Chilean satire comes in the form of The Clinic, a weekly newspaper that dissects and mocks celebrities and the political establishment and also features articles and interviews on all kinds of subjects. It takes its stance from the left and, as such, the President is an almost constant figure of ridicule. Yet its range of targets is broad, with the right-wing government of Piñera, the preceding government of the Concertación party, the Communist Party and the Catholic Church all regular recipients of scathing satirical wit. It is a very good read although much of it requires a good knowledge of Chilean society and, fundamentally, of Chilean slang. I have a good level of Spanish but parts of The Clinic are still incomprehensible. If you can get past that, you'll get a bloody good idea of what makes the country tick.
The paper was founded in 1998 and takes its name from The London Clinic, where Pinochet first stayed following his detention in London that year. Over the years, a huge array of notable Chilean writers and journalists have contributed to its pages, underlining the esteem in which the publication is held, despite its often garish style and puerile humour. Its regular columns include El Confesionario de Fray Yuyo (The Confessionary of Father Yuyo). where readers write in with details of their sins, and La Carne (The Meat), the weekly sexual exploits of a young woman of the upper classes.
However, it would be deeply unfair to imply that these are the main distinguishing features of The Clinic. In addition to the gags and lighthearted nature of various aspects, it also raises important issues and highlights social themes that are neglected by the mainstream centre-right press. With intelligent comment and analysis from its writers, The Clinic is far more than simply jokes for grown-ups.
The Clinic touches a chord with many Chilean as it focuses on the topics that affect the majority of the country: government inadequacy, unequal opportunities, the growing gap between have and have-not and so on. Whether raising these topics through a humourous or serious tone, the paper is an important counterweight against the main newspapers such as El Mercurio and La Tercera, both of which maintain conservative stances, a source of much piss-taking for The Clinic.
There is also a bar called The Clinic which is one of the coolest places in downtown Santiago and is packed out from Thursday to Sunday. It's a big old place just down from Belles Artes underground station, and spread ovr three floors. There's a lot of live music and the food is excellent. They are also generous with the measures of pisco or rum so a good thing in all.
The spirit of protest is fully awake in Chile thanks to the government approval of the controversial and unpopular Hydroaysén plant in Patagonia and the potential havoc wrecked on this incredible natural wilderness. I wrote about this a week ago and since then dissent has continued to grow with a series of official and non-official demonstrations in in Santiago and other cities. Last Friday 13th saw a massive Facebook and Twitter-organised protest in the city centre as thousands of people, mainly students, congregated in La Alameda to voice their opposition to the project. This had a large effect on the city as, by blocking Santiago´s main thoroughfare and sending the downtown into gridlock, the protesters were able to create civil disturbance through peaceful methods and raise awareness of their campaign.
Or, at least, that was the idea. Unfortunately, things once again descended into clashes between protesters and los carabineros leading to the usual rocks, teargas and water cannons coming out. That evening´s news, and that of the following morning, led with images of violent events in the heart of the city. I wasn´t at the demo but I was close and saw a young, noisy and peaceful section of the demo make its way along Paseo Huerfanos, one of the downtown´s main streets. A few minutes later I heard the teargus cannon. Whether or not this was a legitimate police response to violence and confrontation or a case of police brutality I cannot say. But last Friday night´s events have certainly been on the agenda all this week.
Chileans have not only taken to the streets in protest against Hydroaysén but also over proposed rises in tuition fees (sounds familiar) and in support of Mapuche political prisoners and hunger strikers. On many occasions, clashes with police have occurred. I wrote last week about what I feel is over-zealous policing at best and totalitarian oppression at worst so won´t rehash that blog. However, it is telling that, in the face of widespread anger and high media coverage of recent demonstrations and the authorities' response, the government yesterday announced an immediate suspension of the use of teargas at public events.
The Interior Minister, Rodrigo Hinzpeter, said that 'teargas has been used in our country for decades and the Carabineros of Chile acquire it from international suppliers who conform to the highest standards used by other countries, in order to confront situations of vandalism and public disorder'. This was basically clarification that the authorities had done nothing wrong and were legitimately entitled to gas citizens. If the likes of the United States and Israel do it, it is clearly an acceptable method of crowd control.
In spite of the government´s moral right to employ high-tech weaponry against members of the public it was announced that medical and scientific studies would be carried out to evaluate the health impact before the suspension was lifted. This followed on from the previous week´s claims by Andrei Tchernitchin, a toxicology expert in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Chile, said Israeli studies had found that exposure to teargas could cause a miscarriage within thirty minutes, and could even cause permanent damage to young children.
Hinzpeter went on to say 'I feel that the protection of our compatriots is the principal objective of our government, (and) it seems reasonable to us to suspend the use of teargas until new medical studies allow us to dispel any doubt over the employment of these gases to confront public disorder or vandalism'.
He then appealed for Saturday´s nationwide series of demonstrations against Hydroaysén to be conducted in an orderly and peaceful manner. The way these things tend to pan out, it's unlikely he'll get his wish.
In the meantime, los carabineros released a charming video explaining their continued use of teargas up until this point, in which Major Carlos Ruiz justified things by saying that the types of chemical used are 'authorised by international organisms'. Here´s the video, which features plenty of gritty footage of the police in action:
Santiago is a different world on Sundays as most people get out of the city or spend the day indoors with the family. The streets are much quieter and emptier than on other days, most things are closed including restaurants and bars (as opposed to the popular English Sunday boozing), and, provided you´re in the right spot, there´s a real mellow feel to the place. But it can sometimes be difficult to find a new place to wander around in that aimless and leisurely Sunday style if you´re not too familiar with things and don´t want to take your stroll in San Cristobal or Parque Forestal every weekend. So what else is about?
As I may have written before, more or less my favourite part of Santiago is Barrio Brasil and neighbouring Barrio Yungay. Plaza Brasil is well-known, stages regular weekend events, and has a heady nightlife, but just a few blocks north-west lies Plaza Yungay, a lovely chilled-out place tucked away in the old part of the city. The streets round here still feature the once-grand but now-shabby houses of the old moneyed classes from the early part of the 20th Century, before they headed off to the likes of Las Condes and Vitacura. The colonial architecture, tree-lined cobbled streets, brightly-painted murals and smattering of workshops, cultural centres and local community groups gives this area a strong sense of character and local pride, evident in the attitude and conduct of the residents. Having moved here recently from sterile Providencia, I noticed straight away how many people struck up conversation with me in shops or cafes.
There is, however, a somewhat seedy reputation that attaches itself to this part of the city. I was warned about moving here as it could be dangerous at night, and there are a much higher ratio of botillerias (off-licenses) than in other parts of the city, not to mention the side-alley hotels which have rooms available to rent by the hour. Yet it is easy to avoid this side of things (although I may visit a botilleria of my own free will), and these kinds of claims are generally made by people less familiar with the area. It certainly doesn´t seem to be any worse than, say, living in Hackney or some such part of London. What does set it apart from various London barrios is that it manages to be bohemian without being bourgeoise, and the general charm and tranquility is much more appealing than in other parts of Santiago. In spite of what some people might say, it is round here that I feel most relaxed and at ease.
Owing to its history of earthquakes and then economic 'progress', the majority of 'old' Santiago is these days sadly just a memory, but photos and preserved barrios such as Yungay are testament to the fact that it was once a rather attractive city. It is definitely a place to check out and get to know more and more.
And so, last night, Santiago was once again the scene of the police teargassing and watercannoning demonstrators in Plaza Italia and the city centre. This is a regular occurence in Chile, where it seems that most large-scale public protests seem to end with rocks thrown, heads broken and cells full. I wasn´t there last night but I´ve seen this kind of thing before, the first time being in the World Cup last year when football fans smashed up Plaza Italia following Chilean victories before again smashing up Plaza Italia following Chilean defeats. I found it Warner Brothers-esque, the way that things went round in a circle and repeated themselves. The fans overindulge and get rowdy, the police presence increases, the fans get more boisterous, the police attack, the fans run off and order is restored. Then the process started again a couple of days later. The whole thing reminded me of Wile E. Coyote and his forever backfiring attempts to catch Roadrunner.
But yesterday´s protestations and clashes were focussed on a more serious and contentious issue: the government approval of the Hydroaysén project in Patagonia in the south of Chile that will have a huge environmental impact. This will see the construction of five hydro-electric plants in some of the most pristine natural land in the country. Many opponents of the project argue that it is not necessary as the time it would take to construct the plant could be chanelled into developing alternative sources of energy. There is also the environmental impact and the potential harm likely to be caused to this region famed for its beautiful wilderness and to the communities that live there. For its part, the governent argues that by the year 2020 the project will generate around 20% of the country´s energy supply and is an important part of Chile´s future progress.
So public anger was manifested last night not only through clashes in Santiago, but also in Valparaiso and Concepción. The concept of public protest is strong in Chile, perhaps owing to the years of suppresion endured under the dictatorship that prohibited this basic right. Yet why does it so often seem to end in chaos? Is it due to, as the authorities would claim, an element of trouble-makers whose primary goal is to cause conflict and disturbance? That was clearly the case during the alcohol-fuelled World Cup disturbances, yet when it comes to serious political issues and people feeling their views are not taken into account, does it become acceptable to turn to more extreme measures of protest? And what role do the police, los carabineros, play in all of this?
Chile´s carabineros have a decent reputation by the standards of Latin American policing, probably due to military training and better salaries than in other countries that results in less corruption. But there is something unsettling about the green military uniforms and guns used by all law enforcement and it is perfectly normal to see heavily armoured police at low-key public events. It strikes me as strange that a country with such a turbulent and traumatic history under a military dictatorship still entrusts its law enforcement to military figures and there´s no denying that los carabineros look more like soldiers than police. Could it therefore be that their mere presence is enough to incite empassioned crowds?
As well as the guns, shields and helmets, there are the brutal looking vehicles, which wouldn´t seem out of place in a Mad Max film. Dark green armour-plated buses are stationed close to demonstrations or in busy late-night areas, a show of force but also an act of provocation. Then there are the famous ´guanacos´, named after the llama-like spitting animals of the Andes, with their powerful water cannons and eternal presence at public events. These machines hark of a totalitarian state and evoke a heavy sense of menace.
It is not only the image of the police force that is distasteful but also its conduct. I was in Plaza Brasil on Sunday at the Communist Party flea market (a future blog entry on its way), where locals sell old clothes or books or cakes, students promote their own comics and artwork, local musicians soundtrack the afternoon, and hordes of kids enjoy the playground. The event couldn´t be tamer and, were it not for the identity of the organisers, would be utterly ignored by the police. However, what with this being Barrio Brasil, armoured and armed carabineros wove among the families and teenagers on powerful motorbikes while a police 4x4 drove directly through the centre of the children´s play area. To say this was unnecessary would be an understatement. It would certainly never happen at a Sunday afternoon family event in upmarket and conservative Las Condes.
It is this kind of oppressive heavy-handedness that makes me suspect public disturbances such as last night´s events in Plaza Italia are not solely down to troublemakers amongst the protestors. It strikes me that the authorities are likely to provoke violence as it is this that, as in the UK, attracts the media focus and helps to diminish support for those that oppose the government. The result is lower attendances on subsequent demonstrations and the loss of public sympathy. We should remember that large parts of the Chilean, and global, media are controlled by the upper classes, those who benefit from government policies that anger the masses, and there is a high degree of collusion.
In the meantime, there is a protest against the Hydroaysén project planned for the 21st May. I´ll be there and will blog on it, provided I don´t burn my fingers from all the molotovs I´ll be carrying.
