station has been a focal point of street battles because it’s where one demonstrator was taken down and tortured a couple of weeks ago. Plaza Italia too has heavy repression, and lately there has been a front line at the end of the park to the east of Plaza Italia, at the beginning of the bourgeois Providencia neighborhood.

It’s kind of new that conflict is regularly taking place there. Last week, on November 6, there was a march in Providencia starting at Costanera Center—the tallest building in Latin America, with one of the biggest malls in Chile. Capitalists brag about the building as a symbol for Chile’s market success, but I’d say it’s a perfect symbol of capitalism for other reasons. For years, most of the offices in the building have remained empty—space that could obviously be useful, yet remains empty for the sake of speculation. Then, there’s the regular acts of suicide that happen inside the mall, because the mall is multiple floors and has balconies. They never close the mall in these cases, but rather close off and sanitize one little area. It’s dystopic.

The flyer for the Costanera Center march was the funniest flyer I’ve ever seen. It had a big stupid smiley face on a sunset photo of the tower in all it’s majesty, and it reads, “Hi! My name is Costanera Center. From up here I’ve seen how you all do things down in Plaza Italia, and seeing as how I can’t make it down there, I’d like to invite you to come demonstrate inside of meeeeee tomorrow Wedenesday, November 6 at 2 PM.

“DON’T FORGET TO ARRIVE BEFOREHAND, AND ENTER IN SMALL GROUPS OF FOUR OR MORE PEOPLE.

“I’ll be waiting!”

In the end they just closed the mall—more money lost for the capitalists, on top of the COP 25, APEC, and Copa Libertadores mega-events they’ve had to cancel.

So for hours, the march snaked through parts of Providencia that rarely see demonstrations, and the police were absolutely unprepared. There was looting, impressive barricades thanks to the privileged urban geography of the neighborhood, and demonstrators were even able to break into and destroy the headquarters of the Unión Demócrata Independiente, a far-right political party founded by Jaime Guzman, the Nazi-loving author of the dicatorship’s constitution, the one that’s still in place today. The march also destroyed a memorial to him. There were disruptive demonstrations in Providencia for the rest of that week. The day after the riots around Costanera Center, President Piñera announced the proposal of a series of anti-protester laws, including increased penalties for blocking traffic, using a mask, and using molotovs.

Ok so… that’s the view from the street, but there’s another point of view that is, well, I wouldn’t say equally important, but it does play a big role. And that’s what you seen on your phone screen.

Every day I get a new alert that another friend in Santiago is using Signal or Telegram.

And now, don’t get me wrong, there’s incredible graffiti and posters all over the streets, with clever phrases and beautiful styles… but the heartiest laughs and most crestfallen faces I’ve seen from my friends come from memes and posts on social media. From what I can identify, there are five categories of memes— 1) the hilarious 2) the visibilizing, in the sense of violence and oppression that would never be shown on the news 3) the instructive, like how to protect yourself and how to dress for the protests 4) the counter-informational, like, fact-checking media and government lies 5) the inspiring

This is one of the parts that is just impossible to summarize. There are so many memes and every little news report or government attempt to pacify us is turned, within minutes, into memeable propaganda against them. Symbolism is big here. There’s been a lot of statue-toppling of Spanish colonizers lately. I’m just going to focus on two symbols though. The first is Negro Matapacos—a street dog who used to accompany demonstrators, barking at cops and bringing a smile to our faces. My personal favorite Matapacos meme has him saying, “Listen guys, I didn’t want to brag about it before, but you know that dog barking at the beginning of the Los Prisioneros song… Yeah… That was me.” Sadly Matapacos passed away a few years ago and now lives in riot doggy Valhalla, but his memory lives on here in memes, graffiti, flags, anything you can think of that can spread his adorable smiling face. Matapacos imagery has been around for years, but I think his symbolism really took off here at the beginning of November, after people used it in the fare evasions in New York City. Those actions were really uplifting for people in Chile. It reminds me of how the Zapatistas used to insist that the best way to be in solidarity with them was to put their values into practice and resistance wherever you are.

Another symbol I want to mention is the eye. As of today, nearly 200 people have lost an eye due to the projectiles the police are firing. Yesterday, a kid lost both eyes.

You’ll see this recognized in graffiti that reads, “an eye for an eye,” or memes that say things like, “they can shoot out our eyes but they will never blind us.” I’ve seen the black and white version of the Chilean flag, but with a closed eye instead of a star. People are poking out the eyes of the faces on the paper money. To give an idea, I was at a large punk show in a park the other day, and everyone I knew was one or two degrees removed from someone who had lost an eye.

Many people on the streets have celebrated the role social media has played in this uprising. One of the slogans spraypainted everywhere is “the television lies,” with the implicit subtext that we’re more in control of social media. While it’s true that social media lets you see images, like police brutality for example, that the TV news will never show the full extent of, it can sometimes be overwhelming when you open up instagram or twitter and it’s full of violence, oppression, or conjecture about what repressive political machinations are to come. But I’ve learned that whenever I start feeling anxious and overwhelmed from what I see on my phone, the best medicine is to go back onto the streets as soon as I can and see things for myself. What gets filtered through the algorithm isn’t what you see on the streets—it doesn’t capture the care, the cooperation, all the aspects that aren’t sexy or reducible enough to circulate. I can’t imagine what it’s like for people who never go see the protests in person and only see them through the news.

NOT FALLING FOR IT

Clara: Our next piece was published on Crimethinc.com on November 8. It’s titled, “Not Falling for It: How the Uprising in Chile Has Outlasted State Repression And the Questions for Movements to Come.”

Crimethinc.: As of today—Friday, November 8, 2019—the government of Chile has spent three full weeks switching back and forth between strategies of brutality, division, and deceit without yet succeeding in stemming the tide of resistance. The events of these weeks offer a useful primer in strategies of state repression and how to outmaneuver, outsmart, and outlast them.

On October 6, the Chilean government headed by rapacious billionaire Sebastián Piñera announced a new austerity package that would further impoverish struggling Chileans. Unfortunately for the authorities, it was an inopportune moment to squeeze an already restless population. The next day, in Ecuador, thousands of indigenous people arrived in the capital city to protest an austerity package, occupying the Parliament building and clashing with police forces. On October 14, the Ecuadorian government backed down, repealing the austerity bill.

That same day, students swung into action in Chile, organizing a series of mass fare-dodging protests against the hike in public transit costs. These culminated on October 18 in clashes, vandalism, and arsons that damaged 16 buses and 78 metro stations, as well as various banks and several other major buildings, including the headquarters of the Italian energy company Enel. In retaliation, Piñera announced a state of emergency and curfew, hoping to bludgeon the population back into submission.

Speculation has circulated about the arsons to the effect that they were orchestrated or permitted by the security forces. Certainly, police in Chile are well-known for engaging in undercover operations—and US intelligence agencies have engaged in all manner of disruptive activities to delegitimize social movements in Chile and elsewhere. At the same time, all around the world, whenever ordinary people manage to get the better of the authorities, those who take it for granted that the state is the only protagonist of history always attribute this to the work of agents provocateurs. Is it really possible that all the arsons of October 18 were the work of police agents? What would the government stand to gain by arranging for the destruction of its own public transit infrastructure? It might seem strategic to attribute the arsons to police agents in order to delegitimize the police in the eyes of the general public, but this could have the unintended effect of mobilizing popular rage against the most radical or confrontational participants in the movement—on the absurd grounds that they must be police infiltrators, no less. Rather than legitimizing the sort of confrontational tactics that a powerful movement must sometimes employ, this approach implies that what is needed is better policing.

Although we should not underestimate the extent to which state forces can act irrationally against their own interests, it is disempowering to assume that popular movements are not capable of confrontational tactics. Conspiracy theories about the arsons obscure what was strategic about them. State false-flag operations would be aimed at discrediting the movement, not deepening the crisis itself. In this regard, it seems more likely that the reports of suspicious people attacking working-class markets represent genuine undercover police or far-right activity, or that, as some have alleged, police have concealed some of the murders they have carried out by dragging the victims in burning buildings; in those cases, at least, their motivations would be clear. But the authorities stood to gain nothing by dramatically escalating the conflict on October 18 by burning their own metro stations. Whether by smashing the turnstiles or burning entire stations, it was precisely by making business as usual impossible that demonstrators made the desperate circumstances of their daily lives a problem for their rulers and set the stage for the movement to expand. Without the vandalism, the movement would never have become the force that it is.

In any case, the next day, October 19, Piñera suspended the metro price increase. The speed with which he did this shows that he knew he had pushed people too far. If he could have waited to suspend the fare increase, he might have been able to announce it later, in order to give demonstrators a feeling of accomplishment and get them out of the streets; instead, having already pushed his luck, he had to suspend it immediately in hopes of discharging popular resentment before the crisis deepened. It didn’t work.

For a government, the goal of making concessions is only to trick enough people into leaving the streets that it will be possible to isolate and defeat those who remain. On October 20, Piñera expanded the state of emergency to most of the country, announcing from the headquarters of the army that his government was “at war against a powerful and implacable enemy.” This gesture, and above all the place from which he spoke, was a not-so-coded declaration that he intended to return Chile to the murderous state violence of the Pinochet dictatorship.

Yet once again, the people in the streets did not back down. They continued to demonstrate, even as the military injured and killed people, and they refused to permit the authorities to sow divisions, sticking together with the same cohesion that has given the movement in Hong Kong its long life.

This is why, on October 23, Piñera was forced to announce the suspension of the whole austerity package and the introduction of some minor reforms—what Chileans have been calling “table scraps.”

Again, Chileans knew better than to settle for this. That same day, Chile’s trade unions declared a general strike. On October 25, the largest demonstration in Chilean history took place, bringing 1.2 million people into the streets of Santiago to show that they supported this movement that had originated in massive public criminal activity and continued in defiance of the express orders of the government.

This was a massive defeat for Piñera—it showed that he could neither resolve the situation by brute force nor by petty bribery. This is why, on October 26, he promised to lift the State of Emergency and to swap out some of the ministers in his government—though not to relinquish power himself. He also changed his rhetoric, congratulating Chileans on a “peaceful” demonstration and suggesting a distinction between law-abiding families and criminal hooligans.

Let’s review: when Piñera couldn’t suppress the movement by police violence, he played for time by suspending the fare increase—while declaring martial law and mobilizing the army. When didn’t work, he shifted to a new strategy of divide and conquer, flattering the majority of Chileans by suggesting that their concerns were legitimate while demonizing the brave demonstrators who launched the movement.

Now that things seem to have plateaued—not to say calmed down—Piñera is trying, yet again, to return to his original strategy of brute force. On November 7, he introduced an array of bills to increase the penalties for militant protest tactics including self-defense against police and concealing one’s identity against state surveillance. Congratulate the movement on its victories, but crack down on the means by which it won them.

Over 7000 people have been arrested and many thousands injured; despite their obvious loyalty to the uniformed mercenaries of the state, prosecutors admit to over 800 allegations of police abuse, torture, rape, and battery. Piñera has expressed his “total support” for the conduct of the police and military throughout this sequence of events, but he is saying that all this brutality is not enough—in addition to arresting, beating, shooting, and killing people, he wants the police and military to be able to imprison additional massive numbers of people for long periods of time.

Make no mistake, the movement in Chile would not have gotten off the ground if not for the students organizing mass illegal activity. It would not have spread countrywide if not for the vandalism, arson, and acts of self-defense against police attacks. It would not have created a crisis that demanded a response if not for looting and disruption. To make a distinction between the “law-abiding” participants and the “criminals” in the movement is to say that it would be better if the movement had never taken place—it is an attempt to ensure that no such movement will ever take place again.

We have seen this many times before. The movement against police and white supremacy that burst into the public consciousness with the riots in Ferguson only got off the ground because the original participants openly attacked police officers, burned down buildings, and refused to divide into “violent” and “nonviolent” factions. Democracy itself, the system via which Chile, the United States, and so many other nations are governed, began in blazing crime; if not for criminal revolutionaries, we would still be living under the heel of hereditary monarchs.

Once again, the movement in Chile faces a crucial juncture. If the majority of the participants accept Piñera’s flattery and congratulate themselves on being “peaceful” and “honest” in contrast to those who are “criminals,” this will enable him to push through draconian measures to ensure that it will never be possible for Chileans to defend themselves against austerity measures again. On the contrary, what is needed is for the tactics of the “criminals” to spread to every honest citizen, to every person who sincerely wants peace. Neither Piñera nor anyone else who aims to rule by force will ever create peace; it can only arise when their totalitarian aspirations are thwarted.

To understand what Piñera wants, we need only look at what has happened in Egypt. Since regaining control of the country with the military coup in 2013 and introducing new measures like the ones Piñera is proposing, military strongman al-Sisi has crushed protests of all kinds. He now aspires to rule until at least the year 2034. Those who make only half a revolution dig their own graves, as the saying goes.

So the stakes are high. Demonstrators in Chile must permanently delegitimize the instruments of state power such as the police, the courts, and the army, making it impossible for them to maintain order by any combination of brutality, concessions, and prosecution. This is the only way out of the nightmare of neoliberal austerity.

This is how movements win against oppressive governments: by a winning combination of confrontational direct action, solidarity across different demographics and tactics, persistence, and strategic innovation. The movement in Chile has demonstrated this already.

To support our comrades in Chile, we have arranged the translation and design of our texts The Illegitimacy of Violence, the Violence of Legitimacy and What They Mean When They Say Peace, both of which treat these issues. We wish them strength in the struggle ahead. May every Piñera fall.

RARA SEÑAL INTERVIEW

Clara: The next interview is with a participant in Rara Señal, an anarchist radio show from Valparaiso that has been publishing 2 hour shows nightly since October. We’re only including a segment of the interview, but you can find the whole interview over at the wonderful anarchist radio project A-Radio Berlin, and we’ll have the link in our shownotes.

Interviewer: We’re here with a comrade who has a radio station here in Valparaiso. Can you tell us your name and tell us about your radio project, how long have you been doing it, what it’s called, what it’s about?

Rara Señal: I am going to omit my name but I’ll describe the project I’m a part of. This is a collective of people who create a “free signal” called Rara Señal, I’ve been in radio for many years, I’ve worked on many projects, and this project in particular is most focused on people who are LGBTQ and lesbofeminist and anarcofeminist.

Interviewer: And you’ve been putting out a show every night for over 20 days, correct?

Rara Señal: Yes, it was important to us to report what was happening in our neighborhoods since there was a big communication block in which it was hard to keep up with the news of what was happening in various regions, outside of social media. Especially the first few days that were so impactful, in which they so quickly implemented the state of emergency which was de facto martial law, in which the military came out to the streets to shoot us, torture us, abuse us, rape us, disappear us. And it’s been 22 days, as of today, without stopping our transmissions, covering the different kinds of things that happen in our territory, and also sharing things that other free media sources report, so it’s actually been beautiful, the cooperation that’s formed between radio stations, free media cooperation, especially the first days when it was harder for us to figure out what was happening in other regions.

It’s happened before that we’ve been killed, this was still within a framework that we are familiar with, which, it still hurts us a lot, but we’ve seen it before. For me, things changed when president Piñera called for a state of emergency in several regions, and that the military was going to hit the streets in Santiago. That’s where this became like a science fiction novel. And the emotional stress that we felt–I didn’t think that this was going to escalate to that level. But even so, there was the sensation that, well maybe this will end tomorrow, at this point it was centralized in Santiago, all the other regions weren’t really a part of this issue with the metro, because Santiago is a unique situation when it comes to mass transportation.

And the next day, we thought, well there were calls for marches, and we thought there would be mass marches, but not that massive! That’s when we realized that there was no going back. For me it was when I saw the amount of people on the streets, it was incredible here in Valparaiso but we receive news from all corners of the country, the smallest, tranquil towns, were either in flames or with tons of people in the streets. That generated that feeling that it was chaotic, but it was pleasant at the same time, because it was like, let these mega-companies fall, get destroyed, but it was weird that there was very few police around.

Remember that we’re used to them shooting tear gas at us, that they abuse us at marches, the response from the state is always a fascist response. Here less so than in regions like Wallmapu, but we are quite familiar with their tactics since this is a region with lots of student protests, but anyway this started to cause an anxiety to build in us, and then of course the curfew and a state of emergency in many cities of the country, that’s when this emotional rollercoaster began, because it was beautiful to see so many people and see this overflow in so many parts of the country, to see the dissatisfaction of the people, when you ask about emotions, in general there was a lot of anger on the streets, because in reality they had sentenced us to a miserable life for our grandparents, our children, our adolescents, and for adults too, in benefit of a few rich people here in Chile and abroad.

We were talking about the anarchist movements in chile, and myself included, we’ve separated ourselves a little bit from this label of “pueblo” because it was used here a lot in the 70s in marxist politics, so we were like “come on!” the “pueblo” can betray you, the “pueblo” can snitch on you, so there’s definitely some resentment there. Yet, I still feel a part of that because what does make sense about that word, is that we’re part of the same miserable existence, we’re all different from the north to the south, we’ve always been made to feel different in that way, but being dominated by the same state has made us feel the same misery in our individual lives. I think that’s the thing that’s the most incredible, is feeling like you’re a part of something, and also feeling that fear for your life, but also for the lives of the people around you. 

Interview: Can you tell us more about the concrete strategies of the state and government in response to all this?

Rara Señal: Yes, I think one general thing is that the state and the government have co-opted the media, and that strategy has resulted in less numbers in the mobilizations. The press has been creating this idea that your neighbor can be your enemy because they can come and loot your small business, and I think that’s when many people started to reject the marches. Then once the looting started they created this image of violent people who make barricades at the marches or throws paint or rocks against the cops, and that has been very significant, but I have faith that people are trusting the media less and less. Meanwhile the government has just been kind of playing dumb. You know, Piñera said he was going to have his ministers resign, even though it was incredibly clear only his resignation would have satisfied anybody. Then there’s been this widespread call for a constitutional assembly, and the government responds with, “well, we’re going to do a constitutional congress, with representatives you get to vote for.” It has nothing to do with the model people are imagining, with putting power into the hands of the pueblo.

Anyway, that’s the strategy, trying to placate a minority, while at the same time leaving out the majority, this is one of the cards that they’ve played, giving out crumbs, table scraps.

I would say what’s most interesting about the mobilizations, in that it’s not any specific political party, not limited to unions or students, we have seen a ton of kids from SENAME, the state run orphanages, in the marches, who have escaped from the centers where they live. We’ve seen a swath of the population who normally aren’t a part of the marches, and we’ve seen residents of poorer neighborhoods, they too have joined the marches. That’s significant because previously, except for a few exceptions, we have seen mostly the middle class represented in marches, which is sad for me to say but is a self-criticism, they’ve been university students, or professionals, or also high school students, high school students have always been important, but i think principally those who haven’t been joining are those on the right or poor but pro-Piñera sectors who believe the media, or those who truly are fearful about losing something in this situation. Even Piñera said something ridiculous, that he too saw the helpfulness of the marches. There were a lot of funny memes that came out after that.

Interviewer: What is the role of an anarchist or anarchism within a popular uprising such as this one? We were talking about the myth of the pueblo. How does it feel to see so many chilean flags? its interesting to talk about whats behind that and how someone as an anarchist inserts oneself in this kind of social context. 

Rara Señal: We were just talking about this, the fact that anarchism here, at least in the territory that im familiar with, in chile, has abandoned the idea of building an actual social project, a project that’s not solely for anarchists, but rather a project that’s anarchist in it’s values, like horizontality and mutual aid, and questioning the state and other forms of relating to each other, but a social project that considers everyone. These days with all that’s happening it would be good to ask oneself, ok, what is the proposal of anarchism in this context of social uprising, in which tons of doors have been opened, in regards to how we want to build our societies, and how we relate to our neighbors. And i think a pretty harsh self-criticism that we should do is that anarchism at some point stopped relating with their neighborhood and neighbors and a larger, life-encompassing project.

When I say life I mean broader than the individual life. I think its good to ask oneself that, and also, among neighbors, including everyone, listening to each other, seeing what we’re all thinking, and focusing on our territories, our neighborhoods, and figuring out how to–well here there’s been a lot of talk about cabildo-style councils, but we don’t like cabildos very much. What are we proposing is assemblies.

here in latin america i think it’s urgent that anarchism positions itself as–being against extractivism is fine, but how do we feel about subsistence and the economy, while being real about the fact that we’re part of a global capitalism, what are our proposals about these things?

Yes, capitalism is far-reaching, but it shouldn’t be that hard to converse with your neighbor at the assembly and start questioning these things. Horizontality is something that’s come up a lot in the cabildos, let’s hope we can say that that’s anarchism’s influence. I think that we’re in a society that’s very tired of political parties, tired of politicians, demagogues, and their co-opted representation, and it would be good to start thinking about that. because something’s brewing. Let’s not rest on our laurels or get stuck in individual reflections or analysis but be more present in dialogues on the streets, participating, and truly participating, not closing the door on our neighbor just because she says that the barricades are destructive, so we don’t fall into an isolated anarchism.

Interviewer: today there was a call for a general strike across the whole territory so the next question is about that and anti-capitalist concepts…have these ideas influenced any of the calls for general strikes? And what has been the effect of these strikes in the daily functioning of capitalism?

Rara Señal: I think that there has been a strain on the system of capitalism here in chile. What I mean by that is it was really important that the first days there was a focus on attacking big corporations. This narrative of the neighbor who has their small business who was scared because they might get looted was something that the government created, but there truly is a collective consciousness about the corporations that have been stealing from us this whole time, and the attack on them is an important anti-capitalist tactic, whether or not it actually affects their finances.

I think this has given rise to us seeing looted objects in burning barricades, plasma TVs, speakers, bicycles, things that would normally be seen as important in the capitalist society and as individual property, they are belongings that are usually closely defended. So I think it was symbolically important to see those things in the barricades and it sets a precedent for what is important to us. Looting was about the attack against big companies more than individual benefit. Another thing that’s popped up is the “olla comun” collective kitchens, which sprouted up in the face of government-imposed fear of food shortages. Those have been another anti-capitalist practice, even if it’s not anti-capitalist in name. Because it’s a time to collectivize around something that we all experience, which is hunger. These have been important images because it also questions the logic of money…Throwing a plasma TV on top of a barricade that costs 1 million or 800,000 pesos, which is about 2 or 3 times the minimum monthly wage, is an anti-capitalist statement in and of itself.

As for general strikes, it’s been said for a long time that it’s important to paralyze the country, to throw a wrench in the economy, and that’s all fine and good but general strikes are when the unions organize to halt operations. But it’s important to remember, that the first few days, especially in rural areas where there are these mega corporations, thermoelectric plants, monocultures, the agro-industry, they paralyzed operations on their own, not through the union, not because they voted at an assembly whether or not it was time to join the fight. Taking it a bit further, I think capitalism has co-opted and used the unions and I think it’s important to remember that the unions weren’t with the movement the first days, the military was on the streets and we were getting killed but the mines didn’t stop working, the forestry industry and the thermoelectric plants didn’t either. This time around something interesting happened, people took operations into their own hands, whether or not the union supported it, and I think that’s an important blow to the economy, and should be replicated. Without diminishing the efforts of the unions for the initiative of this general strike today, which i think is fantastic, and really does affect the economy of the country. 

I: What do you think has been missing, on the local national or international level?

Rara Señal: something important that would be great to change is that chile is a place that has believed a lot in legality and in institutions. I think we need to question things beyond the law and institutions, like how do we want to live in this territory, daring ourselves to go beyond and be more radical in our discourse when we talk about what we want and what we dream of, because there’s always that fear of big change: it’s like, let’s change things, but a little bit, within the margins, and i think it’s because they’ve put this institutional idea in our head that we need to work within these bounds. I don’t think it’s because people really believe in this stuff, i think if you ask anyone who lives in a poor neighborhood if they like the thermoelectric plants, they’re going to tell you no, and that brings us to the question of extractivism in latin america. And i think that hasn’t been questioned enough because there’s a lot of respect for legality and institutions. That’s on the national level.

On the local level, I’ll talk about the parts of valparaiso that i know, because there are a lot of contexts here in valpo, each hill is distinct in one way or another. Something good to question these days is our mental lucidity in this uprising. I think we’ve been taught through colonization that a way to face moments of stress and uncertainty is with alcohol, and without getting moral about this, it was worrying the first few days when the military was on the streets and we were getting killed that people were drinking, or consuming other things, because that’s careless of the collective and of ourselves. The whole pueblo hurts when someone falls. I use the example of alcohol but it’s other things too, but a collective consciousness that makes you think of the consequences of individual actions on the collective and the morale of the people. We’ve been experiencing significant grief and post-traumatic stress as we’ve learned about people who are disappeared, murdered, and it’s good to stop believing in the institutions, and there’s also this idea of “yeah okay there’s police repression but nothing’s going to happen to me.” I think that idea has meant that many people return home alone, and people are getting arrested, and getting tortured and raped and disappeared, and so i think we’ve been lacking that lucidity to say “yes, this institution is capable of doing all this, they’re killing us, raping us,” i think we need to wake up in that sense, on a local level and probably a national level too. 

On an international level, i think the international pressure has been great, especially the first few days when we had the military on the street. Maybe it’s good to think about what to do now that the military is not on the street but we are still experiencing repression. I’ve always thought that internationalism is something we need to build up, it’s super important, of course perhaps we need a more concrete network to keep ourselves informed of what’s happening in different territories to do an international analysis of what’s going on. Because what’s happening in chile isn’t just about chile, itś contextualized in a global system.

Interview: What weak points do you find in the government’s discourse?

Rara Señal: One anachronism that’s happening is that they’ve been trying this whole time to pit the pueblo against the pueblo, and that strategy used to work, but not anymore. I think one thing that’s happened is we’ve started to build networks between us, and i think their attempts at this type of discourse are pretty pathetic, they’re trying to get a law passed to create an online platform for people to upload reports and videos about their own neighbors. This worries me because i think this idea of a “snitching policy” is very dangerous, because it harkens back to the dictatorship, when such policies resulted in people getting murdered or disappeared, but i dont think their strategy is working, they haven’t ceded anything, and it’s created a lack of trust. i think that if they had ceded their privileges just a little bit, this would have been different, but their stubborness has fueled the flame that’s burning across the entire country. 

Interviewer: do you have any anecdotes of new forms of relating to each other or fighting together that have emerged?

Rara Señal: yesss, this is my favorite part. Chile has been characterized as a latin american country that isn’t very friendly, perhaps rough, untrusting, and i think that something that people have been noticing very quickly is now we’re starting to say hi to our neighbors, and saying hi to everyone, friendliness, worrying about and caring for each other, solidarity, something that we saw right away in the marches was that groups of volunteers went to marches with methods for dealing with tear gas, tons of paramedics, nurses organized to take care of people’s physical well being, but the main thing is the friendliness, that’s something that’s popped up again, caring for others, that’s something that we’ve won these days. 

Interviewer: any thoughts about the future, about what’s to come or what should come? You already mentioned this a little, but any messages for people outside of chile who want to support the resistance, like making donations? Or like how in the united states people started doing mass evasions at the metro in new york city.

Rara Señal: I’ll start with the message for those abroad: remember that latinamerica is a part of the world where poverty abounds. For those who benefit at the cost of colonialism and extractivism, without any morality, and of course we don’t choose where we are born, but we can take responsibility for our privileges, and basically i think that it would be great if people want to send us money [laughs]. I think if any autonomous radical spaces of resistance are born out of this, we’ll have to see what happens, but yes, to people in the first world, we need donations. We need the news to keep spreading too, and going beyond just international organizations, international pressure is necessary so they don’t keep killing and torturing and disappearing us. Chile sees itself as a bit more civilized but the truth is the repression is very strong and very intense. At the latinamerican level too, remember that Chile is in a position where we’re supporting ourselves, but i also wonder about Haiti, Haiti has had 2 months of mobilizations, and things aren’t going well, i think it needs international pressure, with regards to how we’re putting pressure on these former colonies in latin america, in Abya Yala, and that goes from central america, and part of north america, to the south.

We don’t always have time to synthesize things, so international counter-information sources that have the time to read 3 hours of news and create a summary for other media outlets, or write things in other languages, that kind of help is needed. Everything helps! If you have an idea, some way to inform, i don’t think it all needs to come from here, because the reality is that the fact that we’re tired has played a big role in things these days. You can’t do everything, and between the mobilizing on the street, writing articles, and coming up with symbolic actions against the system that dominates us, all of that takes a lot of energy.

So yeah question and think about what you can come up with talking with your people, anything with a little bit of creativity can be important, because we are tired! And I want to send a hug of solidarity to the rest of abya yala, because we are being repressed and the pressure of the united states on abya yala has been very significant. We know that Costa Rica is rising up too, there are problems in Nicaragua, Haiti for a while now, Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, indigenous social activists are being murdered in Brazil…Macri is, he’s not in Argentina any more, at least not anymore as part of the government, he’s said some insidious things, like that there are groups of terrorist allies between Chile and Argentina, so, I want to send a big hug to the pueblo of abya yala who is suffering at this time, indignation to those who have continued exploiting Abya Yala for its land. A big hug to all the indigenous people of Abya Yala who at this moment are resisting in different points because of the advance of fascism.

My wish for the future is that all the states of latinamerica fall and that we become a big territory with diversities and self-organization, with territorial control where it’s necessary, and my true wish outside of ideology is that the pueblo makes the decisions about their territories and their lives. Going beyond what i would like, i think it’s good too, as an anarchist, to think that the power should lie with those who inhabit the territories, whether or not they agree with our ideas or not, i think that is super important, that hasn’t happened, we haven’t had democracy in latin america, we’ve never had it, or well not since we were dominated by the colonists of the north, so i would wish for that. I think that’s the realest thing i could say at this point, i wish for the organization of the pueblos i wish that those who inhabit our territories be the ones who decide about our territories, and i trust that those who inhabit our territories care about our territories. The system of extractivism will of course fall, the heteropatriarchy will fall, capitalism and brutal neoliberalism will fall, and those are my wishes.

SANTIAGO ANARCHIST INTERVIEW

Clara: The following interview is with a long-time anarchist in Santiago

Interviewer: Hello and thanks for talking to us. Maybe this is a strange place to start but we were looking at a meme a minute ago and you said something like, “Oh, that ‘Chile woke up’ slogan is just awful.” Can you say more about that?

Anarchist: I:**It’s because “Chile woke up” is a bit like one of those soccer chants.

It’s just a basic, standard phrase of the republic, of the respectable citizens, you know? I don’t know, in that big march attended by around a million and a half people, the Chilean identity was greatly exalted… and of course there were a lot of immigrants from all over, but the Chilean identity was very exalted, also the middle class, which in the end is just poor people with a little bit of credit. So, “Chile woke up” is part of that mythos that they use, the people of the Frente Amplio coalition, the Communist Party, and also the right-wing official parties, to paint the image of a netural Chile, as if there wasn’t so much inequality. As if to balance the scale. And I think “Chile woke up” is part of that narrative. I’m also understanding of the fact that a lot of people who have never been involved in any demonstration or conflict before are obviously marching with the Chilean team jersey, going to shout soccer chants, Because the times they have marched to Plaza Italia is when Chile won the Copa América or something like that. All that it’s understandable, since there’s been 200 years of brainwashing in this territory to shout stuff like “Chile woke up.” On the other hand, there has been criticism of it, slogans like “the poor have no country” or “turn the flag around”, because it also happens that some people carry the Mapuche flag together with the Chilean one, and that’s just horrible.

Like, one of those flags invaded the other and killed it, you know? It would be like marching with a Spanish and a Chilean flag, something like that. But also, I can understand it from people who have never been near a demonstration and have never had a political experience, but who are now going out on the street… and it’s more common in these demonstrations than in previous ones, where it was only people who had already attended marches going, with a more developed, or more elaborate speech.
 But at the same time it is also part of a sort of people’s patriotic mythos. The left has always had that going on, exalting the homeland; the communists, even some anarcho-syndicalists proposed re-conceiving of the nation. Like, the idea that there is the oligarchs’ Chile and the people’s Chile. Or criollo Chile and mestizo Chile, mestizos being mixed race and criollos being born from European parents. The story goes that criollo Chile mixed with Spanish royalty, and mixed-race Chile with this new nation, with this population that was becoming independent. So there’s also that popular mythos. I think that also happens a little with the Mapuche flag. The fact that the protesters carry the Mapuche flag can be seen from the perspective of the Mapuche resistance, like some sort of a mythos, like talking about a mythological warrior past.
 In terms of flags, that’s what you see the most, the Chilean flag and the Mapuche one. Actually, we’re only just now seeing communist parties’ flags. After more than 20 days of revolt some Trotskyists have appeared with their flags. There are also black and anarchist flags, but they are few. People are more concerned with other things than carrying flags, because the confrontations are, well, let’s just say that if you’ve got a flag in your hands on the frontline instead of something else, you’re just asking to get shot.

There’s a new phenomenon, the black Chilean flag too. I don’t know any anarchists that carry it, but it is more interesting than the typical flag. Actually the black flag is an international symbol of strike, or mourning, so it’s used here with both meanings.

Interviewer: Do you think anarchists have lost some opportunities, or something like that, by not being more visible or recognizable on the streets. Do you know what I mean?

Anarchist: You mean, like, is there a political presence that’s missing? Well, more than an anarchist political movement, there is an anarchist spirit in all this, you know? Obviously it has been created after many years of people protesting in the street violently against the police, against the symbols of capitalism; because it is no coincidence that the protests from the last 20 days have attacked those targets, it’s taken years. It’s a tradition, a sign, which reflects a lot of the ground that anarchism has gained, in schools, about certain topics that have been approached, even in areas such as art, or music.

Music has been an especially important form of dissemination, because much of the revival of anarchism in this territory was born from counterculture: Hip hop, punk, etc. Now it’s diminishing, in fact punk is something in retreat within anarchism, and there is a diversity of people. There are many otakus too, curiously.

But I think everybody was caught off-guard, in the sense of not being able to respond in an articulated way. Well, there is strong coordination within affinity groups, this country has always had small coordinated affinity groups, and of course they do not devote much time to written propaganda, or pamphlets, but to sharpen the actions, to agitation or to show up and interrupt at certain places, and then disappear.

Interviewer: Just as a comment on both the cultural influence of anarchism and it’s lack of a political presence in the streets, I’ve been blown away seeing people, covered entirely in black except for the eyes, actually, even with the eyes covered by goggles, but holding a sign that says “hashtag constitutional assembly.”

Anarchist: Ah, sure, let’s say that the anarchists, or the most combative sectors such as radical Marxists or things like that, maintained that tradition of struggle and have been the ones who have popularized the hood and masking up. What happens is that the hood now became a symbol. In fact, much broader than it was in 2011, because in 2011 there was also a kind of solidarity with those who masked up, because it was understood that they protect their faces from identification, but now, being in the front line, going to face the police is more validated than I had ever seen in my life, at least in this country.

Also, if the current situation has been of any use, it is that many colleagues, even nihilists, because we move in a more or less broad political spectrum, they have told me they are abandoning the idea that the population was dead and that there’s nothing to do. That’s being erased a little from their heads. I mean, this has exceeded any expectations. To see normal people facing the cops, burning things, looting things and distributing them to the people. So, it is like a communal learning that is taking place. The police pellets hit a lot of eyes, because nobody thought of wearing goggles, but since people discovered that they were shooting at our faces, they started wearing goggles. Then the lasers, a laser was seen in a video one day and it calls people’s attention, then you could see two or three the next day, and now you see around 50 lasers, or more. Same with the gas masks, same with first-aiders. Also, the same in popular assemblies, they don’t start discussing the TV opinion anymore, because in this country that’s the official opinion, and people believe what TV tells them to; but the situation now brings you to speak to your neighbor, which didn’t happen before. And this is important because, as our parents and grandparents tell us, it used to be common to discuss politics in public. It’s coming back, little by little. You can talk politics at home again, and in schools. Obviously what’s happening now won’t solve things, it’s a revolt but it’s not the revolution, but these lessons learned are important, and they bring people together.

Nobody is isolated from the current situation. This is very important because this democracy is a very good mask that the dictatorship created, along with this lie that economic progress brings happiness to all. And now we’re seeing the consequences of such progress.

Just think about it, more than 23 days, more than 25 deaths, more than 200 crippled, I don’t even know how many are missing or disappeared, people have been tortured, raped, and we have achieved NOTHING, we haven’t even toppled the government. For example, in Lebanon the government was kicked out, maybe they’ll get close in Hong Kong too. But I don’t think that will happen here, because the Chilean democracy has generated a lot of confidence in institutionality. And that was achieved by the left, who convinced the people that institutionality was something new, when it was always the same as before. And those sleeping pills that the left gave us stopped working, because people now understood that both socialists and the far-right UDI work the same way, and for the same people. That’s the funny part, that the Chilean high class doesn’t care much which party is elected, because they have agreements with both sides of the political spectrum. They have always done this.

Interviewer: It has been impressive to me that so many people have been so willing to fight the police and be so destructive. And not only that but also there are other people who cheer it on and support it through their social media. Socially, that has been impressive to me. But also, I have seen many people claiming some acts to be staged, and that has been the way they don’t support an action, to not evaluate the strategy.

Anarchist: I:**There’s a taboo in the left. They want to be associated with being pure, correct, and the judgment or punishment for making a “mistake” or something unlawful is harsh. So, there’s perhaps some fear from the left that makes them reject irrational acts, common crimes, or even violence, which is not accidental but intended.

I think that’s a result of the way the left entered democracy. The official left made an agreement with the dictatorship, and offered to turn in the subversive groups. That’s what Aylwin did with his presidency. So, the left uses the narrative that everything is staged, in order to validate itself with those in power. The Frente Amplio coalition and other progressive groups are doing that: they approve the state as long as they are participants in it. They want to stand at the front of this movement and say, “we are representing these people.” Actually, I think the constitutional assembly idea came from them. Additionally, the Frente Amplio includes a group of libertarians who are supposedly anarchists, and their strategy is called “democractic rupture”, which proposes to enter the official institutions, to break them from the inside… quite naive. Actually, I think it’s not naive, I think it’s their intention, because they want power actually. Now, those same people are supporting the neighborhood assemblies, which for a long time they didn’t want to promote. There is a double discourse, like there always is whenever the people on the streets set the demands, and the politicians appropriate them to use them to gain power.

Because people who usually tend to say that everything was a set-up, or a montaje, are people who have really never been to a protest and they don’t see how things work. There are people who do nothing but watch the developments from their home. My dad has that opinion constantly, while of course, there are obviously intelligence operations from the cops and the military, because here the military has some of the more hardcore intelligence agencies, and also there’s obviously people who are masked up but undercover, who do nothing but provoke, and that’s real and it will always exist, but that doesn’t mean it’s everything. Here, it’s like very easy—if you never go to protests and don’t know what the dynamic is like—to say, “oh yeah they’re all agents provocateur.” But when you go to a protest and see, what? That there’s more supposed “provocateurs” than all the police force of Santiago? That’s impossible! These are people that learned that you can gain things by fighting, and as more time passes more and more people, especially the youth, know it. And that’s going to be very dangerous for the future governments. It really will be a before and after.

The Chilean left has a democratic tradition. So, for example, the left is not going to publicly celebrate the death of a policeman. They will not celebrate, for example, the attack on a police station. Because there is this tradition that democracy, first and foremost, must be taken care of. It’s because Chile has been one of the least … I mean, one of the countries with more democratic continuity than most in Latin America. And that favors institutionality, but more of the exploited every day realize that it’s a trap. Because doing things legally takes longer… I don’t know, for example, applying for social housing takes much longer than if you go and take the land, along with other settlers. And that kind of thing, which used to happen a lot in Chile, is starting to happen again because the need for it will lead people to do it.

And the youth doesn’t care at all, because the older left are saying “Constitutional Assembly”. They do not say “Revolution”, or “Que se vayan todos”, or “Self-government”, they say “Constitutional Assembly.” That’s because the left took the reins of the revolt and tried to establish its own demands, instead of the demands that are being fought in the streets. In the end we all know that Piñera, even if he makes a constitutional assembly, it’s going to be laughable. The bourgeoisie gets violent only when its privileges are in danger, and this time we have not even touched their privileges. When we really threaten their privileges, they will do the same thing they did with our grandparents: massively exterminate them.

Maybe we are just starting to touch their privileges, maybe. Yesterday there was an occupation at the land of the Cousiño, which were the family that brought electric lighting and the train to Chile. They’re one of the most important families in this country. And yesterday people attacked three military barracks. Thankfully the militia did not start shooting because it would have been a massacre, but people like, five years ago would have never thought about throwing a stone at a military barracks, it was just unthinkable, and now people are doing it.

Interviewer: And, it was unthinkable previously because it was scary, or did the military just not seem as relevant of a target as they do now, after the week of martial law in October?

Anarchist: Everyone knows that the military are the most corrupt institution in this country, more than the police, even more than politicians. The military were given all the advantages because they were the cannon fodder that made neoliberalism in Chile, as it always has been really. And their price was that they get the best retirement funds and other benefits. On top of that, they steal tons of money. Everyone knows that the soldiers are involved. The problem is that all of us, my generation, has been getting over the fear of the military, the fear that our parents or our mothers or our older sisters taught us. Because it really was an irrational fear, to the extent of feeling sick just by seeing soldiers on the street. And the newer generation, like 20 year olds, they no longer have that vivid memory, of their parents telling them “watch out for the soldiers”, because their parents were children when the dictatorship ended. Or they were young at least, like 10 years old or something. So I feel that this generational change has managed to break the social fear of repression. Our parents, our grandparents would tell us “don’t do stupid things, something will happen to you, better stay calm, better keep working.” With the mentality of “I better not get into trouble because they are going to kill my whole family and they are going to torture me.” And people who are fighting with the police now no longer have that fear.

Interviewer: What else is new? Like, new forms of organization? New tactics? What has called your attention the most?

Anarchist: Well, it’s like I’d been telling you before, about how people aren’t afraid to talk to their neighbors and strangers. Now, for example, everywhere you go you can ask anyone, I don’t know, “give me water, help me out with some baking soda, help me carry this,” even if you don’t know them or who they are, it’s like, there’s a general trust that broke the very strong Santiago apathy… There’s a little more empathy for one another.

Before people in Santiago were really apathetic, very violent, and very angry and all that.

But yesterday, for example, I saw at a bus stop a huge line of cars that were picking people up because public transportation stopped working at 4pm yesterday. And that’s something that is unheard of in this country. I mean people have behaved in this way whenever there were catastrophes, which happen frequently in this country, like flooding, earthquakes, etc. But this has been stronger than that, because it’s like people are realizing the power they have when they cooperate on the street when they’re together.

So, for example, yeah, there’s tactics where people wear helmets, eye protection, they’re more covered up, people will tell you “hey, cover yourself like this”, “breathe this way”, “use baking soda”, etc. And these are lessons that nobody has written down, but that everyone talks about, and this transmission of knowledge has never been more fast or immediate. And, of course, you find out about interesting things, like people carrying ropes to take down poles or security cameras. And also—because before you’d go to a protest and feel afraid, in the sense that, because there weren’t many people, cops would for sure search you, so no one dared to carry many supplies. Now, no one searches you because cops don’t have the capacity to control everyone going to the protests, therefore, people take anything they can, from helmets to firecrackers. Yesterday there were a couple guys with like some firecrackers attached to a little gas container, and they’d light them, throw them and…pfff! Like these French things, and things that nobody knew about here, but that people have started to learn about just by sharing stuff on the internet.

I also think the biggest thing people have learned is that the street is where to you go to win things. Because this country used to be very civil, and elections this, and voting that. But also, not many people would go vote, only about 4 or 5 million people when the spectrum of voters was more like 13 million, or something like that. And think that if those kids hadn’t evaded the metro, in massive waves, and they hadn’t burned the stations, none of this would be happening. Nobody would’ve said “oh yeah, you’re actually right.”

Interviewer: And how much of this “learning” and its speed has been due to social media?

Anarchist: I think that if social media didn’t exist, people would be learning from each other anyway.

There’s a lower level of education going on too, from very naïve things, like kids who post selfies from the march looking for likes, to people who post information on Twitter that traditional media won’t show. Today, everything is recorded, so we all see when some driver runs over 3, 4 people. And we see when a cop beats a young kid who’s already on the ground… Or when they shoot point blank… Things that, if you didn’t see on social media, would be hard to believe. That perhaps a regular citizen doesn’t believe, like “no, how can it be possible that Carbineros de Chile, the institution with the most credibility in this country, goes into a school to shoot pellets at young girls?”

Interviewer: It’s true, you can find a lot on social media, but for example, I was trying to make a meme earlier today and I couldn’t really find images of acts committed by encapuchados. I was blown away because, well there are a lot of spectacular things to take photos of, but the combat is some of the most spectacular for me,

Anarchist: Ok, so we’re more than 20 days in, and cops started arresting protesters after day 10. As in, arresting them for investigations, like for example, they just grabbed a bunch of kids in Providencia because of facial recognition, because the cameras in Providencia have facial recognition. And there’s also people who’ve been caught because of Instagram stories, because people upload and upload, and then cops check all your friends’ stories, and there you are doing this, that, or the other. So people are talking about downloading apps like Telegram or Signal, of not taking your phones to the protest. In fact, when people are doing things that would be considered pretty illegal, they ask not to be filmed or they’ll toss people’s phones. It’s like this collective learning also has to do with security, in part because Chileans are kinda like, like we’ll do something and then go boast to the whole world about it, to look good.

There’s not much humility. Because also this thing with the capucha, or hood, has to do with machismo, with who’s the most hardcore, the most warrior, the coolest. And that’s counterproductive to subversion in general, because it’s easy to be watched, caught, and even killed. Because, “oh nobody messes with me, ‘cause I’m more violent than the person next to me”, which is something you see a lot, but also something that’s been questioned a lot, because we all know that we function better by being in solidarity with the person next to us, than by competing with the person next to us. And that’s on all levels of life, in confrontations with police, in small kiosks on the corner, and even making breakfast.

Interviewer: Ok, changing the subject, I want to talk about the symbols of this revolt. It’s been impressive to me how quickly this culture of resistance has formed, and how on the street you really get a whole lesson on Chilean history from all the posters and signs. As Chileans, does this also catch your attention?

Anarchist: Just as the front lines discovered that they can throw firecrackers directly at police, graffiti artists discovered that they can write more than just their own signature, and now the streets are full of huge graffiti art with much more conscious messages. All of that is also a change that many people feel, that they’re all fighting for the same thing. Since this thing started, the walls are where you can get information, because people also finally realized (as if it wasn’t painfully obvious before) that the TV lies and manipulates people’s opinions.

There’s lots of creativity. Always new posters, a ton of new memes daily.

There’s even television personalities that have lost their jobs because people are so done with having to see them on TV… I don’t know of any other place where that’s happened.

I think that’s been a good thing that the public is losing their trust in the media. Like people are more talking directly to each other…I don’t know like I’ve ridden buses where people start talking, and then shouting slogans, even the old ladies.

There’s also a lot of people, especially on the left, who act like martyrs, like politics is all about suffering and seriousness. Very like “no, this is not the moment to laugh”, and, yes, we have to be conscious that there’s people who have died, and been tortured, and raped, and I don’t think you can minimize that in any way. But I do think it’s a celebration in some way, a celebration of people who just exploded. I’ve never seen people in Santiago smile so much like they have since those kids started evading the metro. From people who have been surprised, like all of us, at seeing people united for something again, to people who would even cry, and I’ve never seen that, I’ve also gotten emotional because it’s like waking up in a different country. Post-Chile. It’s like we’re finally a Latin American country! Haha. Like we’re trying to be less like the gringos, because this country was made to be just like the gringos.

Here the whole world can joke about things that are pretty cruel, like a dark humor, and I think it’s a way of dealing with all of the shit. It’s like…let’s turn this tragedy into a comedy. So, it’s impressive that all this has happened in one of the most depressed countries in the world. And all of the revolt is helping, even if it’s a little bit, and that’s something that should be valued. It’s like, they’ve taken so much away, so taking back that joy and making it our own…and not because we took some really great drugs, or we went to a concert and paid 100,000 pesos, or because we bought the latest flat screen…but it’s because we went out and celebrated with our neighbors, and people are smiling like they’ve never smiled before. And I think that’s more valuable than anything else.

Interviewer: Ok, speaking of joy and all that, I wanted to ask you about your own rollercoaster of emotions. If you can remember, what were the moments when you thought it was all over, if you were afraid in those moments, and then when it didn’t stop, how did you feel, nervous? Happy? Has it been a rollercoaster for y’all?

Anarchist: I mean, yeah, it definitely has been. Because you went from surprise at first, like “wow”, to worry when they brought out the military on the streets and you started hearing about people who disappeared or died, and really strange situations. More than just the dead, you’d hear about really Machiavellian things the army would do like kill people and then burn their bodies, or rape guys and girls, you know? Then, fear, worry, anger…lots and lots of anger, and also happiness from seeing how that anger was being directed above and not towards each other.

And also sadness for the protestors… Lots of anguish for the protestors that have been hurt, and for all the families that have lost a loved one. It’s a human drama, I mean, in the end, in 20 days there’s like over 25 dead…I don’t think there’s been any revolt recently in the world—or fine, maybe there have been in other places—but it takes a lot for this to happen and for the numbers to be this high, and also it’s strange that the whole world sort of minimizes what’s going on here.

Maybe on the international press level, 30 dead…is like nothing I mean, yeah, if you think that in Syria a bomb falls on a hospital and like 60 people die at once. But you have to think how this was the oasis of capitalism in Latin America, dude, it’s not a country at war. And that’s what…I think that’s why the press is very scared to show all of this, because this is the country where supposedly things were going alright. I feel that—and obviously considering the different proportions, I don’t mean to compare things—it’s like this is a country that wasn’t supposed to… like, the Russian revolution. The whole world thought the Russians would be the last people to have a revolution because they had no industry, and they were the first. The whole world thought that the more quiet countries, like France after the war, where there was a good stable economy, couldn’t have an insurrection, but they had one of the strongest in all of Europe.

And that scares them because things were so easy for capitalists here, they could do what they wanted here and that this is gonna start to end for them scares them. I mean, in fact, we were all getting ready for the APEC summit and now there’s no APEC, and what do we do? (laughs) It’s a huge victory, no one was ready for that.

Interviewer: What were you saying about how you don’t have to worry about sitting your kid in the front of the car anymore?

Anarchist: Ah! The twenty something days of impunity. Well, before this the police were hassling anyone with illegal work. And, since the economy is changing and there are more people in need of money street vending has grown a lot.

Interviewer: You mean with more immigrants?   Anarchist: No, no. All sorts. Everyone. Immigrants too of course. Obviously, people who don’t have permission to be here are kind of forced to be street vendors, but others too because there is not as much work as there used to be. It’s more precarious now

Society is getting more proletarianized and the police were worried about that, about municipal matters, and since there was all this panic about pickpocketing and street crimes, the cops were getting more violent, persecuting street vendors here in Santiago, even using undercovers. And just abusing anyone they arrest.

For example, there was one immigrant street vendor from Ecuador, Alberto Picuasi, he died being chased by the police and there were several marches in response to that.

Cases like that are coming into the public eye. Recently there were even two cops sentenced for targeting street vendors to torture.

And apart from that, there are things like the death of Macarena Valdes, so it is getting to be known that there are hit men who go after some of those who are against, broadly speaking, the capitalist project. So, that’s what it was feeling like before all of this.

And and top of all of that there has been an imposing police presence in the center, what with all the students throwing molotovs at the schools downtown, you know stuff like that. So for a long time now there has been a militarized presence of special forces, daily, checking young people’s backpacks.   Even in the parks they’re exerting more control like for people who drink on the streets and stuff like that. So we’ve been growing accustomed to seeing a very strong police presence all around, especially those of us in anarchist circles, where the police are often alert to your activity and there’s always police messing with any activity that comes with being anarchist, regardless of your tendency, you know?

Then, suddenly, everything broke out and the police are overwhelmed and don’t have enough staff and are working like, I don’t even know how many hours a day because there aren’t enough of them.

Anyway, we were so used to such a strong police presence that when the police control shattered, well, now everyone is… hyper… free. Yes, hyper-free, people driving cars against traffic, not even because there’s barricades or something in the street but just for the hell of it. People are also bothering the traffic cops who direct traffic when there are no stoplights and hit them or humiliate them. Not paying the bus has become so effective that even the bus drivers, the workers themselves are opening all the doors, telling people to come in to go downtown to protest. A couple of days ago I saw the fare controllers, with their red vests, on the job, encouraging people to get on the bus without paying, saying they weren’t going to be checking.

And that has been happening at a macro level. For example, the street vending in downtown is now massive. I mean, everyone is showing up to sell now that there aren’t beat cops assaulting vendors, which had been an everyday thing. The city ceased to go on as it had been going for so many people. It’s very noticeable. It opened up this like, pocket of illegality. Everyone is taking advantage of that.

Of course, the hatred of those who steal from their own people has greatly increased. Like intra-neighborhood cat burglars. But, as I said it has been twenty-something days of impunity, and truly, I have seen scenes that I never thought could happen. Like, people looting stores and distributing all the things. In Valparaíso, for example, they looted a pharmacy and donated all the loot to a local public hospital, the Gustavo Fricke, whose funds had been cut from the state, the government wasn’t even supplying them anymore. This is the kind of stuff that’s been happening, like, stuff you can’t fully wrap your head around and it almost sounds like an anecdote from revolts a hundred years ago that one reads about. You know?   It’s surreal. As if this were something out of those Latin American meagical realism stories. And some of them you only know about because of one blurry, poor quality video that happens to make it to the media—like when they toppled that enormous highway sign in Antofagasta. And you got burning churches and burning banks. You know? They’ve burned a bunch of places with paperwork from city government for example. Of course that kind of thing also serves the state in a way, since it erases a lot of their shady dealings, but I also believe that it freed a lot of people from fines and taxes and stuff like that.   There’s just been, like, a release of energy. Because it had been bottled up! So now, with the kids in revolt, you got like kids from the hood looting, even driving up to load up their trucks, there was this bus—oh man. This bus was coming along the street toward the mall in Puente Alto and this crew stopped the bus and made everyone get off, and used the bus to crash through the big metal gate to the mall, they just burst through this metal gate (crashing sounds) and everyone starts plundering the mall. And there’s a ton of people now selling this shit out on the street, you know, like brand name clothing for cheap.   Interviewer: Wow, these are some good stories   Anarchist: No, that’s nothing. This really has been generalized, it’s happening in Antofagasta, which is a city where like nothing happens but now the whole city is just invigorated. And it’s happening in Iquique and Calama and down to villages too. Just the other day in Talcahuano they burned the UDI, Unión Democrata Independiente headquarters. In a small town like Quillota they burned one of the courts. The youth are just raging in the streets, and it’s the rage of everybody, all of us.

Interviewer: Ok, recognizing that things are far from over, in the sense that there are new and significant conflicts every day, but are there any mistakes or missed opportunities that you can identify so far?

Anarchist: That’s really difficult to say. We’re still in the middle of it and it has not lost steam whatsoever. Nobody thought today would still be like the first day, in the sense of hundreds of thousands of people still hitting the streets whether it be in Plaza Italia or out in their neighborhoods.

As for mistakes, well there were opportunities lost in the sense that if we had been more organized, we could have marked a greater anarchist presence in like, everything, from the calls for neighborhood assemblies to the confrontations with the police… I mean both of those have also had an anarchist character, because, it’s like how they used to say, a revolt that is not an anarchist but that is like anarchic? In the sense that there are like, liberatory ideas being transmitted between people both in neighborhood assemblies and in things like redistributing loot, and so on.

No one has been buying the cops’ bullshit either. All this talk about how there were a thousand injured cops is a lie, there were like just over a hundred you know? And none of them had serious injuries or anything. Only recently have people started going out to shoot the police with firearms. It’s happened on Alameda, in the outskirts of the city like La Granja and La Renca because people are angry with the cops’ shameless abuse and their impunity. Everyone knows that nothing is going to happen to any cop, because they’d just kick up a fuss.

I mean, I actually think it’s an error to think that the things that are happening now wouldn’t happen. It’s a mistake, it’s naive to think that the accumulation of misery will not generate a response, be it social as it is now or, on the other hand, an anti-social response among that same society, like social cannibalism. We are immersed in an absolute social cannibalism and this led the rage to rise up to where it has to go you know? And a lot of the approaches of our compañeros and compañeras was concentrating on the idea that this would not happen. That “people are asleep, that people only want their cellphone,” and of course, in some ways some of that hasn’t changed, but one cannot also deny that years and years of misery will generate some kind of sudden outburst, just like we’ve seen. I mean, now there are people dead, people who were burned in fires, in all senses it’s been brutal, unthinkable especially for a place like here with the reputation of being a quote-unquote “tranquil” country.

But, I think that anarchists need to get a little more involved in reality than they are in discourse… because, for example, those of us who are more involved in community-level organizing have had more strength and actually been able to put anarchist ideas forward more quickly.

So like, I don’t think it’s wise for us to keep underestimating how far this will keep going, because things are only going to get worse and we have to come up with some practical solutions to that problem. Not only theories and posing ideas but to have concrete projects going that can take care of concrete needs such as feeding ourselves. For example, it would be much more entertaining to, I don’t know, all go to an assembly and, let’s see, talk about all the houses that we built or to see how to distribute medications throughout the neighborhood and things like, you know, solutions? That may be a bit reformist but they make the practice of struggle part of your day-to-day.

It opens the gap and you start to question the bad habits we all have. As a neighbor or in interpersonal relationships you know? Like, it opens up a space for empathy and if we had had the opportunity to have been better organized at a time like this it would have been very, very useful. Something’s been set off, and lots of comrades are also understanding that the discourse that is mega-nihilist and antisocial of, “fuck everything down to my nextdoor neighbor” just isn’t in touch with reality, and it’s not practical. In the end we are much stronger together. Hopefully that can make up for the fact that within the same movements there are a lot of internal contradictions that keep us from coming together because people aren’t willing to take responsibility for how they treat each other, they’re more preoccupied with other concerns, and that ends up in an atmosphere of distrust.

Interviewer: Can you give me some examples of what you mean?

Anarchist: I mean, many of the things that can really create divides take place at a kind of personal level, and this gets transmitted to the people they hang out with and it ends up with grudges against people who don’t even know about it.

Or there’s that typical sort of patriarchal competition of, “I have a better project than yours and I am more radical than you,” you know? Things that contribute more towards making a ghetto than producing an idea of expanding participation throughout society.

And a lot of comrades, I mean I’ve been talking to plenty of compas, getting their opinions and asking questions, and everyone is realizing that of course it’s useless to be so scattered and disjointed. Not because we should be a single organization, I’m not proposing anything at all like that.

But even the right are recognizing that more and more people are looking for radical solutions. It was incredible to see how right-wing politicians were speaking last week. Their discourse is even more socialist than the socialists, with talk about giving up their privileges. It’s something very strange in Chile. But, like I said, we missed the opportunity to give it even more momentum at the beginning. And of course now that it’s happening all the anarchists are concerned with how to keep it going. Even comrades who were, like, against violence or found it counterproductive. It is not the time to stay at home watching how things unfold, nor is it time to condemn other tendencies because they’re trying to make something happen, or call anyone yellow or reformist because they want to participate with their neighbors and get them organized.

Interviewer: Well, what are some things that could divide the movement?

Anarchist: Historically, the conditions are there for a fascist populism to emerge. Something of the sort of Perón, or Humala for example in Peru, something even like Chávez himself. You know? Latin-americanist, etcetera with a very military sense.   I think that what might gain traction at first, at least, this is what the state has tried to do since this began, is try to divide us as always between the good protesters and the bad protesters. Between criminals and common citizens, even though, at first the state was treating everyone who went out to protest as criminals. The problem for the state is that out in the streets that division doesn’t exist. The people going peacefully understand more and more that they need the hooded ones. And, the hooded ones understand more and more that they need the people who are going to come and make a crowd and be there. You know?

This division is something that happens in the media, yes, but out in the street when people are protesting, and especially those for whom it’s their first time in the streets, that division, that false impression gets completely erased. The problem is that this lie is also encouraged by the leftist groups that want to legalize this problem. Like take the Frente Amplio political coalition who have already spoken badly of everyone masking up, and already spoken badly of the students, the looting too. Because they are mostly bourgeois people who don’t understand that it’s a privilege to have a pair of pants or a flat screen or whatever, even if it’s not a basic need who cares. Whereas if you have the opportunity to gather up your friends from the neighborhood and go grab everything for free and even give things to your mom? Hell yeah, get it. It’s like two different realities, and even though I don’t directly live that reality either, it’s still something you can understand as long as you have half a brain, that one person’s reality isn’t the only one.   There’s also been a division, like, very much along the lines of class. For example from the LGBT movement or feminist marches or environmentalist marches have all been very inter-classist. You saw tons of people who gave you the feeling that they had never been to Plaza Italia before, suddenly coming down and marching with their school class or with their own association, and they were getting outraged that there were people grafitting, because there were people who chanted chants against the bourgeois. In fact, the climate march was full of these kinds of arguments and confrontations within the march.

Of course where you will find upper class people depends on whether you’re on the frontlines or in the back partying, but those kinds of arguments are much less common now, even though upper class people are still showing up, but at the same time it’s surprising that they’re still coming out, that it’s lasted this long.

Because at the same time you have the yellow vests, who also sprung out of this and are pushing forward other politics

Interviewer: Can you explain a little bit about the particularity of what a yellow vest represent in Chile, versus, say, in France?

Anarchist: Ah well, the yellow vests, which is a different movement here from what’s happening in France, are a group of supposedly neutral neighbors who want to defend property and stop looting. As in any dictatorship there were a lot of rumors about people looting houses or like, small businesses. Things that hadn’t happened. Or, maybe happened on a small scale.

And so the yellow vests emerged as this reactionary group of citizens who want to defend private property, whether it’s that of the large multinationals or a neighborhood business. There have been some really pathetic videos of yellow vested vigilantes chasing, like, people who weren’t even there, just ghosts in their head, all the way to the corner of the block. Or yellow vests getting angry at poorer people or people of color simply walking through their neighborhood, and pointing at them as if they were looters and so on.   And when the march went up to Costanera Center that one day you saw bougie people on their porches with golf clubs. Fucking golf clubs!

Then on top of all that you have that white supremacist gringo who shot a protester, and this old man who was a lawyer in las Condes who started shooting at the people who were going to protest. The only “good” side of the whole vigilante thing is that the mask is really coming off. That mask of equality before the law, that mask of, “in democracy, we are all equal.” Of course, that has always been a lie and now more than ever people are realizing that it is a lie. Like, social peace ensures that democracy works with a very good mask, and now that the social peace broke down everyone can see for themselves what democracy really is.   Interview: One last question. From the outside what can anarchists or anyone else who hears this podcast do to support the struggle?   Anarchist: Something that has worked in the sense that like, for example, the APEC summit was suspended, the COP 25 was suspended, the final game of the Copa Libertadores was moved outside of Chile… there is even a call to boycott the national football championship, and you have to see all that in terms of, all these things are the investments of people who earn a lot of money from them and that a boycott means subtracting a lot of money from those kinds of things. I don’t know, I feel that at this moment to leave Chile looking bad internationally is like the best you can do. Like, going to embassies, even if it feels like a liberal or small gesture, even not buying Chilean goods, stuff like that. Those are gestures, in the end, like moral gestures for the struggle. Like distributing texts or flyers against Chile or saying that in Chile people are still tortured the same as before, to graffitiing the embassy or annoying Chilean politicians who live in other places. Something that some compañeros and compañeras are already doing around the world. You know? There have been interventions at embassies Belgium, in Greece, in Italy. I think it helps, to leave Chile looking badly. Especially considering how it’s seen from the outside as a paradise for capitalists to invest in, so when it looks bad we are going to subtract business from the capitalists in a country that is very important for capital. That is what I think is best and to also to spread word of the situation that exists: with the prisoners, the wounded, the dead, since the media and the government try to keep those details from circulating outside of Chile.   I mean, this is the most neoliberal country in Latin America, and it rose up regardless. But we’ve been influenced by what happened in Ecuador, that had a lot of influence in the current clash. We’ve also been encouraged with the struggle in Hong Kong, and enlivened by the struggle in Rojava, and energized by the struggle in Catalonia and so on.   Interviewer: And did news about the mass fare evasions in New York make it down here?   Anarchist: Of course! These gestures show that we’re not just here in the trenches fighting for a country, but we are starting to rethink the capitalist model of life and starting something else. Because obviously capitalism, with everything that’s coming, is going to get more and more brutal every day and we need to have a practical answer. And, I think that, that’s why I told you about May 68 before. Of course, it is not to compare the two events but… if these are historical situations that start to break the myth of government, and that’s important not only in this country or territory or people, but for anyone who lives under those conditions. We are all dominated, both in Hong Kong as in Chile. By capitalism or Beijing or I don’t know what else… Caracas! We all live under capitalism and the precariousness of life and neither the state’s socialist project nor the extreme capitalist project serves as a solution for anything except to continue creating privileged classes at the expense of the rest of us. So hopefully the rupture here serves to create another kind of solution besides state socialism or capitalism.   Interviewer: Thank you so much. Is there anything else you’d like to add?   Anarchist: Just, hi mom! Like they say here, “against all authority except my mom’s.”   I don’t know, I think that this has to go on and that we have to keep organizing at a practical level. For solutions and to truly satisfy our needs, we need to fuel the fight until it gets stronger and more interesting because something broke and we have to keep breaking it   That, and keep spreading propaganda and organizing sites such as LaPeste.org or Anarquia.info or ContraInfo, those help to see a sort of fuller picture. There have been really interesting analyses coming out of all kinds of groups, but I think that what we are lacking is a greater production of anarchist strategy knowledge, and it’s much needed.  

CONSTITUTIONAL ASSEMBLY

Clara: The biggest political development we need to address since the last episode is that President Piñera has actually announced that there will be a process to change the constitution. For an anarchist perspective on why no constitutional assembly will guarantee us freedom, we have the following communiqué from Grupo Solenopsis, titled, “Faced with the constitutional assembly and the government’s repressive agendA: What is the anarchist proposal in the Chilean revolt?”

Grupo Solenopsis: It’s been a month now since the start of the revolt in the Chilean region and the political class still does not seem to understand what’s behind the massive protests. The many expressions of discontent have not stopped despite all of the repression by Piñera’s government. Far from responding to social unrest—generated by an extreme neoliberal system that has commodified life and stolen enormous areas of land—the state has criminalized protests. Although the government has tried to appear receptive to the demands and needs of the population, it does not intend to lay hands on the neoliberal model, wagering instead on the movement’s attrition and trying to break it by dividing peaceful and violent protesters. So, on November 7th, Piñera announced a package of repressive laws and called a meeting of the National Security Council (COSENA). Then on November 12th, the National Security Council declared that police numbers had to be increased by bringing back those in retirement, threatened the protests with the “internal security law” (which has already seen its first victims, those who allegedly attacked the Santiago metro), and called for a pact for social peace. This call was picked up by the so-called “left” opposition—The Frente Amplio coalition and ex-Concertación (Concertación being the coalition of center-left political parties at the beginning of the return to democracy). These political parties agreed with the government on November 15th to pursue a new constitutional process. This essay seeks to expose and reflect on the revolt’s current situation, looking at the ways out proposed by the political class, and consider an anarchist position and proposals in this context. After lifting the state of emergency, pulling the military off the streets, and making a haphazard cabinet change, Piñera’s government—as predicted—continued to criminalize the revolt, trying to create a divide between peaceful and violent demonstrators. The latter included barrabravas (soccer hooligans), common thieves, anarchists, and alleged foreign infiltrators, among others. This was a crude attempt at constructing a new internal enemy that justified the use of anti-subversive tactics and the brutal repression of anyone found protesting in the streets. In that vein, several authorities have tried to summon up the figure of the yellow vest as a citizen agent in defense of private property, directing actions against the masked and the looters, including calls to bear arms against the protests. This has spurred the appearance of fascists in the streets, armed with pistols to put a stop to the demonstrations.

In spite of all this, protesters’ rejection of the official media for its criminalizing and unsupportive coverage of the social movement demonstrates the failure of this policy. This is due to the widespread acceptance of self-defense, which has become a necessity in the face of the violent police attacks against each demonstration as well as the use of systematic torture, political sexual violence, and mutilation as methods of intimidation. Indiscriminately shooting point blank at protesters—which has literally left hundreds without an eye—has elevated criticism from national and international bodies to the point that the general of the Carabineros’ announced the reduction and control of the use of this tactic. However, there have been no real changes in the streets.

The repressive onslaught by the “forces of order” shouldn’t surprise us. The armed forces, just like the police, have been training in urban anti-subversive guerrilla techniques for years. This began in 2012, when a UN school of urban repression was installed in Fort Aguayo, with financial assistance from the US Army’s Southern Command. The failure of the government in “reestablishing order” and imposing its security agenda is laid bare in the fact that the opposition has forced it to accept the idea of changing the constitution. It has wagered on using congress as a means to do this, though, in what is clearly a move to limit the possible radical changes that seek to eradicate the extreme neoliberal model inherited from the dictatorship and the Concertación.

Impelled by people’s organizations as well as several opposition parties—mainly the Frente Amplio and the Communist Party—councils have started to spread as discussion spaces, where the constitutional assembly has been brought up as a way out—and as a pacification—of the revolt. This position seems to garner a lot of resonance among the populace, and it is a dangerous social democratic proposal that seeks to channel the revolt and insurrection into democratic and institutional channels. It shouldn’t be forgotten that the Chilean word for these councils, cabildo, is a colonial institution of public discussion. It advocates an elitist form with limited participation by the population, and was the mechanism that Michelle Bachelet’s second administration (from 2014–2018) used to push for a new constitution. That attempt saw scant participation with little to hold it together and ended up getting thrown out by Piñera’s second administration. A new constitution is the main trap used to stop any radical change, and its support by many business owners and government supporters should alert us to its true objective.

Faced with these positions, the question is, as anarchists, where are we in the revolt? What is our proposal? As several comrades have stated, anarchists have been in the street from the very first moment, on the front line clashing with the police, sharing barricades, cacerolazo pot-and-pan demos, and in the assemblies with the rest of the population, debating and airing anti-authoritarian positions and insight. The ferocity of the repressive forces has opened the eyes of thousands, who now understand the need for masks and beg forgiveness from the Mapuche people for not listening to them when they denounced state terrorism in their communities. The extent of hatred towards the police and the armed forces has led to numerous attacks on barracks and a leak, by hackers, of many carabineros’ personal information and addresses. They also leaked intelligence on investigations against union, student, and social movement leaders. Many prejudices towards anarchist ideas have dissipated in the past few weeks. The rupture lets us dream of anarchist practices extending. Counter to the councils, many territorial assemblies have sprung up (or expanded, for those that already existed). Their goals are to directly take care of our own needs and aspirations. The occasion seems ripe for all those who throw their lot in with free communities, without bosses, political parties, or state intervention, that manage their territories along collective interests. The territorial assemblies, anarchist assemblies, and the trawün have emerged as options for community self-determination. They seem to be a way of sowing anti-authoritarian content in the revolt, and have proven to be an alternative from below for exercising sovereignty in a spirit of solidarity, mutual aid, and insurgency in the face of the capitalist mode of production. A path that, to the extent that it stays away from the idea of constitutional change, could be an alternative for the dreams of freedom and a life that’s worth it. Achieving autonomy is a matter of daily efforts, and there’s no perfect recipe for how to do it. That’s why it’s hard to say whether the neighborhood assemblies will actually be a key step towards our emancipation, but without a doubt they are fertile ground for germinating these ideas. However, we can say, without any reservation, that the new constitution is not a sufficient response to the collapse of capitalism nor the crisis of civilization that threatens to extinguish us along with millions of other species. Now is not the time to hold back the insurrectionary impulse nor to put the brakes on attacking capital and its institutions, just as it’s also necessary both to keep pushing for organization without hierarchy and to keep focusing on nurturing any liberated space we’ve gained.

A change in the constitution or government won’t help us against capitalist greed. It’s time to embrace liberty and take control of our lives. For a world in harmony with nature and the rest of existence, we won’t hold back our attack against the state and capital. We must keep struggling, because this is far from over.

Grupo Solenopsis / LaPeste.org
gruposolenopsis@riseup.net
November 15, santiago, región chilena

JOKER

Clara: And now…. for something different. One of the many symbols of resistance that appear in graffiti, on signs, in costume form is the Joker, from the recent Hollywood movie. Around Halloween we asked one demonstrator dressed as the Joker what the fuck that was all about… is it because Joker actor Joaquin Phoenix wore a circle A Animal Liberation Front hoodie to the movie’s premiere or what?

Clara: Here we are on Alameda near metro Universidad Catolica, shit’s going down, and who are we talking to and what are you dressed as?

Alanis: My name is Matias and I’m dressed as the Joker.

Clara: And…why?

Alanis: Because here the people feel like the Joker reflects the idea of rebellion, and we’re in a state of rebellion here. People ask to take my photo all the time, they want to feel the comraderie of the Joker at their side.

Clara: Ok. And is it true that they took the Joker out of theaters once everything kicked off here in October?

Alanis: Yeah, it’s true. Well, some theaters did. Capitalist and corporate cinemas took it out, worried that it would foment more rebellion. But here, for example, right here on Alameda, there’s a cinema that is showing it, but it’s an art theater that is showing it out of solidarity. They also host a first-aid station in their lobby during the protests.

Clara: And why do you believe the movie resonated so much with people?

Alanis: Because the people here can identify with the image of society presented in the movie. And in the film he’s telling people to wake up, and here Chile has awoken from 30 years of being subjected, of being asleep, but now we have woken up and this isn’t going to stop until things truly, definitively change. Piñera talks of normality but there won’t be normality until things finally change, to the satisfaction of the people.

Clara: Thanks Joker! We won’t laugh at you anymore. Anything else to add?

Alanis: Just, if anyone in Chile hears this interview, just keep up the fight, this can’t stop until things change so keep fighting and let’s do it! But not just Chile, all lationamerica, all the comrades fighting in Bolivia, in Ecuador, Argentina too!

TOTAL CHAOS

Clara: Our last interview this episode is with the legendary anarcho-punk band Total Chaos, whose Latin-American tour brought them to Santiago in the middle of week four of the revolt in Chile.

Interviewer: So who are we speaking with?

Rob Chaos: Rob Chaos, and I’m here in Santiago Chile.

Miguel Conflict: Yeah we play in Total Chaos, I’m Miguel Conflict, drums.

Interviewer: And, we heard that you’ve been here for a few days and have been down to Plaza de la Dignidad, ex-Plaza Italia. Can you tell us what you saw?

Miguel Conflict: It was a pretty insane situation, we just heard it there’s a lot of oppression going on right now, and they’re trying to hold wages down so people can’t even afford to live, so it was just a matter of time before people rose up and actually did something about it. It’s like, it’s the real thing happening here man, and it’s actually starting to happen now all over the world as well. And it’s good to be here, and actually being able to celebrate it with them, and fight in that struggle with them. They explained everything to us, and we really sympathize with everything that’s going on here. It’s something that kind of that goes on, that happens in the entire world, but not everybody does something about it, you know? So it’s cool to see this type of revolution in the streets, you know what I mean?

Rob Chaos: Yeah, you know you got France with the yellow vests, and fucking China right now. And Libya, and Egypt. And, where else? There’s so many countries at this point. Bolivia! But I don’t trust Bolivia… because I believe that that was a U.S. coup. But whatever.

Interviewer: And did you see anything particularly inspiring?

Geordy Justify: The people here, it’s fucking, it’s really bad seeing what’s happening to the people. But it’s beautiful to see how united they are. Actually, we played a show in Geneva, in Switzerland a couple weeks ago, and there was a bunch of Spanish people outside the building that we played. So we were like what the fuck’s going on? So our drummer Miguel, because he speaks Spanish, he went up and asked and those people were protesting about the same thing. Those were people, Latin people, who were protesting about what’s going on with Chile right now. Like it’s a worldwide thing…

Interviewer: Great, thanks a million. Up the punx.

Miguel Conflict: So yeah, we’re Rob Chaos, Sean Smash, Miguel Conflict and Geordy man, Geordy Justify.

OUTRO

Alanis: And that’s it for the English half of the episode. If you speak Spanish, stick around for the original interviews we translated from. Don’t forget to check out our website at Crimethinc.com for a full English transcript of this episode, and to check out all the supplementary shownotes and links. You can e-mail us at podcast@crimethinc.com, and please do if you’d be willing to help us translate or transcribe our interviews from Spanish to English, or vice versa.

EN ESPAÑOL

Clara: Y ahora comenzamos con la parte del episodio en español. Si puedes ayudarnos transcribir nuestras entrevistas, por favor escribenos a podcast@crimethinc.com.

NO NOS ENGAÑARÁN

Primero, tenemos un analisis que se editó en crimethinc.com el 8 de Noviembre. Se llama, “No nos engañarán. Como la revuelta en Chile ha sobrevivido y burlado la represión del estado y unas preguntas para los movimientos por venir.”

Crimethinc.: A la fecha—viernes 8 de noviembre, 2019—el gobierno de Chile ha pasado las últimas tres semanas fluctuando una y otra vez entre estrategias de brutalidad letal, manipulación divisoria, y una pacificación engañosa sin aún lograr frenar la ola de resistencia. Los eventos de estas semanas nos ofrecen una útil plantilla de estrategias de represión estatal y cómo contrarrestarlas, burlarlas, y sobrevivirlas en el tiempo.

El 6 de octubre, el gobierno de Chile, encabezado por el rapaz multimillonario Sebastián Piñera, anunció un nuevo paquete de medidas de austeridad que empobrecerían aún más a la gente ya luchando por sobrevivir. Desafortunadamente para las autoridades, fue un momento inoportuno para apretarle el bolsillo a una población ya alborotada. Al día siguiente, en Ecuador, miles de indígenas llegaron a la capital para protestar un paquete de austeridad. Ocuparon el parlamento y chocaron con fuerzas policiales. El 14 de octubre, el gobierno ecuatoriano retrocedió, revocando la ley austera.

Ese mismo día, estudiantes saltaron a la acción en Chile organizando una serie de evasiones masivas en contra del alza en el costo del transporte público. Éstas culminaron el 18 de octubre con vandalismo, choques y ataques incendiarios que dañaron 16 buses y 78 estaciones de metro, así como varios bancos y otros edificios importantes, incluyendo las oficinas centrales de la empresa energética Italiana Enel. En represalia, Piñera anunció un estado de emergencia y toque de queda, esperando con ello apalear a la población y forzarlxs nuevamente a la sumisión.

Corre la sospecha que los incendios fueron premeditados o permitidos por las fuerzas de seguridad. Por cierto, se sabe bien que la policía chilena participa en operaciones encubiertas—y las agencias de inteligencia estadounidenses han realizado todo tipo de actividades para deslegitimar a los movimientos populares en Chile y más allá. No obstante, cuando sea que el pueblo consigue ganar a las autoridades en cualquier parte del mundo, los que dan por hecho que la única protagonista de la historia sea el estado siempre so lo atribuyen al trabajo de agentes provocadores. ¿Será realmente posible que todos los incendios provocados el día 18 de octubre fueron obra de agentes de la policía? ¿Qué ganaría el gobierno en planificar la destrucción de su propio sistema de tránsito? Igual atribuir los incendios a los agentes policiales parece una buena estrategia para deslegitimar a la policía en los ojos del público en general, pero puede surgir la secuela imprevista de enfocar la ira popular en los elementos más radicales o provocadores del movimiento—con el pretexto absurdo de que deben ser infiltrados de la policía. En lugar de legitimar las tácticas de enfrentamiento directo que a veces un movimiento poderoso debe emplear, este enfoqué implica que lo que falta es más y mejor vigilancia policial.

Aunque no se debe subestimar las maneras en que el estado puede actuar irracionalmente y en contra de sus propios intereses, resulta desalentador pensar que los movimientos populares no son capaces de utilizar tácticas de enfrentamiento directo. Las teorías de conspiración sobre los incendios ocultan su aspecto estratégico. Operaciones estatales de “bandera-falsa” tendrán el propósito de desacreditar el movimiento, y no de profundizar la crisis en si. En este contexto, parece más probable que los informes de los ataques sospechosos contra mercados de la clase obrera sean realmente obra de policías secretas, de la ultra-derecha, o bien, como unos han alegado, que la policía ocultan sus asesinatos echando las víctimas dentro de los edificios en llamas; pues en estos casos, por lo menos, sus motivaciones quedan claros. Pero las autoridades no tenían nada a ganar en intensificar el conflicto del día 18 de octubre, con el incendio de sus propias paradas de metro. Si por la destrucción de torniquetes, o bien el incendio de estaciones enteras, era precisamente por causar esta ruptura del statu-quo que los manifestantes hicieron que las circunstancias desesperadas de sus vidas cotidianas se convirtieran en un problema para los gobernantes, y así sentaron las bases para un movimiento expandido. Sin el vandalismo, el movimiento nunca hubiera llegado a ser la fuerza que hoy en día lo es.

Al día siguiente, el 19 de octubre, Piñera suspendió el alza en el precio del metro. La velocidad con la que él hizo esto muestra que él sabía que había empujado a la gente al límite. Si hubiera esperado para bajar el alza de los precios, quizás hubiera podido anunciarlo más tarde, para así darle a lxs manifestantxs una sensación de éxito, de logro, y de esa manera sacarles de las calles. Por el contrario, habiendo ya jugado con su suerte, tuvo que suspender el alza inmediatamente con la esperanza de poder aliviar algo del resentimiento social antes de que la crisis empeorara. No funcionó.

Para un gobierno, el objetivo de las concesiones no es nada más que un truco para hacer que suficiente gente salga de las calles para así aislarles y luego derrotar a quienes queden en las calles. El 20 de octubre, Piñera expande el estado de emergencia a todo el país, anunciando desde la sede del ejército de que su gobierno estaba “en guerra contra un enemigo poderoso e implacable.” Este gesto, y por sobre todo el lugar desde donde habló, fue una declaración no tan codificada de que pretendía regresar a Chile a un estado de violencia asesina de la dictadura de Pinochet.

Pero una vez más, la gente en las calles no retrocedió. La gente continuó manifestándose, incluso cuando el ejército hirió y mató gente, y se rehusaron a permitir que las autoridades crearan divisiones, manteniéndose unidxs con la misma cohesión que le ha dado una larga vida al movimiento de Hong Kong.

Es por eso que el 23 de octubre, Piñera se vio forzado a anunciar la suspensión del paquete de medidas austeras y la introducción de reformas menores – lo que chilenxs han estado llamando “migajas.” Nuevamente lxs chilenxs sabían que no debían ceder ante esto. Ese mismo día, los sindicatos de Chile declararon una huelga general. El 25 de octubre, se llevo a cabo la manifestación más grande en la historia de Chile, convocando a 1.2 millones de personas a las calles de Santiago demostrando así que apoyaban al movimiento que se originó desde actividad criminal masiva y continuó desafiando órdenes explícitas del gobierno.

Esto fue una gran derrota para Piñera – puso en evidencia que no podía ni resolver la situación por medio de fuerza bruta ni por medio de chantaje. Es por esto que el 26 de octubre, prometió levantar el estado de emergencia y cambiar su gabinete de ministrxs – sin darse de baja a él mismo. También cambió su retórica, felicitando a lxs chilenxs por manifestarse pacíficamente y sugiriendo una distinción entre familias respetuosas de la ley y criminales.

Resumamos: cuando Piñera no pudo contener al movimiento con violencia policial, intentó ganar tiempo con la suspensión del alza del pasaje de metro – mientras que al mismo tiempo declaraba ley marcial y movilizaba al ejército. Cuando esto no funcionó, cambió su estrategia a una de dividir y conquistar, halagando a la mayoría de lxs chilenxs al sugerir que sus preocupaciones eran legítimas y al mismo tiempo demonizando a lxs valientes manifestantes que comenzaron este movimiento.

Ahora que las cosas se han solapado—por no decir calmado—Piñera está tratando, nuevamente, de retornar a su estrategia original de uso de la fuerza bruta. El 7 de noviembre, propuso una serie de leyes para incrementar la penalización y criminalización de tácticas de protesta militante, incluyendo la auto defensa en contra de fuerza policial y el ocultar o proteger nuestra identidad en contra de la vigilancia de estado. Felicitar al movimiento por sus victorias, pero reprimir las formas en que éstas han sido conseguidas.

Más de 7000 personas han sido arrestadas y miles de personas heridas; a pesar de su obvia lealtad con los mercenarios uniformados del estado, la fiscalía admite la existencia de más de 800 demandas de abuso policial, tortura, violaciones y agresión. Piñera ha expresado su “total apoyo” para con la conducta de la policía y el ejército durante todos estos eventos, pero declarando que toda esta brutalidad no es suficiente. Además de arrestos, palizas, golpes, disparos y asesinatos, él quiere que la policía y el ejército puedan arrestar de manera masiva por períodos de tiempo extensos.

No nos equivoquemos, el movimiento en Chile no hubiera explotado de la manera en que lo hizo si no fuera por lxs estudiantes que organizaron acciones ilegales masivas. No se hubiera propagado por el país si no fuera por el vandalismo, ataques incendiarios, y actos de auto defensa en contra de ataques por parte de la policía. Si no fuera por los saqueos y los disturbios no se hubiera creado una crisis que exige una respuesta. El distinguir entre participantes “obedientes de la ley” y “criminales” en el movimiento es lo mismo que decir que es mejor que el movimiento nunca hubiera ocurrido – es un intento de asegurar que ningún movimiento como éste pueda suceder nuevamente.

Hemos visto esto muchas veces antes. El movimiento contra la policía y la supremacía blanca que explotó en la consciencia pública con disturbios en Ferguson logró agarrar vuelo porque lxs participantes originales atacaron a oficiales de la policía abiertamente, quemaron edificios y se rehusaron a ser divididxs entre “violentxs” y “no violentxs”. La Democracia, el sistema que gobierna en Chile, EEUU, y muchas otras naciones, también comenzó bajo el humo del crimen; si no hubiera sido por criminales revolucionarios, aún estaríamos viviendo bajo monarquías hereditarias.

Una vez más, el movimiento en Chile se encuentra en una coyuntura. Si la mayoría de lxs participantes acepta los halagos de Piñera y se felicitan a si mismxs por ser “pacíficxs” y “honestxs” en contraste con aquellxs que son “criminales,” esto le permitirá lograr medidas draconianas para asegurar que nunca más sea posible que lxs chilenxs se defiendan contra medidas de austeridad. Por el contrario, lo que se necesita ahora es que las tácticas “criminales” se propaguen a cada ciudadanx honestx, a cada persona que sinceramente quiere la paz. Ni Piñera ni nadie más que pretenda gobernar con fuerza podrá crear la paz; ésta sólo puede surgir cuando sus aspiraciones totalitarias sean destruidas.

Para entender lo que Piñera quiere, sólo necesitamos ver hacia Egipto. Desde que se retomó el control del país por medio de un golpe de estado militar en 2013 y de medidas como las que Piñera propone, el general militar al-Sisi reprimió cualquier protesta. Ahora el aspira a gobernar el país hasta por lo menos el año 2034. Aquellxs que sólo hacen revoluciones a medias sólo cavan sus propias tumbas, como dice el dicho.

Es mucho lo que está en juego. Manifestantes en Chile deben deligitimizar permanentemente los instrumentos de poder del estado como la policía, las cortes, el ejército, haciéndoles imposible mantener el orden con ninguna combinación de brutalidad, concesiones y prosecución legal. Es la única manera de salir de esta pesadilla de la austeridad neoliberal.

Es de esta manera que los movimientos ganan contra gobiernos opresores; por medio de una combinación de acción directa y confrontamiento, solidaridad que atraviesa diversas demográficas y tácticas, persistencia e innovación estratégica.

Para apoyar a nuestros compas en Chile, hemos traducido y diseñado nuestros textos La Ilegitimidad de la Violencia, la Violencia de la Legitimidad y A Qué Se Refieren Cuando Hablan de Paz?, ambos textos tratan de estos temas. Les deseamos toda la fuerza para la lucha que sigue. Que caigan todos los Piñera.

LA ASAMBLEA CONSTITUYENTE DESDE UNA PERSPECTIVA ANARQUISTA

Clara: Y ahora, tenemos un comunicado del Grupo Solenopsis que se llama, “Frente a la asamblea constituyente y la agenda represiva del gobierno: ¿cuál es la propuesta anarquista en la revuelta de la región chilena?”

Grupo Solenopsis: A un mes del inicio de la revuelta en la región chilena la clase política no parece comprender el trasfondo de las multitudinarias protestas. Las diferentes manifestaciones del descontento no se detienen a pesar de la represión impuesta por el gobierno de Piñera, que lejos de responder al malestar social -generado por un sistema neoliberal aplicado en extremo, que mercantilizó la vida y saquea sin asco grandes extensiones de territorios- ha criminalizado a lxs manifestantes. Si bien el gobierno ha intentado verse receptivo a las demandas y necesidades de la población, no pretende tocar el modelo neoliberal, apostando por el desgaste del movimiento y buscando su quiebre por medio la separación entre manifestantes pacificxs y violentxs. En tal sentido, el 7 de noviembre Piñera anunció por cadena nacional un paquete de leyes represivas (1) y llamó a reunión al Consejo Nacional de Seguridad [COSENA (2)]; el 12 de noviembre, nuevamente por cadena nacional proclamó la necesidad de aumentar el contingente policial por medio del reintegro de funcionarixs en retiro, amenazó a lxs manifestantes con la ley de seguridad interior del estado -que ya tiene sus primeras víctimas en supuestos atacantes al metro de Santiago- y llamó a un pacto por la paz social, que fue recogido por la oposición -FA y exconcertación- acordándose el 15 de noviembre una salida institucional por medio de un proceso de nueva constitución. El presente escrito busca exponer y reflexionar sobre la situación actual de la revuelta, viendo las salidas propuestas por la clase política, y preguntarse por la posición y propuestas anarquistas en este contexto.

El gobierno de Piñera, luego de levantar el estado de emergencia,  sacar a lxs militares de las calles y realizar un parafernalico cambio de gabinete -donde solo hubo cambios de puesto entre miembro del propio gabinete del gobierno-, ha apostado, como fue dicho, por continuar con la criminalización de la revuelta, intentando dividir entre manifestantes pacificxs y violentistas -estos últimos incluyen barrasbravas, ladrones comunes, anarquistas y supuestos infiltradxs extranjeros, entre otros- en un burdo intento por construir un nuevo enemigo interno que justifique la utilización de tácticas antisubversivas y la más brutal represión entre quienes se encuentren protestando en las calles. En dicha línea, distintas autoridades han intentado levantar la figura del chaleco amarillo como un agente ciudadano por la defensa de la propiedad privada, que dirija su accionar en contra de encapuchadxs y saqueadores -incluso llamando a armarse contra lxs manifestantes-, lo que ha animado a la aparición en las calles de fascistas dispuestos con pistolas para frenar las protestas (3).

A pesar de lo anterior, el rechazo de lxs manifestantes a los medios de comunicación oficiales, por su cobertura criminalizadora y poco solidaria con el movimiento social, demuestran el fracaso de esta política, debido a la aceptación generalizada de la autodefensa, que se ha vuelto una necesidad frente a la violentas arremetidas de la policía en cada manifestación, y el uso sistemático de la tortura, la violencia política sexual y la mutilación como métodos intimidatorios. El empleo indiscriminado de perdigones a quemarropa contra manifestantes, que literalmente han arrancado los ojos a cientos de ellxs (4)- ha llevado a la crítica generalizada de diferentes organismos nacionales e internacionales, al punto, que el general de carabineros anunció la reducción y control de su aplicación (5), aunque sin verse reales cambios en las calles al respecto.

La fuerte arremetida represiva por parte de las “fuerzas de orden” no debieran sorprendernos. Tanto las FFAA como las policías llevan años siendo entrenadas en técnicas de guerrilla antisubversiva urbana, para lo cual en el año 2012 se instaló, con financiamiento del comando sur del ejército de EEUU, una escuela de represiòn urbana de la ONU en el fuerte Aguayo [Con Con (6)]. El fracaso del gobierno en “restablecer el orden” e imponer su agenda de seguridad queda manifiesto en que se ha visto forzado a aceptar la idea de cambiar la constitución impulsada por la oposición, aunque apostando por usar al congreso como medio para esto, en lo que claramente es una forma de limitar los posibles cambios radicales que buscan erradicar el extremo modelo neoliberal heredado de la dictadura y la concertación.

Por su parte, desde algunas organizaciones populares como desde los partidos de oposición -principalmente de parte del Frente Amplio y PC- han comenzando a extenderse los cabildos como lugares de discusión, en donde se ha puesto a la asamblea constituyente como mecanismo de salida -y pacificación- de la revuelta. Esta postura parece despertar bastante adhesión en la población, y es una peligrosa propuesta de la socialdemocracia, que pretende canalizar la revuelta e insurrección hacia canales democráticos e institucionales. Es necesario no olvidar, que el cabildo es una institución colonial de discusión pública, que reivindica una forma elitista y de limitada participación para la población; y que fue el mecanismo que usó el segundo gobierno de M. Bachelet (2014–2018) para impulsar una nueva constitución, en un intento con escasa participación y sin carácter vinculante que terminó siendo lanzado al tarro de la basura por el segundo gobierno de Piñera. La nueva constitución es la principal trampa para detener cualquier cambio radical, y el apoyo de diferentes empresarios y partidarios del gobierno deberían alertarnos respecto a su verdadero objetivo.

Frente a tales posturas, la pregunta naturalmente es ¿dónde estamos los anarquistas en la revuelta ? ¿cuál es nuestra propuesta?

Como han señalado varixs compas, lxs anarquistas desde un primer momento hemos estado en las calles, en primera línea enfrentando a la policía, compartiendo barricadas, cacerolazos, asambleas junto al resto de la población, debatiendo y socializando posturas y saberes antiautoritarias. La ferocidad de las fuerzas represivas ha abierto los ojos a miles de personas que ahora entienden la necesidad de las capuchas y piden perdón al pueblo mapuche por no escucharlos cuando denunciaron el terrorismo de estado en sus comunidades. La extensión del odio a la policía y las FF.AA ha llevado numerosos ataques a sus cuarteles y a la filtración, por medio de un hackeo, de los datos personales y direcciones de lxs carabineros, así como de información de inteligencia sobre la investigación de dirigentes sindicales, estudiantiles y de los movimientos sociales en general.

Numerosos prejuicios se han roto en estos días respecto a las ideas libertarias y la coyuntura permite soñar con la extensión de las prácticas anarquistas, toda vez que a contrapelo de los cabildos se han ido levantando o extendiendo -en caso de existir previamente- numerosas asambleas territoriales con el fin de ir ocupándose de forma directa de las propias necesidades y nuestras aspiraciones. La ocasión parece propicia para todxs quienes apuestan por comunidades libres, sin jefes, partidos ni intervención estatal, que manejen sus territorios en beneficio de la propiedad colectividad.

Las asambleas territoriales, libertarias y el trawün surgen como opciones para la autodeterminación de las comunidades, se muestran como órganos de lucha frente al estado patriarcal, colonial y ecocida. Estas parecen ser una de las formas para dotar de contenido antiautoritario a la revuelta, y se han mostrado como una alternativa desde abajo para ejercer soberanía desde un espíritu de solidaridad, apoyo mutuo e insurgencia frente al modo de producción capitalista. Un camino que en la medida que se encuentre alejado de la idea del cambio constitucional puede ser una alternativa para los sueños de libertad y buen vivir.

La conquista de la autonomía es una materia de esfuerzo cotidiano y no tiene recetas, por lo que difícilmente podemos asegurar que las asambleas territoriales sean la clave para nuestra emancipación pero sin duda son terreno fértil para germinar estas ideas. Sin temor a equivocarnos podemos asegurar que la nueva constitución no es la respuesta al colapso capitalista y la grave crisis civilizatoria que amenaza con extinguirnos junto a millones de especies. No es la hora de detener los impulsos insurreccionales ni frenar el ataque al capital y sus instituciones, así como también es necesario seguir impulsando organizaciones sin jerarquías y abocadas a cuidar del propio territorio en libertad.

Un cambio de constitución o del gobernante de turno no nos ayudará ante el saqueo capitalista, es la hora de abrazar la libertad y asumir el control de nuestras vidas. Por un mundo respetuoso de la naturaleza y el resto de seres vivos no frenemos nuestra arremetida contra el estado-capital. A continuar la lucha, que esto aún no termina.

Grupo Solenopsis / LaPeste.org
gruposolenopsis[arroba]riseup.net
15 de noviembre, santiago, región chilena

REPORTE DE LAS CALLES DE SANTIAGO

Clara: Y ahora, tenemos un reporte anonimo de las calles de Santiago:

Reporte: Saludos compañeros y compañeras y compañeres. Realmente no sé por dónde comenzar este reporte, así que comenzaré con lo que vi hoy. Hoy es 12 de noviembre y hubo una huelga general. A sido el día mas feroz de peleas callejeras que he visto hasta ahora, la energía es ALTA. Todos los días hay más y más molotovs, y hoy vi a muchas personas heridas por la policía. En alrededor de 30 minutos pasaron 7 personas distintas que iban trasladadas en camillas. Todas las heridas fueron provocadas por los perdigones metálicos que dispara la policía; no les creas cuando dicen que solo disparan balas de goma. Vi a dos personas heridas por disparo en los ojos, otra en la garganta, y el resto en el torso y la pierna. Sinceramente se siente como una zona de guerra.  Pequeños callejones, calzadas y todo tipo de rincones cercanos a la Alameda, que es la avenida principal del centro de Santiago, se han convertido en estaciones de primeros auxilios. Según un mapa que vi hoy en los medios sociales habían 11 de estas estaciones. 

Ya nadie salta al escuchar la sirena de la ambulancia. Después de tres semanas en las calles, todos los oídos se han acostumbrado a la taxonomía de este conflicto: ¿un ruido fuerte? Son perdigones. Un poco más fuerte y sería un cilindro de gas lacrimógeno, el sonido de una explosión desde el suelo hacia arriba es una lata de spay explotando en el fuego. Una explosión donde el ruido chispea luego son fuegos artificiales, y hay que sumar el ruido de las ambulancias, el carro de bomberos y las sirenas de la policía.

No importa lo que esté ocurriendo alrededor, los manifestantes siempre abren camino para que pasen las ambulancias. Los que reparten comida en moto también reciben un pase gratis, porque ya sabes, es conciencia de clase. Esto también pasa generalmente con los carros de bomberos, e incluso la gente usualmente los aplaude. Sin embargo, en una ocasión vi a los bomberos apagar una barricada en llamas que no estaba poniendo en peligro la seguridad de nadie. Estaba en el medio de la calle y la acción de los bomberos generó una discusión que finalmente llegó a los golpes. Por un lado, hay personas que defienden la necesidad de acciones disruptivas como las barricadas y hay otras personas que invocan su “derecho a vivir en paz”, distorsionando absolutamente el mensaje de Victor Jara.

Las canciones son muy importantes aquí. Es difícil ir a una protesta sin escuchar los himnos de resistencia que se popularizaron durante la dictadurA: Víctor Jara, Sol y Lluvia, Los Prisioneros… Hay algunos cánticos clásicos: “El que no salta es paco”. “Piñera, escucha, ándate a la chucha! ” “Ya van a ver, ya van a ver las balas que nos lanzaron van a volver”. Estas se mezclan de infinitas maneras muy inteligentemente.

Dios, esto es difícil de escribir. Realmente no sé cómo capturar lo que está sucediendo para ustedes. Escucha, hay protestas diarias. Literalmente casi todos los días. Hay un meme favorito que circula últimamente que dice: “¡Mañana marcha en Plaza Italia!” Y luego entre paréntesis, “(no importa que día veas esto)”. Cuando hay huelga general, como hoy, se empieza temprano, como al mediodía. Pero los otros días, la gente generalmente comienza a llegar a las marchas alrededor de las 5 PM. Honestamente, muchas personas están en el trabajo o en la escuela todo el día y luego salen y protestan. Sin embargo el que los estudiantes secundaria y universitarios estén tan movilizados e involucrados en la lucha, cientos de escuelas han pedido al Ministerio de Educación, si pueden cerrar el año escolar de inmediato.

Normalmente el año escolar termina en Enero. 

Ya nada es normal. La gente vive una extraña doble vida. Trabajar o ir a colegio en el día, luego protestar en la noche. Y la gente necesita trabajar durante el día. Todos tienen muy poco dinero, pero al mismo tiempo la gente sabe que es por las protestas y dicen que vale la pena, porque hay cosas más importantes en este momento. Pero hay algunos hechos económicos difíciles. El dólar alcanzó un precio récord: más de 800 pesos.

Para las personas que tienen tiendas o almacenes especializados, el comercio ha disminuido y la vida nocturna apenas comienza a volver. He salido a algunas fiestas, bares por la noche, cosas por el estilo y todos parecen tener la misma energía - tratar de pasar un buen rato, pero todos están distraídos emocionalmente con todo lo que esta pasando. Nadie puede siquiera fingir que las cosas son normales. No sé si es culpa o qué, pero si quieres irte a una fiesta, si quieres una celebración eufórica, tienes que estar en la Plaza Italia, que en realidad ha sido re nombrada  Plaza de la Dignidad. La gran fiesta es justo cuando se pone el sol, la hora mágica - pero también es cuando los policías comienzan a sacarnos. A medida que se dispersan, las personas construyen barricadas en las calles que se extienden desde la Plaza Dignidad, de vez en cuando alguien pone un parlante en una entrada o incluso a veces toca una banda sobre las barricadas en llamas y se forma un pequeño ambiente de fiesta, pero solo hasta que los policías vuelvan. Siempre nos dispersan antes de las 10 de la noche; puede que ya no haya un toque de queda militar, pero efectivamente hay un toque de queda de la policía cuando uno puede manifestarse en el centro de la ciudad. 

Tránsito: El metro y los buses dejan de transitar entre las 8 y las 10 de la noche. Debo enfatizar en como esto afecta el ritmo y la economía de la ciudad. Si eres un punk nocturno que anda en bicicleta es realmente increíble: Santiago tiene un sistema de transito donde los buses tienen su propio carril, y poder andar en bicicleta a altas horas de la noche sin preocuparte de ser atropellado por automóviles o buses es un sueño hecho realidad. De lo único que debes estar atento es de no andar sobre las piedras o los restos de vidrio que dejaron fuera de las universidades y en otros puntos. Sin embargo, si no eres ciclista, puede ser un largo camino a tu casa. Veo mucha gente haciendo dedo.

Puede ser que la economía este desacelerándose, pero la venta callejera alrededor de las protestas se hace cada día más grande. Hace unas semanas, todo lo que podías encontrar eran pañuelos y limones para el gas lacrimógeno. Poco después llegaron los vendedores de banderas. Luego, dos semanas después, pintura en spray y máscaras de gas. Desde hoy comencé a ver comerciantes vendiendo fuegos artificiales y láseres, estos últimos super poderosos. Los manifestantes derribaron un drone de vigilancia de la policía con los láseres y la policía dijo que ya no pueden usarlo más. Solo he visto a una persona tratando de vender piedras … pero generalmente hay suficientes personas alrededor para romper la acera en pedazos pequeños para tirarlos. También venden mucha comida en las calles, incluso hay un pequeño carro de comida vegana . Y mucha, mucha cerveza y productos de hierba. Todos comparten el agua, a veces los vecinos dejan las mangueras prendidas y los estudiantes abren la universidad para poder usar el baño tomar agua. 

Hay un espíritu de solidaridad en las tiendas comerciales alejadas de la Alameda . Si vas a uno de los mercados callejeros fuera del centro el fin de semana y recoges una máscara de snorkel o antiparras, lo primero que te dicen es lo útil que es para los gases lacrimógenos o los balines de la policía en vez de obviamente para bucear. Un amigo y yo fuimos a una ferretería para comprar anteojos a prueba de perdigones (certificación ANSI Z87 +, para que cualquiera los busque en casa) y sin mencionar una palabra sobre la lucha, el empleado escribió # RenunciaPiñera en el recibo cuando nos lo devolvió.

El Domingo pasado estaba en un bar, tomando cervezas con unos amigos, mas bien era un restaurant que un bar, y me di cuenta que absolutamente todas las mesas estaban hablando del levantamiento, Piñera, la policia, de todo. Otra persona también lo noto ya que comenzaron a cantas “Piñera, escucha, andate a la chucha!” y luego todas las personas en el restaurant, incluidos los meseros se unieron. Solo para dejar claro, este no era un bar metalero o un lugar donde la gente se emborracha y canta canciones abrazándose…Es algo que nunca antes había visto en un Domingo por la noche. 

Esto obviamente no quiere decir que todos adoren las protestas. En el barrio Las Condes donde esta la clase alta, el 8 de noviembre, un estúpido de mierda le disparó a una manifestante en la pierna mientras andaba en bicicleta. La policía, naturalmente, lo trató con guantes de niño cuando fueron a arrestarlo.

Ayer en la ciudad burguesa de Viña del Mar, un gringo defensor de la supremacía Blanca y economista neoliberal le disparó a un manifestante. Condujo a través de una acción donde la gente bloqueaba el tráfico y cantaba
“Si baila pasa”. Luego, salió de su auto y disparó cinco disparos, hiriendo a un manifestante en la pierna. La policía le dio tiempo para grabar un video justificando su ataque e incluso se tomó una selfie con la policía después. Asqueroso.

Absurdamente, un “experto” aquí eligió culpar a los manifestantes por bloquear el tráfico, diciendo que la tendencia de “Si baila pasa” era de una violencia extrema en sí misma. No es de extrañar que ya nadie confíe en la televisión o las noticias.

Los fascistas han comenzado a circular un hashtags contra las huelgas y contra un cambio constitucional. Una de las facciones más novedosas de la derecha han sido los venezolanos de derecha. Hay una particularidad que es importante entender acerca de Chile, que es que tiene una de las fronteras más fuertes de Latinoamérica. Como resultado, Chile pudo controlar su inmigración proveniente de Venezuela y atraer primero a los venezolanos que huyen con dinero y privilegios. Escuché a algunas personas en las protestas hablar como si ser venezolano fuera sinónimo de derecha, sin embargo, hubo una barricada que vi al principio de la revuelta, donde chilenos, venezolanos y haitianos arrojaban basura al fuego, cantando juntos contra Piñera, Maduro y Moise. No puedo pensar en otro momento políticamente más lúcido en estas últimas cuatro semanas, contra todo autoritarismo, de izquierda o de derecha. Algunas de estas personas eran propietarios de pequeñas empresas, almacenes y carritos de hot dog. 

Cada vez que puedo trato de conversar con vendedores ambulantes inmigrantes. Las protestas les han traído más negocios y más seguridad, ya que la mayoría no tiene una licencia para vender. Sin embargo, algunos están nerviosos de que el movimiento social se convierta en un desastre civil prolongado y una crisis económica, como las de sus países de origen, Haití y Venezuela, por ejemplo. Un verdadero recordatorio de que una revolución liberadora y anticapitalista debe ser internacional … si no global. A pesar de la ansiedad económica, la mayoría de los vendedores ambulantes inmigrantes no están molestos por las protestas.. Y la atmósfera de carnaval en la Alameda ha traído una sonrisa a muchas de sus caras … rompiendo la tensión y la alienación que solían gobernar esta ciudad.

No todo es kumbaya dentro de Plaza Italia tampoco. Aparte de estar la policia constantemente mutilando a la gente, hay peleas ocasionales, ya sea entre los cabros de las barras bravas, o ocasionalmente a alguien no le gusta el comportamiento de otro manifestante, un derechista o liberal que hace un comentario irrespetuoso, o alguien acusa a otro en la multitud de ser un policía encubierto. Cuando las peleas comienzan alrededor de la estatua en el centro de la plaza, la gente ajusta el cántico de “el que no salta es paco” a “el que parte la pelea es paco”.

Bien, volvamos al conflicto: en realidad..esperen, el ritmo desarticulado de este mismo reporte captura cómo ha sido mi tiempo en las calles. Llegas, notas la acumulación, hay algo de acción, tomas un descanso y compras una sopaipilla y una cerveza algún vendedor ambulante, te encuentras con un amigo y hablas sobre todo lo que ha estado sucediendo, compartes ideas y análisis, miras algunos graffitis hermosos o inteligentes, compartes historias sobre cosas increíbles que has visto también sobre cosas horribles que has visto y luego estás de vuelta en la acción.

Hay algunos roles básicos en la calle. Hay personas que apagan las lacrimógenas, sumergiéndolos en un balde de agua. Los llamamos bomberos. Lo importante no es solo sumergirlo sino sacudir el balde después. En realidad, es mucho más efectivo que arrojar el gas lacrimógeno de vuelta, aunque ha habido casos en los que la gente pudo arrojar milagrosamente la bomba de gas lacrimógeno dentro de un auto policial. 

Luego está la primera línea que a menudo llevan escudos, para que desde atrás puedan lanzar rocas y molotovs. Uno de los materiales preferidos para hacer escudos son las viejas antenas parabólicas. Desde los balcones de mis amigos podía observar estos artefactos futurísticos inútiles de nuestra civilización enferma que solo ensucian la ciudad, pero bueno ahora tienen un uso. Tal como muchos de nosotros que solíamos sentir que éramos el desperdicio de la sociedad y ahora somos los protagonistas.

Están los doctores, con cascos y camillas. Por lo general, no atienden a los heridos allí mismo en la calle, sino que se mueven en grupos y llevan a los más heridos de regreso a las estaciones de primeros auxilios. Esto se debe a que el ritmo de las protestas es una guerra de posiciones: los policías ganan un bloque, luego son golpeados con piedras y molotovs, una y otra vez, en cualquier momento podrías perder el bloqueo, no es un ambiente ideal para asistir pacientes.

Hay escuadrones de personas que producen material para quemar en las barricadas, otros que rompen la acera en pedazos tirables (los llamamos mineros), grupos que cubren las paredes con pasta de trigo y carteles, y muchas personas que escriben graffiti.

Hay saqueos de vez en cuando, centrados principalmente en cadenas corporativas o símbolos de riqueza. Lo que no tiene valor o uso se convierte en combustible para una barricada; de hecho, muchas cosas que nos serían útiles simplemente se queman de todos modos. Oh bien, lo último que sale de cualquier tienda saqueada son los rollos y rollos de papel de recibo, que se lanzan en el aire como serpentinas y eventualmente decoran los árboles que bordean Alameda. Hay un verdadero sentido de carnaval y diversión que tiene lugar aquí, para bien o para mal. La forma en que las serpentinas de papel de recibo vuelan junto al viento, no solo se ven hermosas si no que también nos ayudan a saber para donde soplará el gas lacrimógeno. 

Las armas policiales a las que nos enfrentamos son el Guanaco (cañón de agua) llamado así por el camello patagónico que escupe. El Zorrillo, llamado como el animal, un tanque de gas lacrimógeno. Perdigones, pistolas de gas lacrimógeno y bastones policiales.

Es fácil pensar en los policías como máquinas, como robots que están programados para gritarte y lastimarte, pero después de que la Plaza fue despejada esta noche, en mi bicicleta me encontré a dos oficiales que estaban parados contra la pared. Uno se sostenía la cabeza con sus manos y el otro solo miraba hacia el cielo por mucho rato. Se veían cansados. Hoy día Piñera anunció que iba a permitir que los policías retirados regresaran a las fuerzas armadas; al principio estaba paranoico de que esto fuera un llamado para alertar a los fascistas de que también disponían de luz verde para respaldar a la policía, pero cuando recordé el par de policías exhaustos… Realmente creo que los estamos desgastando lentamente.

Hay resistencia y represión en toda la ciudad, pero como dije, el conflicto diario tiene lugar a lo largo de la Alameda, entre la Plaza Italia, me refiero a la Plaza de la Dignidad y La Moneda. Hay ciertos lugares en la Alameda que son verdaderas líneas de batalla. Hay un monumento a los Carabineros, la policía, que dice 11de septiembre, el aniversario del golpe militar de 1973. Ok, tal vez no sea oficialmente un 11, pero búscalo en Google y dime que no lo es. Siempre hay conflicto allí: la gente quiere destruir el monumento y la policía quiere defenderlo, más que cualquier otra propiedad a lo largo de Alameda. Hay un banco que se quemó al otro lado de la calle, y tiene un segundo nivel: la gente puede subir las escaleras por dentro y asomarse, sentarse en la galería para ver los disturbios. Una de las entradas a la estación de metro Baquedano ha sido un punto central de las batallas callejeras porque fue ahi donde un manifestante fue derribado y torturado hace un par de semanas. Plaza Italia también tiene una fuerte represión, y últimamente ha habido una línea de frente al final del parque, al este de Plaza Italia, donde comienza el barrio burgués de Providencia.

Es algo nuevo que el conflicto tenga lugar regularmente allí. La semana pasada, el 6 de noviembre, hubo una marcha en Providencia que comenzó en Costanera Center, el edificio más alto de Latinoamérica, con uno de los centros comerciales más grandes de Chile. Los capitalistas se jactan de que el edificio es un símbolo del éxito mercantil de Chile, pero yo diría que es el símbolo perfecto del capitalismo por otros motivos. Durante años, la mayoría de las oficinas en el edificio han permanecido vacías, espacios que obviamente podrían ser útiles, pero que permanecen vacíos por el bien de la especulación. Luego, están los suicidios regulares que ocurren dentro del centro comercial, porque este tiene varios pisos con balcones. Nunca cierran el centro comercial en estos casos, sino que cierran y desinfectan una pequeña área. Es distópico.

El flayer para la marcha del Costanera Center fue el volante más divertido que he visto. Tenía un estúpido smiley face en una foto de la torre en toda su majestad en el atardecer y dice: “¡Hola! Me llamo Costanera Center. Desde aquí arriba, he visto cómo todos ustedes hacen las cosas en Plaza Italia y veo que cómo no puedo lograr ir.
allá abajo, me gustaría invitarlos a que vengan a manifestarse dentro de mí mañana Miércoles 6 de noviembre a las 2 PM.

”NO OLVIDES LLEGAR
ANTES Y ENTRAR EN GRUPOS PEQUEÑOS DE NO MÁS DE CUATRO PERSONAS.

 “¡Estaré esperando!”

Al final, simplemente cerraron el centro comercial: se perdió más dinero para
los capitalistas, junto a la cancelación de mega eventos como COP 25, APEC y Copa Libertadores. 

Durante horas, la marcha atravesó por partes del barrio Providencia que rara vez ven manifestaciones y la policía no estaba absolutamente preparada. Hubo saqueos, impresionantes barricadas gracias a la privilegiada geografía urbana del vecindario, y los manifestantes incluso pudieron entrar y destruir la sede de la Unión Demócrata Independiente, un partido político de extrema derecha fundado por Jaime Guzmán, el autor amante de los nazis. de la constitución de la dictadura, la que todavía está vigente hoy. La marcha también destruyó un monumento a él. Hubo manifestaciones disruptivas en Providencia durante el resto de esa semana.


Ok, entonces … ese es el punto de vista desde la calle, pero hay otro punto de vista que es, bueno, no diría igualmente importante, pero juega un papel importante. Y eso es lo que has visto en la pantalla de tu celular.

Todos los días recibo una nueva alerta de que otro amigo en Santiago está usando Signal o Telegram.

Y bueno, no me malinterpreten, hay increíbles graffiti y carteles por todas las calles, con frases ingeniosas y estilos hermosos … pero las risas más sinceras y las caras más abatidas que he visto de mis amigos provienen de memes y publicaciones en las redes sociales . Por lo que puedo identificar, hay cinco categorías de memes:
1) los divertidos
2) los que dan visibilización, en el sentido de violencia y opresión que nunca se muestran en las noticias.
3) los instructivos (como cómo protegerse y cómo vestirse para las protestas)
4) el contra-informativo (como los medios de verificación de hechos y las mentiras del gobierno)
5) los inspiradores

Esta parte es simplemente imposible de resumir. Hay tantos memes y cada pequeño informe de noticias o intento del gobierno de pacificarnos se convierte, en minutos, en una propaganda memeable contra ellos. El simbolismo es grande aquí. Últimamente han derribado muchas estatuas de colonizadores españoles. Sin embargo, me voy a centrar en dos símbolos. El primero es Negro Matapacos, un perro callejero que solía acompañar a los manifestantes, ladrando a los policías y haciéndonos sonreír. Mi meme favorito de Matapacos lo tiene diciendo: “Escuchen chicos, no quería alardear de esto antes, pero ustedes saben de ese perro que ladra al comienzo de la canción de Los Prisioneros … Sí … Ese fui yo”. Lamentablemente Matapacos falleció hace unos años y ahora vive en el Valhalla de perritos, pero su memoria vive aquí en los memes, graffitis, banderas, cualquier cosa que se te ocurra puede extender su adorable cara sonriente.
En realidad, creo que su símbolo se hizo popular aquí después de que la gente lo usara en las evasiones en la ciudad de Nueva York. Esas manifestaciones fueron realmente alentadoras para la gente en Chile. Me recuerda cómo los zapatistas solían insistir en que la mejor manera de ser solidarios con ellos era poner en práctica sus valores y resistir donde sea que se encuentre.

Otro símbolo que quiero mencionar es el ojo. Hasta hoy, casi 200 personas han perdido un ojo debido a los proyectiles que la policía está disparando.
Ayer, un joven perdió los dos ojos.

Lo podrás reconocer en el graffiti que dice “ojo por ojo”
o en memes que dicen cosas como “pueden dispararnos a los ojos pero nunca nos cegarán”. He visto la versión en blanco y negro de la bandera chilena, pero con un ojo cerrado en lugar de una estrella. La gente esta señalando los ojos en los billetes. Para dar una idea, el otro día estaba en gran concierto de punk en el parque, y todos los que conocía estaban a uno o dos grados de alguien que había perdido un ojo.

Muchas personas en las calles han celebrado el papel que las redes sociales han jugado en este levantamiento. Uno de los eslóganes pintados con spray en todas partes es “las mentiras de la televisión”, con el subtexto implícito de que tenemos más control que las redes sociales. Si bien es cierto que las redes sociales te permiten ver imágenes, como la brutalidad policial, por ejemplo, que las noticias de televisión nunca mostrarán en toda su extensión, a veces puede ser abrumador cuando abres Instagram o Twitter y está lleno de violencia, opresión o conjetura sobre qué maquinaciones políticas represivas están por venir. Pero he aprendido que cada vez que empiezo a sentirme ansioso y abrumado por lo que veo en mi teléfono, la mejor medicina es volver a las calles lo antes posible y ver las cosas por mí mismo. Lo que se filtra a través del algoritmo no es lo que se ve en las calles, no capta la atención, la cooperación, todos los aspectos que no son lo suficientemente sexys o reducibles para circular. No puedo imaginar cómo es para las personas que nunca van a ver las protestas en persona y solo las ven a través de las noticias.

Clara: Ahora tenemos dos entrevistas con anaquistas en el territorio dominado por el estado de chile. Comenzaremos con una entrevista con Rara Señal, una radio libre en Valparaiso que tiene emisiones diarias sobre el estado de la revuelta alla. Y la seguna entrevista es con un par de anarquistas en Santiago.

ENTREVISTA: ANARQUISTAS DE SANTIAGO

A: Bueno, no sé cómo lo quieres hacer. Para mí, tengo preguntas pero también… Empecemos con… cuando te envié el meme y dijiste como, “qué horrible, Chile despertó”. Yo también lo encuentro así, pero yo pensaba que todos los anarquistas eran como “no, ahora no es el tiempo para hacer críticas”, como “se están moviendo las cosas, hay que apañarnos más”, pero no sé. B: Es que el “Chile despertó” es un poco como el “ceacheí”, po… C: Es como del social demócrata. B: Es como un estándar de la república, de las personas de bien, cachai? No sé, como esa marcha más grande que hubo, que fueron como un millón y medio de personas, se enalteció mucho eso de la chilenidad, porque aparte va a haber un montón de inmigrantes de todos lados cachai? pero se enalteció mucho la chilenidad y la clases media, que al final es un invento de puros pobres con crédito, cachai? Entonces, como que el “Chile despertó” es parte de esa mística que al final se agarran, no sé, la gente progre del Frente Amplio, del Partido Comunista, y también los partidos oficiales de derecha y todos, como para hacer todos un Chile neutro, como que no hubiera tanta desigualdad, cachai? Es como nivelar la balanza. Y creo que “el Chile despertó” es parte de ese discurso. Igual también entiendo que un montón de gente que nunca antes había estado involucrado en alguna manifestación o conflicto, obvio que va a ir con la polera de Chile, que va ir a gritar “ceacheí”, cachai? Porque las veces que han ido a Plaza Italia es como cuando ganó la Copa América Chile, una cosa así. Igual es comprensible que exista eso, si al final son 200 años de lavarle el cerebro a un territorio para que grite “ceacheí”. Pero igual, dentro de lo mismo ha habido hartas críticas específicas como “los pobres no tienen patria” o “da vuelta a la bandera”, porque también pasa mucho de gente que lleva no sé po, la bandera mapuche con la chilena, y es horrible, po. Osea yo creo que un mapuche consciente, esa cuestión es como un ataque al corazón, po, cachai? A: Claro, son dos pueblos, o más de dos pueblos. B: Pero, uno invadió al otro y lo mató, cachai? Es como si anduviéramos con una bandera española y otra chilena, una cosa así po, me cachai? Pero también, se entiende de esa gente que jamás se ha acercado a una manifestación y jamás ha tenido una experiencia política, está saliendo a la calle… y se ve en ese tipo de demostraciones más que antes, de la gente que salía siempre a las marchas y ya tiene un discurso más desarrollado, o más elaborado. A: Bueno. C: No y también es una mística como patriótica popular. B: Sí, porque la izquierda igual tiene harto que ver con eso de que, no sé, la izquierda que toda la vida su discurso ha enaltecido a la patria; los comunistas, incluso algunos anarco-sindicalistas planteaban la refundación de la nación. C: En oposición también al pensamiento colonial, español, cómo era el nombre? A: Ehh, colonizador? No? B: No sé, pero estaba eso de que existe el Chile oligarca y el Chile popular A: Claro C: El Chile mestizo y el Chile criollo. Y el Chile criollo mezclado con la realeza española, y el Chile mestizo con esta nueva nación, con este pueblo que se estaba independizando. Entonces también hay una mística popular. Yo creo que también pasa un poco con el tema de la bandera mapuche, porque piensa que… B: No, pero el mapuche es una lucha más visible desde los 90s C: No, pero por ejemplo que en las marchas los cabros estén con la bandera mapuche, se puede leer desde una óptica como leyendo el tema de la resistencia mapuche, así una cosa media mística, como hablando de un pasado mitológico guerrero. A: En México también, como la creación de la nación de México fue así. C: Por ejemplor retomamos las luchas de este pueblo, oprimido que lleva 200 años en resistencia ante la invasión del estado chileno, de la elite política empresarial chilena. B: Pero bueno, ahí como que… en cuanto a abanderamiento, es lo que más se ve, la bandera chilena y mapuche, porque en realidad, banderas de partidos comunistas, recién ahora después de como 20 días, han aparecido algunos trotskos, con sus lienzos, como que también hay banderas negras y anarquistas, pero también son pocas. Como que la gente anda más preocupada de otras cosas que llevar banderas po, porque los enfrentamientos son… Más encima yo siempre he sentido que si vai con una bandera y estái ahí adelante, es como que pa puro que te disparen, como que… jajaja

C: Y está esa bandera chilena negra también. B: Ah, sí. Ese es un fenómeno nuevo, de esta revuelta. A: Y acá, tanto anarquistas como otras personas reivindican esa bandera negra chilena? B: No sé, yo no conozco a ningún anarquista que reivindique eso. Pero sí es más interesante que la típica bandera. Al final acá también la bandera negra es un símbolo internacional de huelga, o de luto, entonces se ocupa para ambas cosas. A: Crees que los anarquistas han perdido algunas oportunidades, o algo así, no estar tan visibles, o como la forma de estar visibles en la calle. No sé si me entiendes. B: Sí, que falte una presencia política específica? A: Algo así, no sé. B: Es que más que un movimiento político anarquista, hay como un espíritu anarquista en todo esto, cachai? Obviamente ha sido empujado por años y años de gente que está, no sé po, protestando en la calle, de manera violenta contra la policía, contra los símbolos del capitalismo; porque, que se ataquen las cosas que se han atacado estos últimos veinte días, no es casualidad po, son años. C: Es una tradición, son ciertos gestos, que vienen a dar cuenta de un montón de huevadas que se han hecho a nivel territorial, en los colegios, de ciertos temas que se vienen tocando incluso en ámbitos como el arte, o la música. B: Sí po, sobre todo la música, es un medio de difusión, porque mucho del revivir del anarquismo en este territorio nació de la contracultura, po. Tanto el hip hop, como punk, etc. Ahora ya es menos, de hecho los punks es algo en retirada dentro del anarquismo, y hay diversidad de gente. Hay muchos otakus también, más chistoso. Pero yo creo que a todo el mundo los pilló desarticulados, en el sentido de no poder responder de una forma como, no sé “hoy día marchamos todos los anarquistas juntos, en tal lado” y todos, no sé, de alguna forma, cachai? Como acuerdos mínimos que se pueden concretar, no ha habido. Sí hay mucha coordinación dentro de lo que ha habido siempre en este país, que tiene muchos grupos de afinidad, coordinaciónes pequeñas de grupos de afinidad, y claro no se dedican mucho a la propaganda escrita, o de panfletos, pero sí a agudizar las acciones, a la agitación o a aparecer e interrumpir en ciertos lugares, y después desaparecer. A: Para mí ha sido impresionante ver gente totalmente cubierta menos los ojos, o hasta los ojos, con antiparras, pero con una pancarta que dice #asambleaconstituyente, o algo así. B: Ah, pero es que, claro digamos que los anarquistas o los sectores más combativos como marxistas radicales o cosas así, mantuvieron esa tradición de lucha y han sido los que han reivindicado la capucha, porque al final incluso muchos partidos marxistas hablan del lumpenaje, los saqueos y cosas así de una manera despectiva. Lo que pasa es que la capucha ahora se volvió un símbolo, no solamente de la gente específica anarquista o radical, sino en general… o no sé si tan en general, pero sí mucho más amplia de lo que fue. De hecho, mucho más amplia de lo que fue en 2011, porque en 2011 igual hubo una especie de solidaridad con la gente encapuchada, porque se entendía que ocupan protegerse el rostro de la identificación, pero ahora, como nunca antes había visto en mi vida por lo menos, en este país, se ha reivindicado eso de estar en primera línea, de ir a enfrentarse a la policía. Mucha gente sin miedo, y los pacos están disparando como locos, entonces, claro en otros países no se ve hacer un muro de madera para tirarle camote a los pacos, cosas de ese estilo. Y eso ha calado hondo en la juventud, porque siempre han sido los más maltratados por la policía, directamente porque… claro a todos nos maltrata la policía de una manera simbólica o práctica, pero la juventud siempre se ha llevado la peor parte po. Aparte, como la policía antes de esto estaba desvalidada con todos estos robos y cosas así, esto ya fue la gota que rebasó el vaso en que nadie respeta a la policía, cachai? Nadie, ahora sí que hasta le grita la gente que ve un paco parado en la esquina y le gritan cosas. Eso ha sido muy beneficioso, porque la policía también se ha sacado un poco la máscara, cachai? B: Y no sé, nos pilló a todos desarticulados en el sentido que podíamos haber hecho una propaganda y un apoyo logístico, como, no sé “se necesita primeros auxilios”, “se necesita gráficas”, “se necesita hacer escudos” cachai? Todo eso se podría haber hecho mucho mejor si estuviéramos mucho más organizados, porque igual se está haciendo, pero a nivel hormiga, no hay como que “todos vamos a llevar tal cosa” o “todos vamos a ayudar”, o por ejemplo, ahora lo que se viene es apoyar a la gente que va cayendo presa, que usualmente es la que siempre queda más olvidada despúes de todas estas cosas, entonces también ahí sería bueno estar mejor articulados. Igual, si de algo ha servido la situación actual es que muchos compañeros, incluso nihilistas, porque uno se mueve en un espectro político bastante más o menos amplio, me han dicho que claro ya no, eso de que el pueblo estaba muerto y que no hay nada que hacer, como que se les está borrando un poco de la cabeza, cachai? Porque claro, esto superó cualquier expectativa, cachai? Ver a la gente normal enfrentándose a los pacos, quemando cosas, robando cosas y repartiéndoselo a la misma gente. Entonces, es como un aprendizaje social que se va dando. Es lo mismo que los láseres o esas cosas que, los primeros días los pacos sacaron muchos ojos porque nadie se le ocurría ir con antiparras, pero como la gente ya descubrió que le estaban disparando en la cara, empezaron a aparecer antiparras. Después los láseres, apareció un láser en un video un día y todos “ay mira”, y luego aparecieron dos o tres, y ahora hay como 50 láseres, cachai? O más. Lo mismo con las máscaras de gas, lo mismo con la gente de primeros auxilios. Y lo mismo en las asambleas, que estás cosas simplemente no pasan ya por la opinión de la televisón, la opinión oficial que te la da la prensa, porque este país está acostumbrado a opinar lo mismo que opina la televisión, sino que ahora te da la posibilidad de hablar con tu vecino y vecina, porque antes no se hablaba. Y esto es muy importante porque, por lo que nos contaban nuestros papás o nuestros abuelos o abuelas, antes había una cultura de eso, de opinión política, de discutir. Y eso está volviendo de a poco, y yo creo que… porque obviamente acá no vamos a ganar nada, esto es una revuelta pero tampoco es la revolución… pero esos son aprendizajes muy importantes, que logran juntar a la gente de nuevo. C: En las casas se puede hablar de política de nuevo, en los colegios. B: Claro. Para nadie es ajena la situación actual. Eso es muy importante porque, como que esta democracia fue una máscara muy buena que hizo la dictadura, en el sentido de que el progreso económico traía una felicidad a todos, y ahora estamos viendo las consecuencias de ese progreso económico. Sobre todo “ad portas” de una crisis económica que se supone que viene el próximo año. Entonces también creo que tiene que ver con eso, porque igual se está encareciendo la vida; las cosas más caras, y la gente está acostumbrada a gastar en todo, y ahora se están guardando un poco más la plata, porque de verdad está más complicado todo. Y bueno, para qué hablar de la especulación en las verduras, sobre todo en la vivienda acá en Santiago, cachai? Entonces, la gente debe a inmoviliaria, a FP, bancos, y son los que el próximo año te van a embargar, al final. Lo que ha sido bueno ha sido romper el aislamiento que había entre las personas, y también señalar a los enemigos de la gente, así como “aquí están”, peor que la Iglesia es que tienes más de uno en cada barrio. Y la gente también, otra cosa importante es que entendió que las cosas no se hacen así como por las buenas, mucha gente está entendiendo que solamente dejando así, la cagada, se puede sacar. No sé po, imagínate, más de 23 días, más de 25 muertos, más de 200 mutilados, desaparecidos no sé cuántos, gente torturada y violada, y no se ha conseguido NADA, ni siquiera que caiga el gobierno, porque por ejemplo no sé, en el Líbano, cayó el gobierno, en Hong Kong, yo creo que de más que puede pasar algo así. Pero acá yo no lo creo, porque la democracia chilena confiaba mucho en la institucionalidad. Y eso fue un trabajo de la izquierda, que convenció a la gente que la institucionalidad era una cosa nueva, y siempre fue lo mismo. Y esas como píldoras para adormecer que puso la izquierda ya dejaron de funcionar, porque la gente entendió que tanto los socialistas como la gente de la UDI funcionan de la misma forma, y funcionan para la misma gente. Eso es lo chistoso, que acá la burguesía no le importa mucho quién salga del espectro político, en el sentido que tiene tratos con ambos espectros políticos, cachai? Bueno, siempre lo ha hecho también. A: Para mí también es llamativo, me impresiona, que la gente se ha dedicado tanto a hacer batalla con la policía y dejar la cagada. Y no solamente que lo hace, sino la gente que está ahí permitiéndolo, y reivindicándolo en sus redes sociales y todo eso. Eso para mí, socialmente, ha sido impresionante. Pero, lo que he visto es que hay muchas personas diciendo “montaje” a varios actos, y esa ha sido la forma de no reivindicar una acción, no valorarlo en cuanto a la estrategia, pero hay gente que dice que hasta la Molotov que tiraron fue un montaje, todas las quemas. Hay como un espectro. C: Hay como un tabú en la izquiera. Se asocia que tiene que ser quizá muy puritana, correcta, o el juicio o el castigo por “un error” o algo fuera de la ley va a ser muy fuerte. Entonces hay un miedo quizá, de parte de la izquierda, a desconocer cosas como la irracionalidad, la delincuencia común, o los mismos sabotajes, o la misma violencia que quizá es intencional y no fortuita. B: Yo creo que eso es una herencia de cómo la izquierda llegó a la democracia, porque la izquierda oficial pactó con la dictadura, a cambio de entregarle a todos los grupos subversivos, que es lo que hizo Elwin con la oficina [?] y todas esas cosas. Entonces, que todo sea un montaje fue el discurso de la izquierda desde siempre para poder validarse ante el poder. Y el Frentre Amplio y otros sectores progre, lo que están haciendo es eso: quieren reivindicar al estado en el sentido de que ellos aparezcan como interlocutores válidos. Ellos se quieren poner al frente del movimiento y decir “nosotros vamos a representar a estos”. De hecho, eso de la Asamblea Constituyente yo creo que salió de ellos, cachai? Más encima acá en el Frente Amplio están estos libertarios que son supuestamente anarquistas, y su estrategia era una cosa que se llamaba la ruptura democrática, que es copar la institucionalidad oficial, para romperla desde adentro… bastante iluso. Yo creo que no es iluso, es intencionado en cuanto a que los tipos quieren poder, cachai? Ahora los mismos tipos están reivindicando las asambleas barriales, cosa que no quisieron fomentar en mucho tiempo, entonces hay un doble discurso, como en todas las cosas en que la calle pone demandas o consignas, y los políticos se apropian de esas consignas para ocuparlas para sus lugares, cachai? C: Igual la izquierda acá en Chile tiene tradición democrática. Entonces, por ejemplo, la izquierda no va a festinar la muerte de un policía públicamente. No va a festinar, por ejemplo, el ataque a una comisaría. Porque existe esta tradición que la democracia, ante todo, hay que cuidarla. Una cosa como muy a la griega, cachai? B: Es que, Chile ha sido de los países menos… osea, con tradición más democráctica de toda América creo, creo que más que Estados Unidos, en el sentido de que siempre ha habido una continuidad democrática. Han habido como tres dictaduras en toda la historia del estado chileno, osea dictaduras como tal, porque las demás cosas igual funcionan de la misma forma. La cosa es que mucha gente es muy republicana, esa es la palabra, y la izquierda sobre todo es muy republicana. Y eso solamente favorece a la institucionalidad, pero los explotados y las explotadas cada día se dan más cuenta que es una trampa. Porque haciendo las cosas legalmente se demora más que… no sé, por ejemplo, postular una casa en subsidio de vivienda, te demoras mucho más que si vas y te tomas el terreno, junto con otros pobladores. Y ese tipo de cosas, que antes pasaban mucho en Chile, están empezando a pasar porque la necesidad va a llevar a las personas a hacer eso, cachai? C: Pero la democracia tiene un valor casi sagrado B: Pero para una generación que ya es la vieja C: No tanto porque… B: Los cabros chicos no están ni al lado C: Porque dicen “Asamblea Constituyente”. No dicen “Revolución”, ni “Que se vayan todo”, ni “Autogestión”, sino “Asamblea Constituyente” B: Sí, pero eso es yo creo porque la izquierda se tomó el timón de la revuelta, e instauró sus demandas en vez de las demandas que se están peleando en la calle po, porque al final todos sabemos que Piñera, aunque haga una constituyente nueva, va a ser un chiste po, cachai? La burguesía cuando se pone violenta es porque está viendo sus privilegios tocados, y ahora ni siquiera le hemos tocado muchos privilegios. Cuando le toquemos realmente los privilegios van a hacer lo mismo que hicieron con nuestros abuelos, masivamente exterminarlos, cachai? C: Yo creo que hoy en día están “ad portas” de tocarse los privilegios. B: Pero es que no hay un movimiento que le de a esto una… C: Ayer había una toma en el terreno de los Cousiño, que fueron la familia que metió la luz eléctrica y el tren a Chile. Son una familia de las más impotantes de este país, cachai? B: Bueno sí, ha sido impresionante por ejemplo ayer atacaron tres cuarteles militares. Por suerte los milicos no se pusieron a disparar porque habría sido una mascre, pero la gente como que… yo hace 5 años jamás pensaría en la vida… tirarle una piedra a un cuartel militar, cachai? Porque era como impensable, y ahora la gente lo está haciendo. A: Por miedo, o por pensar que no tenían mucho que ver… C: No sí, por miedo B: Todo mundo sabe que los milicos son los huevones más corruptos de este país, más que los pacos, más que los políticos. A los milicos les dieron todas las facilidades porque ellos fueron la carne de cañón que hizo el neoliberalismo en Chile, como siempre lo ha sido, cachai? Y el pago de ellos fue que tengan las mejores pensiones y toda la cuestión. Y más encima roban plata a manos llenas. Entonces, todo mundo sabe que los milicos están involucrados. El problema es que todos nosotros venimos saliendo, mi generación, viene saliendo del miedo que tenían nuestros papás o nuestras mamás o nuestras hermanas, a los militares. Porque de verdad era un miedo irracional, en el sentido de ponerse mal con sólo que aparezcan militares en la calle, cachai? Y la generación que viene después de uno, no sé cabros de 20, ya no tienen ese recuerdo tan vívido, que sus papás les digan “cuidado con los milicos”, porque los papás de ellos eran niños cuando terminó la dictadura, cachai? O eran un poco más jóvenes, tenían 10 años o una cosa así. Entonces siento que ese quiebre generacional ha logrado romper el miedo social hacia la represión. Todos nuestros papás o nuestras mamás, grandes o abuelos o abuelas, “no te metai en leseras, te va a pasar algo, mejor quedarse piolita, mejor seguir trabajando”. Esa mentalidad de “mejor no me meto en nada porque van a a matar a toda mi familia y me van a torturar a mi” po, cachai? Y la gente que está peleando con la policía ya no tiene ese miedo. A: Okay, pues explicarme lo del el…  que decías como ahora si se pueden transportar niños como en el auto por…   B: ¡Ah! los veintitantos días de impunidad. Osea, claro pues por qué la policía previamente a esto esta mostrando su brutalidad a la gente como con trabajo ilegales. Como la economía esta cambiando y hay mas gente necesita dinero ha crecido mucho el comercio ambulante por ejemplo y   A: ¿De inmigrantes?   C: No, no. Surtido

B: De todo. Los inmigrantes claro. Obviamente la gente que no tiene permiso para estar acá y todo es como por una cosa de obligación tiene que hacer comercio ambulante pero también es porque no hay tanto trabajo como antes que podías conseguir, como pega no es tan mala   C: es mas precariado ahora

B: Esta proletariatizandose más la sociedad y los policías estaban preocupados de eso de cosas municipales y como toda esta como estigmatización de ser ladrones y todo entonces como igual, era igual de brutal por que por ejemplo acá en Santiago, siempre han andado en Santiago (de donde uno es). Perseguían mucho a los ambulantes con golpes, con civiles etcétera.   A: Los tratan? los detenidos general?

B: Claro, murió Alberto Picuasi, Pacuasi… no me acuerdo como era su apellido, pero era un vendedor ambulante ecuatoriano. Murió siendo perseguido por la policía y hubo varias marchas en respuesta por ejemplo antes de… Y claro igual el comercio también   C: Y hubo muertes en Brillante también y hay dos casos de violencia por la espalda, de matonaje estaban quedando a la luz publica. incluso unos días anteriores, mediáticamente habían estado siendo condenados a juicio a pena ejecutiva por un golpe a los detenidos en malls   B: A tortura a los de comercio ambulante específicamente y aparte como cosas como la muerte a Macarena Valdés así que se esta sabiendo que son asesinato pagado como pagalla gente que esta en contra como del proyecto como capitalista y claro todo eso se sentía. y como la policía estaba preocupada de eso había mucha presencia policial por que igual con todo esto de los secundarios tirando molotovs en los colegios del centro o cosas de ese estilo había una presencia como militar en el centro hace mucho tiempo. que una costumbre de que estuvieran piquetes de fuerzas especiales en las esquinas era la costumbre revisando la mochila a la gente joven cachai?   C: por lo menos el Tiallo   B: Claro, pero mas en Tualo o Chucho o el ultimo cinco si pero   C: Ya, pero hace mucho tiempo que no te revisan la mochila al centro. por que te para la yuta   B: Pero cuando hay marcha o cosas así pero    C: Permantentemente, osea si te ves sospechoso con la pura mochila cachai No puedes fumarte un pilo/pucho tranquilo   B: O claro y en los parques también están haciendo mas control como con la gente que bebe en la calle y cosas de ese sentido y entonces estábamos muy acostumbrados como a una presencia policial muy fuerte muy encima. sobretodo como uno que viene de un ambiente anarquista donde  la policía se un mantiene atente a la actividad y haya como una presencia policial siempre bien fuerte y como en todo lo que significa en el anarquismo da lo mismo la tendencia cachai? y entonces como que hubo un quiebre. como que la policía esta superada y como que no tienen personal y con que están trabajando no se cuantas horas al día por que les falta personal cachai? y ahora Piñera salió a decir que llamen a los reservistas, osea no a los reservistas a los jubilados cachai? como a servicio activo de nuevo cosa que creo que es ilegal pero bueno dense la vueltas que quieran

A: pero como ha sentido esa falta de policía?   B: Por eso, a eso iba, estábamos tan acostumbrados a una presencia policial tan fuerte que se quebró como el control de la policía. Y ahora todo el mundo como   C: Es híper libre   B: Si híper libre, gente metiéndose  con los autos contra el transito no cuando hay barricadas o problemas si no por pasar. gente que incluso molesta a los policías del trafico que están dirigiendo el trafico cuando no hay semáforos y les pegan paite o los humillan frente a la gente. eso de no pagar la micro se volvió mas eficaz asi nivel de que incluso los micreros los mismos trabajadores están abriendo todas las puertas diciendo a la gente que pase para que vayan al centro a protestar.   A: Yo vi hace uno par de días que fiscalizadores con chalecos rojos. como los fiscalizadores como metropolitanos invitando a la gente alentando que subieran, así como no vamos a fiscalizar, suban suban, sabemos como esta la cosa   B: Y eso se ha dado mucho a un nivel macro por ejemplo el comercio ambulante ahora en el centro es masivo. Digo, Toda la gente va a vender ya no hay mas redadas policiales, que eran una cosa de todos los días, y la gente va a vender en las marchas. Hay mucho comercio en las marchas igual con todo esto, por ejemplo, nosotros, yo en la particular que tengo un oficio. se baja la venta hay menos gente haciendo compras hay menos pedidos. como dejo de funcionar la ciudad como estaba funcionando para mucha gente. Con que se nota mucho igual abrió un tramo en que como hay un vacío de legalidad o ilegalidad todo el mundo esta aprovechando eso. Por ejemplo, yo se que los narcotraficantes ahora están vendiendo mas tranquilo por ejemplo. en todos lados, no solo en el centro.

C: los delincuentes comunes también

B: claro, pero han bajado como ese tipo de cosas. como que ahora la gente esta saqueando   C: Hay una bronca y…   B: Claro también se ha acentuado mucho el odio de gente que le roba a su mismo pueblo. cachai? Tanto del mismo pueblo como entonces que les dicen los domésticos. Cachai? pero como declaro han sido como veintitantos días de impunidad por que de vedad yo he visto escenas que jamás pensé que podrían pasar. Así gente saqueando locales y repartiendo todas las cosas no se en Valparaíso por ejemplo saquearon una farmacia y el Gustavo Fricke que es como el hospital publico de allá estaba sin , como que le cortaron los fondos y el estado no le esta pasando material entonces no tienen materiales y la gente que saquea la farmacia le fue a regalar las cosas al hospital. Cachai? Entonces como que ocurren ese tipo de cosas. Que como que a uno no le caben en la cabeza y son como de anécdotas de estas revueltas que uno leyó de hace cien años. Cachai?   C: bueno me parece de surrealismo   B: Claro, como surreal. Como si esto fuera realismo mágico de estos latinoamericanos. Así como-   C: Por ejemplo, esa imagen, escudo de vida, de repente la que vez en la prensa. cachai? la wea Aantofagasta botan una reada gigante

A: El pórtico   B: o la iglesia en llamas o los bancos. chacai?…Se han quemado muchos lugares que donde tenían tramos, municipalidades. tendrías que, como que claro también sirve para esconder sus negocios turbios, pero también yo creo que libero un montón de gente de que de se perdieron los papeles de sus multas y ese tipo de cosas.   C: Hay mucha, hay mucha energía liberal   B: Si, por que había mucha contenida pues entonces ahora como no se pues los cabros así, los caroflight y toda la bola ahora los saqueos fueron con camionetas y todo así a cortarse al cado   C: Y la micro así raaaaaw contra el mall A: que paso con ese micro?

B: una micro que venia en avenida maquena hasta el mall en puente alto y los bajaron al chofer que secuestraron a la micro y bueno acelero. Y la micro, es tan larga con coneccion cuando hace la curva extrellan la chocan la puerta del mall. En la reja metálica y baaaam la abrió y ahí todos a saquear el mall. Y la gente como primer fin de semana y hay cales de gente vendiendo esa cuestión en la feria. cachai? como mucha ropa de marca   A: Ya, guau buenas historias   B: No, Y eso no nada. En realidad, han sido generalizados de verdad así como en Antofagasta que es una ciudad en que no pasa ni quique han quedado en las medias caladas, en calamas y en los pueblos. Claro hasta Talcahuano el otro día quemaron La sede la udi (*union demócrata independiente) En pueblo chico como Quillota quemaron la municipalidad como que toda la juventud se acostó a la rabia de la calle de todas las todo, todo.   A: Ya, yo tengo dos preguntas quizás no tan felices. ¿Pero, errores y oportunidades perdidas de este movimiento?   B: Osea claro, la cosa sigue y todos pensamos que

C: nadie pensó que ayer podía ser como todo el primer día

B: claro y las cosas como que no han perdido fuerzas es lo mas increíble. por que el sentido en que, por ejemplo, las manifestaciones principales en plaza Italia o en las plazas principales de los barrios siguen siendo de cientos de miles de personas
  C: osea hay errores como los cuarros que se han expuesto mucho al reconocimiento facial por ejemplo.

B: como gente que esta así enfrentando la policía destapada pero también cada día hay mas conciencia de eso cachai? pero ya ha caído gente presa por ese tipo de cosa, gente ocupaba el teléfono para todo sabe que no puede andar llamando el teléfono para hablar cualquier tontera. igual son cosas que se van aprendiendo de a poco y a nivel especifico anarquista quizás se esta un poquito mas consciente de aquello. En algún nivel por que ejemplo, la gente estaba ocupada, preocupada de ocupar Sinal y ahora sí. cachai? Porque este país como que tiene mucha tecnología, pero como que nos ocupa mucho como la contra-tecnología o ese tipo de cosas. Errores, pues el hecho de que o oportunidades perdida de que hubiéramos sido como si estuviéramos mas organizados podríamos haber marcado una presencia, como, específicamente anarquista mucho mas grande tanto como las reivindicaciones de crear asambleas territoriales , como el enfrentamientos a la policía, cosas que igual ha habido por que hay como como te decían antes como una revuelta que no es anarquista pero que sí es como anarquista cacháis en el sentido de que hay mucho como, como ideas libertarias transitando entre la gente tanto en las asambleas barriales como en las cosas mal choque como en repartir los bienes etcétera cachai pero 

C: hay precariedad en la lucha callejera   B: claro, la gente 

C: hay mucha precariedad

B: no hay muchas respuestas a los policías en realidad, eso de que había como casi un millón de policías heridos, osea mil policías heridos es mentira había como ciento tantos cachai? y ninguno como grave ni nada. Ahora recién ahora están saliendo gente a dispararle como armas de fuego a la policía. Paso en la olmeda paso en la granja, paso en renca por que la gente también como que esta enojado con el abuso descarado que tienen los pacos y la impunidad que también tienen por que todo el mundo sabe que al paco no le va a pasar nada, por que va hacer un show

ah, pero, osea que es un error pensar que estas cosas no van a pasar. Yo creo que es pacotilla, es un error, pensarte que, es ingenuo pensar que la acumulación de miseria no va a generar un sea social como ahora o anti-social entre la misma sociedad así como canibalismo social Estamos inmersos en un canibalismo social absoluto y esto  dirigió la rabia hacia arriba hacia donde tiene que ir cachai y mucho discurso de compañero y compañera se había centrado en que esto no iba a pasar, que la gente esta dormida, gente que solo quiere el celular y claro, pues eso no ha cambiado pero también uno no puede negar que años de años no generan una respuesta brutal asi como así. por que igual que hayan muerto que haya quemado todas las cuestiones como brutal por algo impensado sobre todo en este lugar que están las cosas como entre comillas tranquilas. Cachai? pero yo creo que al anarquista le falta dejar, como estar mas metido en la realidad mas que en el discurso como político por que eso si que hubiera que, por ejemplo, a la gente que, si tenia trabajo territorial o en una comunidad o todo eso ha tenido mas fuerzas y han podido, así como plantear sus ideas de una manera mas rápida.   C: Hay movimientos sociales, organizaciones que llevan años ya en lucha   B: Y claro no son cien por ciento anarquistas, pero hay mucha afinidad también con a los métodos. cachai?   C: Los cabros del instituto nacional están apareciendo todos los días en las noticias 

B: Si los del IN, antes los de la obligación    C: Luchas que uta lleva n dos veinte años dando cara   B: Y ahora no es una cuestión como estudiantil especifica pos cachen fue una cuestión social generalizada de los explotados   C: El año pasado con las marchas feministas cachai a las marchas FP habían tenido las convocatorias   B: Claro que como no se pos Este país también como que la gente que lucha esta muy pendiente a las fechas. Estamos todos pendientes de la APE o del 11 de sept que paso cachai entonces como, no se tiene que seguir subestimados al hecho de que esta cosa se va a ir cada vez mas a la chucha y si tenemos que tener soluciones practicas ante eso. No solamente como discursivas y plantear ideas si no tener como proyectos levantados concretos que pueden hacerse cargos de necesidades concretas tanto de alimentarse por ejemplo seria mucha mas entretenido de que no se que  pos todo s podamos entrar a asamblea y nosotros vemos las casas que nos construimos o como distribuir las medicaciones en el barrio y cosas como soluciones cache? que pueden ser un poco reformistas pero hacen que la practica de la lucha sea un ejercicio cotidiano que hasta pa las soluciones de las necesidades mas básicas y eso genera una fuerza que no se igual yo creo que    C: Esa, la gran oportunidad. Igual para responder a tu pregunta cachai la posibilidad de replantearse mas la vida cotidiana cachai. Soluciones mas reales     B: y empezar a cuestionarse, así como todo. como que abre la brecha empiezas a meter a si cuestionarse las malas practicas que todos tenemos. la como, tanto como de vecino como las relaciones interpersonales chacen? como que abre el espacio de empatía y al haber tenido la oportunidad de haber estado mejor organizados en un momento así había sido muy, muy útil pero como no lo estábamos e igual han ha habido muchos como valerosos esfuerzos tanto a nivel que no se nota a nivel de propaganda etcétera pero que no se como va servir de elección a todo lo que venga por que tu como el algo que, que partió recién cache? y mucha gente también esta cachando que el discurso así como mega nihilismo antisocial me ca conto el enemigo mi vecino no tiene como así es la realidad y tampoco es practico y por que al final hay vios mucho mas fuertes juntos y juntas y igual eso nos quita el hecho que dentro de los mismos movimientos hay un montón de contradicciones internas que impiden esa unión por que también    C: osea natural y  

B: no sí, pero también es como no hacerse cargo de valorizar otras cosas también y o por eso se genera un ambiente de desconfianza y ese tipo de cosa    A: pero, pero, unos ejemplos por favor como de las contracciones dentro del movimientos   B: osea, no se el hecho de que como he mucho de lo atado sin de merecer cosas que tienen mucho como peso real del problema son a nivel personal y la gente se lo va transmitiendo con la gente que se junta y crea enemistades de que la otra gente no tiene idea o cosas de ese estilo cachai? y por último si te ves   C: cosas cotidianas   B: o claro o esa típica como competencia bien patriarcal de -yo tengo un mejor proyecto que el tuyo y yo soy mas radical que tu- cachai> cosas que son como para producir un gueto mas que para producir una idea y que se expanda la sociedad cachai? y yo creo que mucha gente, por que me ha tocado hablar con hartos compañeros y pedir las opiniones de mucho y claro todos se están dando cuenta que claro que  no sirve para nada estar todos dispersos y desunidos cachai? tampoco por que deberíamos ser una sola organización con nuestros.. no, no planteo para nada eso. Pero, si que casa…   C: es momento de airear la posibilidad de cuestionar todo. entonces en momento de reflexión igual para… piensa que para la derecha golpista ya es la posibilidad que, que, re-pensar su privilegio cachai?

B: si, osea es impensable que uno como político de derecha están ocupando las palabras y hablando como se están hablando hasta ultima semana cachai? y son mas socialista que los socialistas cachai? como algo muy raro en chile. Pero, claro como que se desaprovecho la oportunidad de darle mas impulso. Mas aun el impulso que ya esta dado .por que igual yo creo que lo, las, les anarquistas están re-preocupados de darles un impulso a esto y que ya no pare. incluso la gente que estaba como en contra de la violencia o la encontraba contraproducente. no es momento de quedarse en la casa a mirar como pasan las cosas    C: ni de condenar a la persona que esta haciendo el intento   B: claro, o de condenar a la otra persona por que se quiere juntar con el vecino y decirle queso amarillo no se   A: okay, al nivel del movimiento… no se… Chile Despertó o tiene otro nombre que pueda describir el movimiento?     B: la revuelta de octubre- a mi me gusta 

C: No, todavía no tiene nombre

B: No, no tiene

C: chile despertó es horrible   A: hay que inventar otro y hacerlo pegar como, pronto no, por que si demoran mucho tiempo se van a quedar   B: Pues, sabes yo creo que chile despertó lo pusieron los medio también por que internacionalmente va    A: bueno, cuales son las cosas que podrían dividir ese movimiento? Por ejemplo, les voy a avanzar una teoría quizás muy equivocada. Pero yo creo que hay una contradicción adentro del movimiento de la gente que se manifiestan por sus necesidades básicas y por su rabia al estado. Como la violencia que esta siendo   B: o a la represión claro   A: si, y por ejemplo no se si…   B: osea un populismo, osea igual es como

C: un peronismo

B: históricamente igual están las condiciones como para que se emerja un populismo fascista tipo perón, tipo Humala por ejemplo en el Perú tipo, no se, Chávez mismo cachai? latinoamericanista etcétera con un sentido muy militar   C: seria una masacre por que hoy en día también es un lugar, es una instancia donde por ejemplo la disidencia sexual cachai?    B: claro, la gente ya no esta tan callada como-

C: claro, por que igual esta la idea de 

B: el sentido es responder    C: la gente esta entre comilla de vanguardia cachai que son puta artista no son… burladores 

B: osea yo creo que lo que va empezar a aguas primeras osea el estado desde que empezó esto ha tratado de dividir las cosas como siempre lo hace entre los buenos y los malos   C: entre delincuente y ciudadano común 

B: y eso que al principio el estado estaba tratando de delincuente a toda la gente que salía a protestan pos cachai? el problema es que eso en la calle esa división no esa existe. la gente que va pacíficamente entiende mas cada vez mas que necesitan los encapuchados. los encapuchedos cada vez entienden mas y mas que necesitan a la gente que va a hacer masa y estar allí cachai? es una cuestión dual que tiene un mismo sentido y que parte de una misma lucha y como tipo de herramientas que hay cachai   C: la influencia de los medios es muy fuerte 

B: Sí sí, pero en la calle la gente que por ejemplo esta protestando y que, que, para mucha gente es como la primera vez. si es como se borra rápidamente esa mentira. cachai? el problema es que esa mentira también esta fomentada por los grupos de izquierda que quieren legalizar este problema por cachai? no se, dar frente amplio que ya hablaba mal de los encapuchados que ya hablaba mal de cabríos del colegio que ya hablaba mal  de los saqueos cachai por que son puros pulcos que no entienden el hecho que no es un privilegio tener un pantalón o una pantalla plana lo que no sea cachai que aunque no sea una necesidad básica pero sin endeudarse. si tenéis la oportunidad con tus amigos del barrio de ir a tener todo gratis y regalarle cosas a tu mama cachai? son como realidades diferentes, no se. yo tampoco vivo esa realidad directamente, pero es como una cosa de entender dos dedos de frente que la realidad de cada uno no es la única cachai entonces como que esta tan bien, bien fuerte   C: esas respuestas no pueden. tienen que ser con puro compromiso que la democracia    B: si pos, porque quieren ser validadores como validados por el estado para poder ser interlocutores cachai?     C: culturales   B: pero igual la gente en la calle esta cacheando que eso no y también hubo una división como bien de clase. Del sentido que al principio por ejemplo las marchas de todo este año por no se por el movimiento del lgbt o por las feministas o el medio ambiente era muy interclasista de hecho se veía mangas de gente que vos cachai nunca había estado n plaza Italia bajar e ir como con su colegio etc o con su asociación a las cuestiones, indignarse por que había gente rayando, por que había gente que cantaba contra los cuicos. de hecho pasan la marcha cambio climático como que como sentimiento así de ese estilo y ahora como que la violencia igual creo que ha ahuyentado a toda esa como gente como problemas cuica y a ha traído como    C: no creo weón si la misma gente mas    B: si, pero no se ven tanto rubios como se veía no se como la marcha de cambio climático. por lo menos plaza Italia    C: depende la línea boa, primera línea, segunda línea, tercera línea, cuarta línea    B: no, no , si sí obviamente a esos rones que están atrás cachai? y carretean de todo pero como que siento que hay muchos mas marcados hacia bajo que antes como esta cuestion inter-clasista cachai? y    C: no están los buenos protestando en el primer día   B: Ah plaza villa

C: no mas ría… los dos mil   B: ah los dos mildigos

C: los dos mildigos la van a poner hasta la paja   B: hasta los cuicos han salido a protestar, pero la cosa es como mas social o de enfrentamiento y todo ese tipo de cosas están como mas regado    C: del centro    B: populares   C: bueno, bueno si, ir a pegarle a la yuta    B: seguro que aparte la gente con privilegio no tiene problemas con la policía hasta ahora cachai?    B: bueno    C: buenos es que la yuta se a portado muy mal    A: yo creo que, esa es la potencia, así se dice?, el poder que tiene el movimiento como gente enojada con el estado por    B: al revés de la policía    A: por lo político como creen que debería ser la sociedad y la gente que esta enojado o simplemente como desesperado y maneja estar de ser no se por eso    B: por ahí hubiera habido   A: no es una gran contracción para mi. es muy lucido que están unidos   B: si por, pero igual es una unión que igual es sorprendente que haya durando tanto   A: claro    B: Pero, que yo creo que va a ser como se esta fomentando. por eso también salieron los chalecos amarillos que va a ser ocupado por los grupos fascistas para para ser sus políticas   A: me puedes explicar un poquito que…    B: ha bueno, los chalecos amarillos ha diferencia de Francia acá son como un grupo de vecinos y vecinas (.supuestamente neutrales) que quieren defender la propiedad y los allegaos. como en cualquier dictadura corrió mucho el rumor de que había gente saqueando casas o como, locales pequeños cachai? cosas que no ha pasado. puede que haya pasado una vez pero   C: no, si lo hubo   B: pero, una casa, he ,quien han saqueado una casa. Quien a saqueado una casa? Nadie ha saqueado una casa   C: no, anoche yo escuche de primera fuente en coauro en bajo de mena    B: ah ya    C: que se estaban portando pésimo    C: los vecinos chaleco amarillo de juntaron con la yuta se acabaron de atar la raja los weones. y to el barrio aplaudiendo y buscando otras buenas oportunidades   B: los lugares mas como brígidos de Santiago existe eso    C: que hay lugares que    B: el volcán también    C: lugares de Santiago donde en verdad no hay ley. que ni siquiera es mas choro   B: Y también el sentido que los narcos igual tienen también de repente poco respeto a su propio lugar pos cachai? de parte de allá ser traficante envenenara a su juventud     C: en el barrio cachai   B: aparte tienen ahí como la choreza de que hay. hay que tanto y que la wea y no se como igual terminan saqueando como cosas del mismo barrio y eso se le llama domestico y la gente igual tiene un sentido de como en contra de los domésticos cachai? y pero es mas una influencia narco una influencia de como el cabrio no sé bubón igual el no se los choros que andan robando no es lo mismo que los narcos.    A: okay, gracias   C: chalecos amarillos, algo en claro los grupos    B: y los chalecos amarillos claro el grupo reaccionario de ciudadanos que pretenden como defender la propiedad privada tanto de como la gran de multinacionales o como su propio barrio y su propio barrio ha se han visto imágenes patéticas de gente persiguiendo saqueadas de fantasmas corriendo de una esquina a otra o enojándose por que pasa gente no se, mas pobre o de color, o etcétera por su barrio y apuntándolos con si fueran saqueadores etcétera y también cuando las protesta han intentado subir al barrio alto y a la cagada costanera los cuicos al tiro todos tienes pistolas, todos tienen palos de golf cachai con palos de golf cachai! y hay se notaba la división    C: dos días pegando balazos    B: claro, en reñaca   C: con el muto cuatro tiros   B: claro, como neonazi gringo cachai? o otro viejo que era aun abogado en las condes que se puso a disparar contra la gente que iba a protestar cachai entonces y ellos claro ahí se nota lo bueno que con todo eso se esta quitando cada vez la mascara de eso de la igualdad ante la ley de la democracia de que todos somos iguales.  ahora siempre a sido mentira y ahora mas que nunca la gente se esta dando cuenta de que es mentira por que esta sacando la mezcla de la boa osea la paz social asegura como que la democracia funciona con una muy buena mascara, osea se rompió la paz social muestra lo que realmente es la democracia cachai>   A: me queda una ultima pregunta, en desde afuera que pueden hacer los anarquistas o quien sea mas que escuche este podcast para apoyar la lucha    B: he no se, algo que ha servido, en el sentido de que por ejemplo se suspendió el apec que se suspendió el acomp 25 se suspendió la final de la copa sudamericana se suspendió… se esta hasta el momento hay llamado a boicotear el campeonato nacional de futbol todo eso son – hay que verlo en términos de que son todas esas cosas inversiones de gente que gana mucho dinero atrás de ellas y que el boicot significa restarle mucho dinero a ese tipo de cosas, no s,e siento que en este momento dejar a chile internacionalmente mal es como lo mejor que pueden hacer. como ir a embajadas he desde las cosas ciudadanas hasta alegar por cualquier como cosas chicas o no comprar bienes chilenos o esa tontera que son como gestos con al final como morales nomas para la lucha con tanto repartir cosas contra chile decir que en chile así como se tortura igual que siempre, rayar a la embajada molestar  los políticos chilenos que viven en otros lados. Cosa que algunos compañero s y compañeras ya lo están haciendo atrás vez del mundo por cachai y han habido intervenciones o cuestiones de embajada en Bélgica, en Grecia, en Italia, carca\hi yo creo que sirve dejar mal a chile que se ve como un paraíso para que los capitalistas invirtieran entonces al dejarlos mal le vamos a restar negocio a los capitalistas en un país que es muy importarte para los capites. eso es yo creo lo mejor y difundir también la situación que existe como con los presos con lo heridos con los muertos que también para fuera se trata de bajar un poco el nivel    abrirse va   C: es que esto que esta pasando en chile es –esta pasando en todos partes    B: osea claro, esto no va aparte igual que sea este país

C: que sean todos, todo aprendizaje para la lucha    B: Osea, que este sea el país mas neoliberal de Latinoamérica y se haya levantado como se levantó. ahora que mientras que la gente de como nosotros nos animaos con las luchas como en ecuador que tuvo mucha influencia en yo creo en el estallido de ahora. como nos animaos con la lucha en Hong Kong .como nos animamos como en la lucha en Rojava cachai como nos animas con la lucha en Catalunya etcétera   A: la evasión masiva en nueva york pego fuerte   B: claro! por ejemplo cachai son como gestos no es solamente que estemos luchando como una trinchera por un país. si no es como empezar a retracrajar el modelo capitalista de vida por y empezar por algo. Cachai? por que obviamente el capitalismo con todo lo que e viene se va a poner cada día mas brutal y necesitamos tener una respuesta practica. y yo creo que esto nos sabe ter por eso te decía lo de mayo 68 antes que claro , no es por compara los eventos pero si están una situaciones históricas donde se empieza a como quebrar el mito de lo que estaba gobernando y eso no solamente sirve para este país si no con o ahora este territorio y estos puebles si no como a todo el mundo  que vive en la situación todo somos dominadnos tanto en Hong Kong como en chile por el capitalismo o el Beijing o en no se por en caracas, todos vivimos bajo el capitalismo y la precariedad de la vida y ni el proyecto socialista estatal ni el proyecto capitalista extremo sirve de solución nada mas que para como dar privilegios entonces eso se va empezar a quebrar y ojala agarre fuerzas para sacar una tercera no se… otras soluciones    A: bueno, esto es así que si hay algo mas que quiere agregar   C: un saludo a mi mami    A: Contrato de como se dicen esto contrato de vida   B: Meno, menos     C: es muy bueno   B: yo vi a un rayado ayer que dijo -odio la policía amo a mi mama, odio a la yuta amo a mi abuela- eh ya no se ya no se yo creo que esto tiene que seguir y se tiene que seguir organizando a un nivel practico a las concepciones la necesidad hacen que, como la soluciones y las necesidades hacen que la lucha se ponga mas fuerte interesante por que se quebró algo y tenemos que seguir quebrando    A: y si quieren dejar por ejemplo sitios de web o cuentas de redes sociales o como    B: no se    A:de informarse o si quieren promocionar algo no se o nuestro cate en el barrio el fin de semana…?   B: yo no se, a seguir sacando las propagandas y organizándose sitios como la peste o en el mofila o anarquia.info o contrainfomismo sirven para ver como programa, pero hacen también han salido análisis re-interesantes de toda esta situación de parte como de compañeres de todos lados, pero ya creo que falta igual mayor producción de estrategia de conocimiento de les anarquistas mucha falta.    A: mira, muchas gracias ha sido la mansa entrevista he con esta yo creo que ya tenemos un episodio    B: je je    A: pero, ya muchísimas gracias y aguanten