There are tons of issues and conflicts happening right now all across the world; issues in the Middle East with Turkey\u2019s invasion of the Kurdish territories and in South America with the widespread protests in Ecuador, Chile, Venezuela and Bolivia. One of these countries hits me personally, and that is Chile.
\nRecently, Chile has been plagued with several large protests in almost every city. From Santiago to Vi\u00f1a Del Mar, Chileans from all across the country are demanding that the current president, Sebasti\u00e1n Pi\u00f1era, resign or \u201crenuncia.\u201d Here\u2019s why: The government raised the price of public transportation, causing thousands of citizens who rely on public transportation every day to protest. It doesn\u2019t seem like a big deal, since here in the United States, especially in Searcy, we don\u2019t rely on public transportation as much, but in Chile \u2014 and Latin America for that matter \u2014 many heavily rely on it. Chile also doesn\u2019t produce any form of oil, so they import every drop, leading to high prices for gasoline, electricity and transportation. With the fare of transportation already high, Pi\u00f1era\u2019s policies didn\u2019t help Chile\u2019s already tense situation.
\nI attended Harding University in Latin America (HULA) in spring 2019, and one of the first places we stayed was Vi\u00f1a Del Mar. There I met and learned from many Chileans about the country\u2019s difficult political past. Chile has been under two very oppressive governments. The first was Salvador Allende, a self-proclaimed socialist who tried to create a \u201cbetter Chile,\u201d but ended up bringing division among the populace and economic hardships on Chile\u2019s lower classes and indigenous population. In typical U.S. fashion during the Cold War, the CIA feared that Allende would ally with the Soviet Union and spread the ideology of socialism in South America. With that thought in mind, they aided and conducted a military coup d\u2019\u00e9tat. With Allende out of office, the United States supported the antisocialist dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. I could go on about the horrors that Pinochet committed, and how he allowed former Nazis to hide in Chile, but that\u2019s for another day.
\nWhen the HULA group was in Chile, we met several members of the Vi\u00f1a Church of Christ. This enabled us to engage in the Chilean culture and learn about the country as a whole. With current protests, I decided to ask a couple of friends who live in Chile, Melanie O\u2019Ryan and Catalina Andrea, about the situation. Melanie sent a photo of protestors, mostly students, robbing a supermarket near her home in Vi\u00f1a.
\n\u201cPeople began to invade the metro, that is, without paying, and they began to protest and break a lot of stuff in the streets,\u201d Melanie said. She also mentioned that they still don\u2019t have any public transportation to get anywhere, plus every city is under a 6 p.m. curfew.
\n\u201c[Chileans] want President Pi\u00f1era to resign. The armed forces are in the streets abusing people,\u201d Catalina said.
\nI asked her if Pi\u00f1era is anything like Pinochet ever was. \u201cPi\u00f1era is just like Pinochet,\u201d she said. There have been reports that 15 people have been killed and many others injured by the hands of the Carabineros, or police officers in Chile. The Santiago Times reported \u2014 and it was verified \u2014 that Pi\u00f1era was out celebrating his grandson\u2019s birthday while thousands of Chileans were trapped because of the transportation chaos. I\u2019ve seen videos of highways filled with protestors waving Chile\u2019s flag and chanting antigovernment slogans.
\nIt bothers me to see the beautiful cities of Vi\u00f1a Del Mar and Valpara\u00edso in flames, when only in March 2019 the HULA group was touring these historic cities. My prayer is that Chile can maintain order and that no one else gets hurt or killed. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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