Public Statement Regarding the State of Emergency and State Violence in Chile

National and International Network of Academics and Researchers in Biopolitics, Social Sciences and Humanities

As the National and International Network of Academics and Researchers in Biopolitics, Social Sciences, and Humanities, we express our profound rejection of the way in which the current Chilean government has responded to the social unrest and protests that began on Monday, October 14, 2019. The government has declared a state of emergency and deployed the military to the streets, citing the chaotic situation in the country's main urban centers as the reason. However, the actions of the police and military have been selectively directed at criminalizing and repressing social protest, confusing and misinforming the public through official media outlets. Given these facts, the current Chilean government has done nothing more than implement a security strategy that urges the population to legitimize and request a state of exception, in order to suppress the legitimate demands of a society that is saying enough to the abuse and systematic legitimization of inequality, leading them to prioritize, instead, personal and community security problems.

The protests began with high school students resisting a public transportation fare hike. Gradually, other groups have joined the movement, bringing to the forefront a range of demands that center on the cost of living and the neoliberal policies that have failed to guarantee basic social rights for the population, such as healthcare, education, housing, and pensions. In this sense, we understand that the current state of mobilization and social conflict in Chile stems from social, cultural, political, legal, and economic factors that constitute a regime of abuse, corruption, and injustice, perpetuated for over 46 years since the last military dictatorship and consolidated during the Concertación governments.

The Chilean government, on the other hand, has focused on repressing the protests and has been unable to address these problems, a situation that has now manifested as confrontation and conflict, resulting in over a hundred deaths and injuries. What began as a specific and targeted demand has, in just a few days, revealed itself as a symptom of the injustices and abuses inherent in a development model that fails to resolve the deep-seated problems of inequality and exclusion plaguing Chilean society.

Faced with this disturbing and unacceptable situation, we demand the following immediately:

1. End the state of emergency and the curfew, which have plunged us back into a civilian-military dictatorship, seriously jeopardizing our fragile democracy. The immediate withdrawal of the military from the streets is required. We find it disturbing that, despite the experience of grave human rights violations committed under the dictatorship, similar institutional situations are being repeated today, failing to offer the minimum guarantees of respect, due process, and fair treatment to the citizens of Chile. As the days go by, the repression intensifies, and today we see military personnel carrying out operations while wearing hoods, plainclothes and armed police without identification, arresting people in unmarked vehicles, and using completely disproportionate violence against citizens protesting with slogans and banners.

2. We propose to all social, political, and institutional forces in the country that we move forward with a process to impeach the President of the Republic, Sebastián Piñera, along with his entire cabinet, given their inability to resolve the conflict and propose effective solutions that decisively contribute to improving the living conditions of all citizens of Chile. Their complete lack of judgment is leading the country toward an unmanageable conflict.

3. Creation of an Independent Commission to investigate human rights violations that occurred during the state of emergency. To date, we already have reports of missing persons and numerous allegations of torture and ill-treatment by the police and the army.

4. To move towards the establishment of a “new social contract,” which can only be a Constituent Assembly, where the popular will decides the country's destiny. The current Political Constitution of the Republic is an illegitimate instrument, created under a dictatorship, which today underpins inequality, the state of exception, and repression against those who dare to defend their rights, which have been surrendered to the market and reduced to mere consumer capacity.

5. It is necessary to strengthen all social and civil society organizations, as well as all forms of engagement between the academic, artistic, and intellectual worlds, with the struggles currently being waged in the name of the cost of living and democracy. Only effective organization and systematic action will allow us to end the state of exception and state violence, and project citizens' demands toward horizons that guarantee their rights.

6. Finally, we strongly urge the citizenry, and their cultural and political bodies, to adopt a vigilant stance regarding the future of the permanent state of emergency in the country. In this regard, we call upon them to defend social and political democracy against the clear threat of an authoritarian coup.

1. Eduardo Peñafiel Lancellotti, University of Chile

2. Cristóbal Durán Rojas, Independent Researcher, Chile

3. Miguel Valderrama, Independent Researcher, Chile

4. José Miguel Garay Rivera, Andrés Bello University, Chile

5. Daniel Miño, UMCE, Chile

6. Caterine Galaz Valderrama, University of Chile, Chile

7. Raúl Acevedo, National University of Asunción, Paraguay

8. Daniel Santibáñez Guerrero, University of Chile, Chile

9. Jonathan Duarte Reyes, San Sebastián University, Chile

10. Gloria González, University of Los Lagos, Chile

11. Rodrigo Karmy Bolton, University of Chile, Chile

12. Cristian Ricardo Ojeda Rodríguez, Independent Researcher

13. Mariana Mora Bayo, Center for Research and Higher Studies in Social Anthropology, Mexico

14. Jazmin Lizarraga, Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico

15. Débora Fernández, UMCE and CERES – NGO (Center for Studies of Social Reality), Chile

16. Diego Carvajal, Catholic University, Chile

17. Juan Pablo Sánchez Sepúlveda, University of Chile, Chile

18. Mauricio Amar, University of Chile, Chile

19. Dênis Lopes de Matos, University of Chile, Chile

20. Beatriz Podestá, National University of San Juan, Argentina

21. Francisco Javier Cortázar, University of Guadalajara, Mexico

22. Antonio Fuentes Díaz, Alfonso Vélez Pliego Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities, Mexico

23. Edgardo Íñiguez Rodríguez, University of Guadalajara, Mexico

24. Rogelio Luna Zamora, University of Guadalajara, Mexico

25. Lucía Mantilla, University of Guadalajara, Mexico

26. Flavio Meléndez Zermeño, University of Guadalajara, Mexico

27. Rocío Moreno Badajoz, University of Guadalajara, Mexico

28. Luis Eduardo Rivero Borrell Zermeño, Western Institute of Technology and Higher Education, Mexico

29. Rocío Moreno Badajoz, University of Guadalajara, Mexico

30. Mariana Valdebenito, University of Santiago, Chile

31. Kimberley Pérez Lutz, Independent Researcher

32. Alina Peña Igüarán, Western Institute of Technology and Higher Education, Mexico

33. Luciano Sáez Fuentealba, Independent Researcher

34. Iván Torres Apablaza, University of Chile, Chile

35. Jorge Vélez Vega, Autonomous University of Querétaro, Mexico

36. Débora Grandón Valenzuela, Independent Researcher

37. Anahí Gabriela González, Université París 8, Argentina

38. Flor Angélica Hermida Miralrio, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico

39. Rodolfo Morrison, University of Chile, Chile

40. Pedro E. Moscoso-Flores, Independent Researcher

41. Gabriel Abarca Brown, King's College London, UK

42. Jason Torres, Independent Researcher

43. Hernán Orozco, Metropolitan Technological University, Chile

44. Javiera Rojas Rivera, Independent Researcher

45. Cláudia Linhares Sanz, Universidade de Brasília, Brazil

46. ​​Davi Maranhão De Conti, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Brazil

47. Rodrigo Valenzuela, PreTexto Collective, Argentina

48. Ammann Ana Beatriz, National University of Córdoba, Argentina

49. Francisca Garat Pey, University of Santiago de Chile, Chile

50. Luca De Vittorio, University of Chile, Chile

51. Ricardo Baquero, University of Buenos Aires, Argentina

52. Miguel Vicuña Navarro, Independent Researcher

53. Renzo Filinich Orozco, University of Valparaíso, Chile

54. Benjamin Varas, Independent Researcher

55. Rodrigo Andrés Azócar González, Andrés Bello University, Chile

56. Arthur Arruda Leal Ferreira, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

57. María Fernanda Varela Valdés, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico

58. Camilo Manzo, University of Chile, Chile

59. Diego Rivera López, University of Valparaíso, Chile

60. María D. Torres A., PhD candidate in Social Sciences in Territorial Studies, University of Los Lagos, Chile

61. Mónica Palacios, University of Santiago de Chile, Chile

62. Andrés Zamorano, Arcis University/University of Chile, Chile

63. Juan Gonzalez Lopez, University of Chile, Chile

64. Fernanda Bywaters, Independent Researcher

65. Jorge Olivares-Rocuant, University of Chile, Chile

66. Jorge Gutiérrez Pizarro, Independent Researcher

67. Valeria Vargas Nocetti, Independent Researcher

68. Marcela Apablaza Santis, Austral University of Chile, Chile

69. Tomas Peters, ICEI – University of Chile, Chile

70. Ramiro Paz Martínez, Agustín Nieto Caballero Official Educational Institution, Colombia

71. Silvia Grinberg, National University of San Martín, Argentina

72. Constanza Gálvez, Independent Researcher

73. Martin Díaz, National University of Comahue, Argentina

74. Andrés Fuentes, University of Chile, Chile

75. Jesús Vidal, Research Center in Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Chile

76. Marcos Nalli, Universidade Estadual de Londrina, Brazil

77. Sônia Camargo, State Secretary of Education of the State of Paraná, Brazil

78. Javier Molina Johannes, Independent Researcher

79. Denise Portinari, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

80. Santiago Arcila Rodríguez, Independent Researcher

81. Simone Wolfgang, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

82. Yolanda Gloria Gamboa Muñoz, Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo, Brazil

83. Alexandre Bonetti Lima, State University of Londrina, Brazil

84. Gabriela Meneghelli, Independent Researcher

85. Diana Espejel, Metropolitan Autonomous University, Mexico

86. Karina Escudero Espejel, Independent Researcher

87. Cristian Ricardo Ojeda Rodríguez, PhD Candidate in Human Sciences, Austral University of Chile, Chile

88. Mirla Utreras, Sociologist

89. Gabriel Vilarinho, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

90. María José Poblete, University of Chile, Chile

91. Lupicinio Íñiguez-Rueda, Autonomous University of Barcelona, ​​Spain

92. David Sebastian Contreras Islas, Metropolitan Autonomous University, Mexico

93. Sferco Senda, Conicet, Argentina

94. Jorge Rafael Renard, Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo, Brazil

95. Martha Lievano Franco, Independent Researcher

96. Guiomar Rovira, Metropolitan Autonomous University, Mexico

97. Olga Quintero, Independent Researcher

98. Tatiane de Andrade, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

99. Marx José Gómez Liendo, Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research (IVIC), Venezuela

100. Sonia Serrano Rivera, University of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico

101. Francisco Álvarez Jiménez, University of Christian Humanism, Chile

102. Tomás Baquero, University of Buenos Aires, Argentina

103. Alejandra Torres, Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain

104. Juan Zamorano, Independent Researcher

105. Eleonora Corace, Università degli studi di Messina, Italy

106. Mayra Terrones Medina, Teacher

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[+] CLACSO for Chile

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