Chile: Winter is coming

CHILE - In Brief 25 Feb 2020 by Robert Funk

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The phrase, made popular by the series Game of Thrones, relates to the call to be prepared for the hardships of winter. Although most of Chile is still enjoying warm summer temperatures, the beginning of March, associated with students returning to class, is a reminder that winter is indeed coming. This year, March is being met with trepidation by more than just students, as Chileans expect a return to more intensive protest. Many expected a lull in clashes between protesters and police over the summer months. To some degree this was the case, but less than desired. Sporadic but intense violence continued over the summer break, especially on Friday evenings in the area around Santiago’s Plaza Italia, and in recent days in Viña del Mar, where the city’s annual song festival is being held. The protesters’ objective, presumably, is to keep the pressure on, and to ensure that the public – and the government – do not feel as if all is well in the land. The public, 83% of which disapproves of President Piñera according to the latest CADEM poll, probably has a sense of this already. March is also the month where the campaign for April’s constitutional plebiscite begins to heat up. The expectation is that the campaign itself will be an incentive for increased protest. On the one hand, sectors on the hard right do not want the process to go forward, and are using violent protest as an excuse. Their view is that the conditions are not ripe for a healthy, fair and democratic electoral process. On the hard left, a mix of anarchists and other groups who feel that since the constitutional process was designed by existing parties and agreed to behind closed doors (in last November’s ...