The Social Revolt Against Military Service
Pelao Carvallo 1
The pandemic has allowed the Chilean Ministry of Defense to conceal the armed forces' major defeat: the end of mandatory military service (SMO) due to widespread resistance to the process. The Chilean Armed Forces and Law Enforcement are among the major institutions defeated by the social uprising that began in October 2019.
On the morning of October 18, 2019, the day of the Social Uprising in Chile, the General Directorate of National Mobilization (DGMN) announced the conscription of 81661 young men for mandatory military service [1] . This represented 70% of the conscription base for that year, meaning all men turning 18 that year. A month later, on November 19, the same DGMN reported that 109.921 young men had been conscripted for mandatory military service, representing 95% of the conscription base [2] . This maneuver of social pressure on a youth that was demonstrating in the streets and squares of the country, exposing eyes, life and freedom, was answered with demonstrations, protests, burning and looting of recruitment cantons, but mainly by not showing up to that call, managing to first extend the time of presenting documents to be exempted from November 30 to December 31 of that year and later that –with the excuse of the pandemic– the carrying out of the SMO during the year 2020.
Disobedience
The rejection of mandatory military service has deep roots. The unpunished murder of Pedro Soto Tapia [3] in the mid-90s exposed the need to abolish it. The Ricardo Lagos government negotiated a “modernization” that maintained privileges and impunity for military commanders, through a forum with one objective: legal reform under the slogan “Voluntary in principle, Mandatory as a last resort” [4] . The Armed Forces have been reaping the benefits of this subsidy in spades, generating even more resistance since it is clear in the collective consciousness that the “lottery” [5] for being called up never affects young men who live in the country’s wealthiest municipalities, those “3 municipalities.”
The rejection grew as high school students began to dedicate time and practice assembly-based discussions about the exploitation they suffer, one aspect of which is mandatory military service. The 2001 backpack protests [6] and the creation of ACES (Coordinating Assembly of High School Students) illustrate this growth. Furthermore, the persistence of the defiant proposal of conscientious objection, championed by the "Neither Helmet Nor Uniform" movement [7] and other components of the MAOC (Antimilitarist Movement of Conscientious Objection) in the first half of the 2000s, helped establish the idea that rejecting mandatory military service by not participating in it was both possible and effective. The impunity surrounding the atrocities committed during mandatory military service brought even more practical rejection from young people, who did not want to become mere numbers for death like the 44 conscripts from Antuco [8] senselessly murdered in 2005. There was such impunity on this issue that neither the regiment commander, nor the army commander-in-chief, nor the defense minister at the time were questioned or resigned from their posts.
The student mobilizations, especially among secondary school students, of 2006, 2011, and 2018, particularly during the occupations of high schools, allowed for the circulation of a demilitarized perspective on schooling and life, with a profound critique of what mandatory military service (SMO) means. Of course, the military authorities explained this decrease with other reasons: population decline, greater access to universities, and a larger job market [9] , even hinting that they had “foreseen” this.
The idea that “the numbers speak for themselves” is a fallacy that the Chilean military knows—and uses—very well: regarding the collapse of “voluntary” service in mandatory military service, they don't provide clear figures but rather decontextualized percentages, always approximate amounts, and the figures they give to one media outlet are not necessarily the same as those given to others. They also know that no one in the press will verify the figures they provide, since they generally only repeat press reports.
The contradictory data
By 2019, before the social uprising of October, rejection of mandatory military service (SMO) had increased following the discovery of new abuses and fatal crimes [10] [11] . In June 2019, according to official figures, volunteers barely covered 28,99% of the conscript requirement for that year, which was 11.067 conscripts [12] . The total number of volunteers for 2019 was only revealed in October 2020 by the Head of Recruitment for the DGMN (General Directorate of National Mobilization), Colonel Fredy Kirst [13] , who stated that only 8.926 people volunteered for SMO that year. This represented 7,2% of the available pool that year, down from 12,3% in 2018 to 7,2% the following year. Proportionally, this represents a decrease of 41,5%.
This decrease coincides with what has happened in previous years: in October 2018, La Tercera reported the statements of General Jorge Morales, director of the DGMN, given before the defense committee of the Chamber of Deputies [14] . There he stated that 17.308 young people had begun the process to voluntarily carry out the SMO, this figure was 12,3% of the total number of young men born in 1999 [15] , the generation called up that year.
Finally, General Morales stated that only 10.303 young people were drafted, of whom he specified that 1.687 were women. This number, 10.303, represented 60% of those who initiated the voluntary enlistment process that year. He also stated that of the total number of young people who had NOT volunteered, 81.661 were compelled to complete the selection process for mandatory military service (SMO) through a "lottery." Therefore, 27.032 young people, 21,4% of the total of that generation of 125952, were not bothered at all by the DGMN (General Directorate of National Mobilization). 21,4%, coincidentally, is a similar percentage to that obtained by the "Reject" option nationwide in the October plebiscite [16] . Since it is impossible to know which municipalities this 21% of young people not required for SMO belong to, we can only speculate.
An additional difficulty in understanding the current situation of mandatory military service is that the data provided by the military personnel in charge of the issue is contradictory. La Tercera, in that same article, states that the Armed Forces require 12 conscripts annually… it was enough to review the official data to know that this figure, 12, was last required in 2015 [17] and that since then, the figure has been 11. This decrease was from 21,8% voluntary enlistment in 2007 in the total conscription base (the total number of young men of that generation) to 13,2% in 2014.
Official figures differ from one document to another. Regarding 2018, one document states that 12.563 people volunteered for mandatory military service (SMO), and that 10.800 conscripts were required [18] , figures very different from and lower than those presented by General Morales. Another official document indicates that 15.517 young people volunteered, and that 11.152 were required to be quartered, with 100% compliance [19] . The Minister of Defense at the time, Espina, gave the figure of 10.500 as the number of people quartered [20]. Which of these figures was accurate for 2018? The press doesn't seem to care.
The DGMN's explanations for this massive and ongoing insubordination only briefly considered the effect of the October 2019 Social Uprising [21] . The connection between the social uprising and the refusal to undergo mandatory military service is evident, so much so that, as a result of the protests [22] , demonstrations, and destruction of recruitment centers [23] [24] , the DGMN had to extend, in November, the deadline for submitting excuses [25] for those "selected" to undergo the mandatory military service selection process until December 31 of that year. The insubordination was clear, as was the rejection of being complicit in the repression and murder of social activists embodied at that time, and to this day, by the Armed Forces responsible for maintaining the states of emergency declared since October [26] . This rejection also extends to the Carabineros, Chile's militarized police force [27].
inconsistencies
The inconsistency in the conscription figures provided by the DGMN (General Directorate of National Mobilization) becomes apparent when comparing the official 2019 data with statements from the head of recruitment and information regarding military enlistment. The official figures indicated a requirement of 11.067 conscripts, but by June 2019, they had only reached 28,99% of the required number. In October of that year, Colonel Kirst stated that they had 8.926 recruits (81% of the required number, a 19% shortfall). This, in turn, contradicted the enlistment figures given in September of that year, which reported 6.702 young men performing mandatory military service [28] – 1.201 of whom were women. This figure (6.702) represents 58% of the announced requirement for that generation (a 42% shortfall). What happened to the 2224 people missing from the 8.926-6.702 figure? Did they refuse to be part of the mandatory military service, did they practice conscientious objection? Or did the Armed Forces prefer to save themselves the expense and the information?
The percentage of conscripts and volunteers (because we are told that all women in the SMO are volunteers) is also unclear for that year's conscription, since Colonel Kirst indicated [29] in October that those forced to complete the SMO procedures represented 70 to 80% of the available pool in 2019, [30] meaning that between 80.027 and 99.460 young men were inconvenienced. In November, as we mentioned at the beginning, Lo Presti would tell a different story, with different figures.
The rejection of mandatory military service (SMO) is even greater for the 2020 recruitment drive, despite lower requirements, according to the same statements. Voluntary service only attracted 3.969 people, as reported by Army Colonel Fredy Kurst, head of the Recruitment Department of the General Directorate of National Mobilization. This figure represents a 55,5% decrease compared to the 8.926 who served during the same period last year. He also noted that 39.924 young men were selected by lottery, 35% of the total pool, because—and this is important—the Armed Forces lowered their conscript requirements. This time, the percentage of those not affected by the SMO—whether through the lottery or voluntary service—reached 56.3% of the total, a nod to the middle class.
Apparently, the number of conscripts sought for 2021 is the same as for this year, between 6.500 and 7.000 young men. The lack of conscription is evident in the call-up of reservists made this year [31] (and last year under the pretext of the state of siege against the Revolt) and in the extension of the conscription period last year [32] . The collapse of the mandatory military service is total, so much so that this year the Chilean Air Force completely suspended conscription. [33]
This decrease in conscription requirements and military enlistments is not reflected in the national budget allocated to the DGMN for 2021, since the reduction for this Directorate only reaches 5,8% compared to the previous year [34] , and the reduction in the national budget for the Army (the largest consumer of conscription) is a mere 6.6% [35] . The 55% decrease in conscripts is not accurately reflected in the budget, nor is the decrease in requirements. This is not surprising, since official figures still present a conscription target of 11.349 conscripts for 2020 [36].
What's missing from the discussion
Military service in Chile has always been mandatory. Voluntary service exists within the framework of legal obligation, and for several years now, mandatory service—through a lottery system—has been used to fill the gap created by the lack of volunteers. The Armed Forces use mandatory military service to recruit those they need to become professional soldiers, a category that currently forms the backbone of the Armed Forces personnel. Recruitment has no other objective than to sustain military spending and supply future professional soldiers.
The rejection of mandatory military service (SMO) in this decrease in volunteers for an essentially compulsory military service [37] is manifested in practical insubordination that, on the one hand, resorts to legal excuses to avoid SMO, and on the other hand, to simply not showing up for exemption, selection, or conscription. They simply do not appear. Military pressure on the Public Prosecutor's Office to prosecute insubordination had no effect, even in 2016 [38] . This insubordination is also a defense of the life and dignity of those exposed to SMO, whose characteristics of torture, mistreatment, and death do not disappear. [39]
All these issues—the right to conscientious objection, the rejection of mandatory military service, and the persistent obligation of military service despite the declarations and mythology of voluntariness disseminated by the Armed Forces—are not part of the pre-constitutional discussions on the role of the Armed Forces and Defense taking place in the press these days, especially in El Mostrador. The opinions of those who oppose a militarized vision of the country are being suppressed, whether they are conscientious objectors, draft dodgers, draft resisters, antimilitarists, people who have organized to demilitarize the country, or family members and victims of the Armed Forces and mandatory military service in particular. This discussion in the press so far has a profound militaristic bias, influenced by the lobbying of the Armed Forces, favoring the armed resolution of conflicts, and seeking to maintain the status quo that benefits the de facto power in Chile known as the Armed Forces and Law Enforcement. The real discussion about the Armed Forces is made by people deserting, becoming reluctant, practicing insubordination, and practically declaring their conscientious objection.
1-Antimilitarist Assembly of the Chilean Region and Antimilitarist Network of Latin America and the Caribbean, Ramalc. December 15, 2020
[1] https://www.publimetro.cl/cl/social/2018/10/19/servicio-militar-2019-sorteo-general.html
[2] https://www.latercera.com/nacional/noticia/colapso-cantones-eximirse-del-servicio-militar/907894/
[3] https://www.biobiochile.cl/noticias/2014/01/27/aseguran-tener-nuevos-antecedentes-sobre-la-muerte-de-conscripto-pedro-soto-tapia.shtml
[4] https://obtienearchivo.bcn.cl/obtienearchivo?id=recursoslegales/10221.3/3839/2/HL20045.pdf
[5] Since there are no volunteers to cover the entire required conscription, the General Directorate of National Mobilization (DGMN) holds a draw among non-volunteers who turn 18 in the current year and in that draw those who must carry out the selection process for the SMO are chosen.
[6] https://juventudsedej.wordpress.com/2013/09/24/el-mochilazo-del-2001-instala-la-discusion-sobre-lo-que-se-considera-como-derechos-entrevista-a-claudio-duarte-13/
[7] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDciWZ4PKrg https://trincheradelaimagen.wordpress.com/2005/09/28/objetores-de-conciencia/
[8] https://www.biobiochile.cl/noticias/2015/01/24/ejercito-asegura-nueva-evaluacion-medica-a-soldado-sobreviviente-en-tragedia-del-2005-en-antuco.shtml
[9] 2007-2014 https://www.latercera.com/noticia/las-razones-que-han-reducido-a-casi-la-mitad-los-voluntarios-al-servicio-militar/
[10] https://www.biobiochile.cl/noticias/nacional/region-de-tarapaca/2019/03/16/tres-militares-mueren-tras-tiroteo-en-regimiento-iquique.shtml
[11] https://www.biobiochile.cl/noticias/nacional/region-de-antofagasta/2019/08/03/video-muestra-rito-donde-militares-agreden-a-conscriptos-ejercito-anuncia-investigacion.shtml
[12] https://www.dipres.gob.cl/597/articles-196510_doc_pdf.pdf
[13] https://www.radiosago.cl/inscripcion-voluntaria-al-servicio-militar-baja-55-respecto-del-ano-pasado/
[14] https://www.latercera.com/nacional/noticia/mujeres-apuntalan-la-cuota-anual-del-servicio-militar/379080/
[15] 126001, according to INE data
[16] https://pv.servelelecciones.cl/
[17] https://www.dipres.gob.cl/597/articles-193320_doc_pdf.pdf
[18] https://www.dipres.gob.cl/597/articles-193320_doc_pdf.pdf
[19] https://www.dipres.gob.cl/597/articles-196510_doc_pdf.pdf
[20] https://www.defensa.cl/noticias/ceremonia-de-acuartelamiento-11-mil-jovenes-cumpliran-este-ano-con-el-servicio-militar/
[21] https://www.clacso.org/la-primavera-andina-florece-en-pandemia/
[22] https://www.efe.com/efe/america/politica/no-queremos-ser-milicos-clamor-juvenil-contra-el-servicio-militar-en-chile/20000035-4118139
[23] https://www.biobiochile.cl/noticias/nacional/region-de-antofagasta/2019/11/27/incendio-afecta-al-canton-de-reclutamiento-de-calama.shtml and https://www.radiosago.cl/completamente-saqueada-y-destrozada-resulto-la-oficina-del-canton-de-reclutamiento/
[24] https://www.defensa.com/chile/fuerzas-armadas-chile-rechazan-ataques-instalaciones-defienden
[25] https://www.biobiochile.cl/noticias/nacional/chile/2019/11/20/extienden-hasta-el-30-de-diciembre-plazo-para-sacarse-el-servicio-militar-tras-colapso-de-oficinas.shtml
[26] https://www.uchile.cl/noticias/169428/academicos-advierten-sobre-las-limitaciones-del-estado-de-excepcion#:~:text=Durante%20m%C3%A1s%20de%20seis%20meses,a%20la%20pandemia%20del%20coronavirus.
[27] https://www.cnnchile.com/pais/postulaciones-escuela-carabineros-bajan-71_20200906/
[28] https://www.latercera.com/nacional/noticia/comienza-acuartelamiento-de-6700-jovenes-para-servicio-militar-en-el-ejercito/FRLENUT3NZESPFOBPI4F25TNXA/
[29] https://www.emol.com/noticias/Nacional/2020/10/21/1001302/Servicio-Militar-disminucion.html , see printed edition
[30] a universe of 124325 young people, according to INE data),
[31] https://www.infodefensa.com/latam/2020/06/17/noticia-chile-convocara-reservistas-apoyar-estado-catastrofe.html
[32] https://elpinguino.com/noticia/2020/08/27/entregan-reconocimiento-a-soldados-conscriptos-que-extendieron-su-servicio-militar
[33] https://www.latercera.com/nacional/noticia/comienza-acuartelamiento-de-6700-jovenes-para-servicio-militar-en-el-ejercito/FRLENUT3NZESPFOBPI4F25TNXA/
[34] https://www.infodefensa.com/latam/2020/10/06/noticia-chile-destinara-millones-dolares-presupuesto-defensa.html
[35] https://www.defensa.com/chile/chile-disminuye-presupuesto-defensa-para-2021
[36] https://www.dipres.gob.cl/597/articles-196510_doc_pdf.pdf
[37] Since 2010, the "lottery" has affected, on average, 70% of young people in each generation each year, compared to a voluntary participation rate that decreases every year.
[38] https://www.latercera.com/noticia/primera-vez-defensa-denuncia-los-remisos-del-servicio-militar/
[39] https://www.eldesconcierto.cl/nacional/2020/09/18/abusos-y-suicidios-como-las-fuerzas-armadas-y-de-orden-siguen-reproduciendo-la-violencia-al-interior-de-sus-filas.html
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