INTERNATIONAL LABOUR CHILE USA:

MORE PRESSURE ON KROGER:

Molly has reported before on this blog about the campaign on the part of the American United Farm Workers to apply on Guimarra Vineyards via its customer Kroger. The Kroger supermarket chain claims an ethical code of conduct that it expects its suppliers to adhere to. As the following from the UFW makes plain Guimarra is in violation of this code both in its American operations and also in the 'off season' grapes it obtains from Chile. Conditions for farm workers are abysmal in both countries.

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Natures Partner Violates Kroger's Code of Conduct in Chile Too

Last week, thousands of farm worker supporters took action to tell the Kroger grocery chain* to hold a particular supplier accountable—Giumarra Vineyards, provider of Nature’s Partner produce.

In its 2010 Sustainability Report, Kroger features a Code of Conduct for its vendors which specifies standards that vendors must be able to demonstrate compliance with. As we demonstrated, Giumarra Vineyards Corporation, with its Nature’s Partner label, is not in compliance.

Now we want to share that these violations don’t stop with the California fields where grapes with the Nature Partner label are produced. The kinds of abuses workers report at Giumarra Vineyards trickle down throughout the company’s supply chain. Chilean companies that provide Giumarra with the off season produce you’ll see on Kroger’s shelves, under the Nature’s Partner label, are also out of compliance with the code.

Chilean field worker Magaly Luna describes the following:

"The first thing they tell you when you arrive at the company is that you can’t complain… they say is that ‘if you fall from the ladder this year you are of no use to me to thin the vine. You are nothing because if you limp, then what use are you? You will climb the vine, it will hurt, then you will get down. If before you made 100 vines, now you will only make 60 vines and will be of no use to me.’

"Another thing is when final paychecks are issued, we are left being owed money. We’re not paid for all of our work. We’re told the accountant will look into it, but nothing ever happens, they just keep our money."

It is clear that Kroger needs to have a much more thorough system for verifying that its suppliers are actually in compliance with its Code of Conduct. And it is important that Kroger not just take these companies’ own word at face value when it comes to verification—worker testimony must be taken into account.

Take action today by clicking on the green "participate" button on the top right and tell Kroger to find out what is really going on out in the ranches that put the food on their shelves.

* The Krogers grocery chain includes Ralphs, Food for Less, Fred Meyer, QFC, Frys, Baker’s, City Market, Dillions, Foods Co, Gerbes, Hilander, JayC Stores, King Soopers, Owen’s Market, Scotts Food & Pharmacy, Smiths Food & Drug, Smith’s Marketplace, Turkey Hill, and more.

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THE LETTER:

Please go to this link to send the following letter to Kroger management about this violation of their code of ethics.

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Dear Mr. Dillon,

According to the 2010 Sustainability Report featured on Kroger's website, your company expects its vendors to uphold certain standards. Additionally, the report states that these vendors must provide actual proof of their compliance.

Consumers are becoming increasingly interested in the origins of their food and expect that their grocers are aware of who their suppliers truly are.

I am writing you today to inform you that one of your vendors, The Giumarra Companies with its Nature's Partner label, is not in compliance with your Code of Conduct. Farm workers have indicated there are serious violations both here in the US and also with suppliers who provide Chilean imports. Allegations against Giumarra/Nature's Partner include sexual harassment, wage and hour violations and more.

Because these allegations are so strong and the evidence is mounting, I ask the Kroger Corporation to conduct a very thorough investigation into this company's practices and evaluate the Kroger-Giumarra relationship based on your findings. It is not enough to take this company's word for it--workers are speaking out and we hope Kroger is ready to listen.

Sincerely,

INTERNATIONAL ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-CHILE:

CALL FOR SUPPORT FROM CHILEAN ANARCHISTS:

The recent earthquake in Chile disrupted many things in that country, and the Chilean anarchist movement is no exception. Over the past few years the Chilean anarchists have been growing in numbers and sophistication, and now they need help to recover from teh recent disaster and grow even further. the following appeal is from the Anarkismo web site.

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CALL FOR INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY WITH CHILEAN COMRADES
CALL FOR INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY WITH CHILEAN COMRADES:

Dear comrades,

The situation in this region called Chile is already known, thus we believe more details about the recent earthquake are not necessary, as the Internet offers a lot of information about what took place.

The group of individuals that make up the Productora de Comunicación Social* escaped physical damage, even though during the earthquake a couple of comrades from our organization were in Concepción, one of the most devastated regions - leaving the site where they were pretty much uninhabitable and losing some equipment used for the work of the organization.

In Santiago, our main workplace and where meetings were held, also home to a couple of our comrades - the Casa Volnitza - was partially destroyed. Currently, we are looking into repairing the site, since neither the Productora nor the Sociedad de Resistencia Santiago**, with whom we share the space, have another place to go to. Fortunately, we had no other substantial material losses, but the structural collapse that occurred in the Casa Volnitza was indeed major.

We have had constant contact with some organizations in southern Chile. The comrades that were near the epicenter were able to communicate directly with us about the help they need. There are social center and sister organizations in poblaciones, or working class neighborhoods, that were heavily damaged by the earthquake and also by actions taken by the police, the army, mass media and the government.

Given the circumstances, we are asking for help from our comrades from different parts of the world. Here in Santiago, businesses are up and running, so one can even buy food and basic items that are not reaching us via the government. We have already sent some help to the southern region with what we have here in Santiago, even though we too have been affected.

In our space, the Sociedad de Resistancia Santiago is helping to collect items to send to the most affected area where there are still no basic services, or wherever organizations are requesting help.

As the Productora we would like to request monetary support from all organizations that know our work and trust us. These contributions will be used to recover lost material and equipment, possible restorations or an alternative space and to send aid to the Southern organizations. Obviously no institutional channels work to help the direct work of anti-authoritarian organizations, so we reach out to you.

All persons or organizations interested in providing some sort of collaboration, contact us as quickly as possible at our e-mail: productoradecomunicacionsocial@gmail.com

See you soon.

Reconstructing the social movement,

Health, bread and freedom!

Productora de Comunicación Social.

Videorevista – Sin(a)psis***"

comunicando acción en la construcción del movimiento social"

Valparaíso - Santiago - Valdivia - Temuco - Antofagasta - Concepción – and beyond

Translator Note:

*The Productora de Comunicación Social, or Social Communication Production, are the production collectives that publish the Chilean video-magazine Sin(a)psis***, an independent publication in DVD format covering the praxis of anarchist organizing in that region and beyond. More info at: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=196759735730&index=1#!/pages/Chile/SINAPSIS-la-video-revista/161436684301

**The Sociedad de Resistencia Santiago groups the working, the unemployed and students into anti-authoritarian initiatives to generate collective solutions for immediate needs, be they economic, social and/or cultural without leaving behind the purpose of collective liberation. More info at: http://sociedadresistencia.blogspot.com/

You can also donate to other autonomous, anarchist and radical community based organizations by emailing or clicking on the links below.

Fondo Alquimia

for the Comunidad Lésbica La Teta Insurgente (lesbian anarcho-feminists in Concepción)http://www.fondoalquimia.org/Earthquake-in-Chile-Women-....html

http://www.darcontarjeta.cl/interior_institucion.asp?ll...atego...

Solo el Pueblo Ayuda al Pueblo- Campana de Solidaridad Popular

Only the People can help the People- Popular Solidarity Campaign

(a coalition of various organizations and individuals, including anti-authoritarians)http://soloelpuebloayudaaelpueblo.blogspot.com/

soloelpuebloayudaaelpueblo@yahoo.cl

For news and updates in Spanish check out:

http://santiago.indymedia.org/

http://chilesur.indymedia.org/

INTERNATIONAL POLITICS-CHILE:

A DIFFERENT SORT OF LOOTING:

Since the recent earthquake in Chile the media have been full of reports of looting, especially in the city of Concepcion. It might be true, but it may also be quite exaggerated. One wonders if the various news media merely copy the one or two reporters who are actually in the city and whether they end up copying each other as well. Newsworthy I guess.

There is, however, another form of looting that has been going on for centuries. Here, from the Anarkismo website is a call to end that much more serious theft.

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Stop the looting in Chile
by José Antonio Gutiérrez D.
[Castellano]

Stop the looting in Chile

Following the earthquake, Chile is facing a huge, difficult task. It is estimated that the country's reconstruction will cost about US$30 billion - such a huge figure that President Bachelet has raised the need to seek credit from the World Bank. But before diving into a new vicious cycle of debt to the international finance organizations, where we are likely to end up paying ten times the original amounts borrowed as a result of their exorbitant interest rates, it is imperative we consider whether the country is able to meet these costs itself and avoid the financial bondage we would otherwise be risking. If there is no such capacity, it is essential we study ways to ensure that most of the funds for reconstruction are found within the country, so as to minimize dependence on foreign loans and credit as much as possible.

I believe that it is important in these times of turmoil, to pay attention to the role that copper can play in rebuilding Chile. This mineral has already provided a reserve fund of US$18 billion which can be used in emergency and reconstruction tasks.

For this reason I enthusiastically join the campaign against looting that, more and more every day, is being stirred up by the media (feeding the collective hysteria of the masses) and by the more snobbish members of the local establishment: but instead of all this ado about the looting of supermarkets and shops, what we really should be doing is examining the systematic and multi-million looting of a "cornerstone" of the Chilean economy - copper mining - that is being quietly carried on by the large mining companies.

The contribution to domestic production of copper from CODELCO [1] was only 28% in 2007. Yet this company has contributed over US$21 billion to the Treasury since 2005. But the contribution from all the other corporations who control the bulk of production, however, goes no higher than a measly US$5 billion! What is this, if not looting on a grand scale from under the noses of the whole people, with the collusion of businessmen and politicians?

Over the period of the Bachelet government alone, the multinational copper-mining corporations have made off with US$70 billion thanks to all sorts of tricks to avoid paying duties and only a few years ago were forced to start paying royalties, though the amounts involved are laughable. For decades the Chilean people have had their main resource - copper - stolen without any shame. These are the thieves that worry me and these are the looters who are really screwing the whole country [2].

But they are not the only ones who are stealing what belongs to the whole people. The army, now posing as guardians of the common good, have been robbing the country for decades through the 10% tax on sales of copper that goes directly to their coffers. This privilege should be done away with as soon as possible so that these funds can be used in ways that benefit the people.

When you look at these figures, you can see who the real thieves in Chile are. If we stop this looting, the country will have enough money to rebuild without having to borrow from loan-sharks who would then go on plundering the people of Chile through the debt.

For this reason it is important that popular organizations apply pressure on the Chilean State for two pressing measures that the ruling classes in this country will never introduce of their own accord, since they either benefit from this plunder or have no interest in stopping it:
1. Re-nationalize copper2. Cancel the 10% tax on sales of copper for the benefit of the Armed Forces.We therefore spread this invitation to stop the shameless looting in Chile. It is a task that involves the whole people.
José Antonio Gutiérrez D.5 March 2010
Translation by FdCA-International Relations Office.
Notes:

1. CODELCO (Corporación Nacional del Cobre de Chile - National Copper Corporation of Chile) is the State's copper-mining company. It was founded after foreign-owned companies were nationalized in 1971.

2. These figures, and more besides, are available on the website of the Comité de Defensa del Cobre (http://www.defensadelcobre.info/).

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY:

STATEMENT OF THE CHILEAN FEL ON INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY:

The following, from the Anarkismo site, is the statement of the Chilean Frente de Estudiantes Libertarios Santiago on the occasion of International Women's Day. The following has been slightly edited for English grammar.

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Statement on the International Women's Day:

On this important day, our organisation declares:

That today, 8th of March, we celebrate internationally the struggle of women to end the oppression that has been systematically exercised on us by the patriarchal society.

However, we witness the way in which the establishment and the political and economic powers behind the dominant class try to eclipse and manipulate the very origins of this day, which lay with working class women, with those women who are part of the students and of the urban poor, women that suffer from a double oppression and exploitation due to their class origin and their condition as woman .

That there is an official International Women’s Day is because there has been a long tradition of struggle carried by working class women since late in the XIXth Century, women who saw that the final abolition of exploitation could not be complete without the end of another oppression, the first and fundamental form of oppression: that of men against women. With the roots in the first expressions of the socialist movement and in the midst of the industrial boom that led women to the factories, it was there that was born the organisation of those revolting for their right to vote and also against the abuse at work imposed by Capital and the domestic exploitation of men that turned them into slaves.

On the day itself, it is important to note that there were many women’s days until it was decided, arbitrarily, to pick the 8th of March, a date chosen by German socialist women in 1914. In the Russian calendar, women’s day is February 23rd, the day in which the first stage of the Russian Revolution started in 1917 with the strike of the garment industry working women from Petrograd, who ,without obeying the Party instructions to wait for action, voted to struggle for their right to bread and peace.

These events have been largely forgotten, and the liberal bourgeois movements that turned Women’s Day into an institution, reduced the importance of its class origins to turn it into the mere attempt to make women equal to men when it comes to their right to be exploited by capitalism. This is to deny and misrepresent a struggle that had as its main objective to end all forms of oppression, which aimed at creating a free and equal society, without classes nor bourgeois institutions based on coercion.

Women, in the heat of the struggle, have historically been at the forefront, destroying at revolutionary times existing norms, a role still played today, being a fundamental actor in the rise of our people’s struggles.

We cannot let ourselves be deceived because some women are in high posts in government and in private companies, from where they bark a supposed equal condition given by bourgeois society. In reality, all women are oppressed because of their gender, we know of it from our experience when looking for a job, when we receive our wage and in the way we are treated daily by this capitalist and patriarchal society.

We do not conform with an official day in our calendar, while the true origin of our struggle is concealed, and every day -we make it our day. We hold as our duty, as left-wing revolutionaries, not to tolerate discrimination or exclusion against our females comrades in our circles, attitudes which derive from the authoritarian relation of this traditionalist and bourgeois society in which we live. And we hold, as well, as something of paramount importance, to smash the illusion of “equality” when oppression keeps alive and well and we can’t turn a blind eye to it.
Against Patriarchy and Class Society!

Against Imperialism and for Libertarian Socialism!

Up the Women in Struggle!
FEL Santiago
Related Link: http://feluchile.blogspot.com/

INTERNATIONAL ANARCHIST MOVEMENT:

STATEMENT OF THE OCL ON THE SITUATION IN BOLIVIA:

The Organización Comunista Libertaria de Chile is a Chilean anarchist communist group. In addition to activities in their own country they are concerned with the broader context of Latin America. This is their statement on the present situation in Bolivia where, as reported earlier on this blog, there is violent right wing resistance against the left wing reforms of the Morales government.

The Brazilian Federacão Anarquista Gáucha has produced a much longer and more detailed analysis of the situation in Bolivia from an anarchist viewpoint. You can read this statement over at the Porkupine Blog.

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Statement on the current political situation in Bolivia:
by the Chilean Organización Comunista Libertaria

Given the current political situation facing the Bolivian popular movement, our Party wishes to make the following statement, and to provide all its internationalist solidarity to serve their just cause:

Latin America is at a crossroads. Like what is happening in Venezuela, imperialism - in collusion with the Bolivian bourgeoisie - is trying to destabilize the process of political and economic reforms led by President Evo Morales Ayma, a process that is disrupting the political scene in a continent which until not so long ago was "pacified" by the use of military coups.

This process is undoubtedly a contradictory one and at the moment it is increasingly clear to the masses that there are no half measures that do not mean sacrificing the interests of all the people and the workers to the oligarchy that is seeking to regain its lost ground with assassinations and coup attempts. Concern about the consequences that may arise from the current political crisis in Bolivia has attracted the presidents of the member states of the Union of South American Nations, who on the one hand, have to condemn destabilizing events, but who on the other have called on the Bolivian government to seek an understanding with the Bolivian Half Moon oligarchy. The magnitude of the fascist rebellion, the apparent intervention of U.S. imperialism, as well as the overwhelming popular support for the government simply go to confirm the absurdity of such an understanding.

At this time, with the Movimiento al Socialismo and President Morales having won themselves some time, there is no alternative but for them to assert themselves strongly among the mobilized masses and that section of the military that is loyal to the government, in order to widen the scope of the "October Agenda", which is an expression of the revolutionary process that the people have been building for many years on a growing wave of accumulated forces. On the other hand, the vacillating policy of seeking an understanding with fascism has clear implications, eloquently demonstrated by the Chilean experience of "Unidad Popular". This experience not only highlights the limits of the bourgeois democratic framework, it also demonstrates that there is no possibility of dialogue with the putschists: it simply enable the bourgeoisie and imperialism to align their forces to make the decisive blow, which would lead the Bolivian popular movement into butchery of untold proportions. That is why it is so urgent to take forceful measures against the paramilitary groups operating in the "Half Moon" and against any coup-inclined, middle- and high-ranking officers in Bolivian Armed Forces.

But beyond the possibilities offered by reformism, it has become essential for there to be unity among those sectors of society of a more revolutionary bent so that a common path that goes beyond the narrow framework of bourgeois legality can be mapped out. Indeed, there is an urgent need for the wise Bolivian popular movement to expand the revolutionary process without hesitation, to win over soldiers, the working class, anti-putschist and socialist NCOs and officers to the side of the people, to develop the embryos of popular power and immediately take on the tasks of defending working-class interests, to come up with a revolutionary program that will bring socialism, once and for all, to the heart of Latin America.

Moreover, we would like President Chavez - with the same force with which he condemned the murder of 30 Bolivian peasants at the hands of Bolivian "Cambas" (lowlanders) in the province of Pando - to condemn and prosecute those responsible for the treacherous murder earlier this month of four combatants of the Bolivarian Forces of Liberation (FBL) on the border with Colombia at the hands of "pitiyanqui" troops from the Bolivarian State's security forces; four revolutionaries who joined 300 farmers, two comrades of the Coordinadora Simón Bolívar, a Tupamaro councilor and a member of the Colectivo Alexis Vive from the January 23 Parish in Caracas, killed by paramilitary gangs operating with impunity under the noses of the government and in full complicity with the imperialists, the "escualidos" and sectors of the Bolibourgeoisie(the name given to that section of business that is actually prospering under the pseudo-socialism of Chavez in Venezuela-Molly).

Lastly, the imperative need to push ahead with the revolutionary tasks is not only a guarantee for the happiness of our people, but the only way to defend the lives of and win freedom for millions of human beings.

Arriba los y las que luchan!

Venceremos!
Organización Comunista Libertaria de Chile

CHILE:
MAY 21: NATIONAL DAY OF STRUGGLE:
In the country of Chile May 21 is a national holiday, originally set up to commemorate a Chilean naval victory over the navy of Peru in 1879, during the 'War of the Pacific" in which Chile gained its present northern provinces from Bolivia and Peru. It is also the time of the seasonal opening of Parliament and the President's address to the nation. This year various opposition forces have called for a national day of protest on May 21. The following is a translated statement from the Chilean Frente de Estudiantes Libertarios (Libertarian Student Front) on this day's significance. The original in Spanish is at the A-Infos site. For those interested in more information about the Chilean anarchist movement see the series of reports republished here earlier in the year from Larry Gambone's Porkupine Blog on his recent trip to that country. See also Platformism Without Illusions:Chile at the NEFAC site.
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[Chile] May 21, national day of struggle
May 21 has been transformed into an appointment into a meeting date to protest by the popular organizations to reveal the troubled face of this capitalist model. Also May 21 has come to be one more day in the history of the divisions of the working class and the people of Latin American, to present a further opportunity to strengthen the convergence of struggle, showing that the street is the decisive scene of the people, where we impose our demands by means of our ways of struggle.




But be careful!, For some this May 21 ,before the present context , represents an opportunity for mediation of struggles developed at this time, and a drift into ways that expropriates from us the ability to directly and effectively conquer our demands. In addition, amongst the planners and managers of the dominant bloc are machinations that manifest in a, "convergence with the union bureaucracy " and corresponding political proposals , which develop their concern about the danger of a general mobilisation against their system of reformist intervention in the popular in the world. Likewise we see the articulation of the sectors of "left" who are interwoven with the block that is in power and able to occupy a space in public policy, which demonstrate in their social practices and in their speech an aim of channelling current mobilization towards the hope of parliamentary representation of the"students, workers and others".




Undoubtedly this May 21, will be one more day of protest, that we must must project to the remaining 364 days a year, over and above elections, beyond symbolic unity.




Let us be aware that only the independence of the class to fight ensures the achievements and defines its decision-making capacity. In the same way we must guide our organizations and our efforts to build an alternative power that is within the reach of our own control over social life, because the current order of the politicians is beneath us. The powerful bosses do not feed us, do not educate us , they marginalize and imprison us, being that we are the ones who do the work, we study and educate those who live in the population ...
In summary what we want is a popular class movement ...
Struggle, Create Popular Power!
Libertarian Student Front Valparaiso

CHILE:

CHILE TODAY PART 5:

MORE FAILURES OF NEOLIBERALISM:

The following is Part 5 of Larry Gambone's presentation of what he saw on his latest trip to the country of Chile. Stay tuned to his Porkupine Blog for further installments. In the following Gambone lays out even more evidence of how Chile is hardly the shining success that neo-liberals make it out to be.

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Chile Part 5 - More Failures of Neoliberalism
I have already touched on the problem of rapid economic growth coupled with price inflation and wage stagnation. (With the exception of the 1998 Asian Tigers Crisis, GDP growth has averaged between 5 and 10% annually. (1) ) I also referred to the grotesque level of inequality, one of the worst in the world (2), and the refusal of the government to create proper social welfare and education systems in an attempt to rectify this. But there are more problems than these facing Chile.

An export-dependent economy. What happens when the global economy goes into the toilet? What will happen to Chile in the coming years when the rising oil prices make it uneconomic to export fruit?

The central part of the country where most of the population lives and most of the fruit growing occurs is drying up and may well become desert in the coming decade. Due to global warming, the Andes get less snow, lowering the water table and river flow. Furthermore, clear-cutting and poor water usage are contributing factors, Chileans have told me.(Yet, you read not a word about global warming in the Chilean press.)

Chile has almost no oil and natural gas. This at a time when prices for these resources are sky-rocketing. Power brown-outs are blamed upon Argentina's refusal to renew its natural gas export contract, as it seems that country needs its gas for its own use. And since there is less water, hydro projects don't seem to be the answer. The electricity problem is a fine example of the failure of neo-liberalism. Central and North Chile get sun 365 days a year. The coastline gets wind off the Pacific. You would think solar and wind power would have been introduced. But no, Chile is 30 years behind other countries in this technology. Utilities were corporatized under Pinocho and thus cannot see any further than this years profit margins.

Meanwhile, the authorities have applied the US model of suburban sprawl and vast shopping malls everywhere. (It was never so evident as this trip, and the disease was only beginning in 1996.) At a time of water and power shortages and rising oil prices, the most energy-inefficient way of living in the world is being actively promoted.

Agribusiness is driving campesinos off the land. They crowd into the cities and exacerbate the problems there. The remaining campesinos are being forced into mono-crop sub-contracting for the corporations. This further undermines campesino life and threatens the farmer's markets, the one source of cheaper food for the populace.

The inability of the Peruvian state to deal with its economic problems is forcing many Peruvians to immigrate (legally and illegally) into Chile, a country that is wealthy by comparison with theirs. The Peruvians add to the number of poor in the cities and due to racism are blamed for "stealing jobs." and a rising crime rate.

I am left with the feeling that these problems will tear the country apart in the coming years.

One final point that I didn't know where to fit in. Chile used to be one of the most socially progressive countries in Latin America. Thanks to the Pinochet dictatorship, this is no longer the case. It was a deliberate policy of the dictatorship to stamp out socially progressive ideas and it shows. Chile is in many ways like stepping back 40 years. "White" Chileans will cheerfully tell you that People of Color are inferior and that Indians are stupid, the sort of talk that went out of style among middle class Canadians a good while ago. Even though blonds only make up maybe 15% of the population, most women in advertisements are rubias. There are no women bus, taxi or truck drivers and no women tradespeople or construction workers. Only 30% of Chilean women are engaged in wage work, the lowest in Latin America and the same as Canada in 1960. This dependence upon one income is a contributing aspect of the poverty in the country and is a direct and long-term expression of the social reaction of the Pinochet regime.

NOTES:
1.) Average GDP growth between 1990 and 2001 was 4.7% Average growth, 2002-2007 was 4.71% (2007 at 5.2%) Sources, CIA Fact Book
2.) The GINI Index. Zero would equal absolute equality and 100 absolute inequality. Chile stands at 58.3, Costa Rica 48.9, Brazil, 56.7, and by way of comparison, Canada at 33.1, France at 32.3 and Norway at 25.7. Sources CIA Fact Book

CHILE:

CHILE TODAY

PART 3

THE RADICAL LEFT:

BY LARRY GAMBONE

The folowing is Part 3 of Larry Gambone's report on the present political situation in the country of Chile. See The Porkupine Blog for previous installments and for still more in the next few days.

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Chile Today Part 3 - The Radical Left
I have already written about the Chilean anarchist movement and will say no more about it here, other than to say it is an important part of the opposition to neoliberalism and the corporate state.

The Communist Party. Like other Communist Parties I have observed, the Chilean party seems to have benefitted in the long run, ideologically and in practice, from the collapse of the USSR. Freed from having to give support to the policies of an ever-more conservative Soviet bureaucracy, these parties now adapt to their own national situations. (It must be remembered that during the Unidad Popular days, the CP was a conservative force in that alliance.) These reformed CP's now attempt to become a voice for the trade unions and social movements and do not seem to engage in the sectarian practices of yore. They are now willing to unite with other forces more radical than themselves. Their actual politics are left-social democratic, making them far more radical than the contemporary socialist and social democratic parties, which, as we have seen, have been corrupted by neoliberalism. However, while more militant than before, the CP is still on the "moderate" wing of the radical left.

While visiting Chile the only large circulation newspaper I could find that was worth reading was El Siglo, the CP weekly. There may have been other socialist weeklies but I never found any, and El Siglo was sold at most kiosks.

The party plays a major role in the CUT, the main trade union federation. (There is much criticism of the CUT by anarchists and other radicals. For an example of a more militant labour federation see CGT Mosicam.) Graffitti evidence of the Young Communists abounds. The CP gets about 5% of the vote and due to the restrictive nature of the voting system has no seats in either the Senate or Chamber of Deputies. They do have a fairly large number of municipal councellors, however.

The MIR. During the UP years the MIR was the most promising revolutionary force. It had thousands of members and was involved in land and factory occupations as well as the occasional armed action. For this it won the implacable hatred of the Pinochetistas and many members were tortured and murdered. The party broke apart in the 1980's and more or less dissolved by 1989. It reformed in 1990 and gave up armed struggle in 1997. Its original policies were supposedly Castroist, however, from what I read now the group seems to have adopted a Bolivarian approach. (See below.) I think the group is rather small and only saw one MIR graffitti. MIR has united with a host of other parties and groups in a broad anti-neo-liberal front called Junto PODEMOS Mas .

Junto PODEMOS Mas unites most of the non-anarchist left – including the Communist Party. Its policies are Bolivarian or left-wing populist i.e., broadly anti-neoliberal, favoring direct democracy, return of national resources, social reforms, trade union rights, Latin American unity, and opposition to racism and sexism. (I should add that I find this desire for unity a very positive direction.) PODEMOS got about 7% in the election to the Chamber of Deputies, but as in the case of the CP did not get any seats. The following groups belong to this front:
Partido Humanista
Partido Comunista de Chile
Movimiento de Izquierda Revolucionaria (MIR)
Movimiento Patriótico Manuel Rodríguez
Izquierda Socialista
Movimiento Por el Socialismo
Identidad Rodriguista
Movimiento Fuerza Ciudadana
Partido Comunista Chileno Acción Proletaria
Izquierda Cristiana
Partido Alternativa Socialista
Cambio Democrático
Comité de Defensa y Recuperación del Cobre
Frente Amplio de Profesionales de Izquierda
Asambleas Populares
Comité de Defensa de Derechos Humanos y Sindicales
Coordinadora Metropolitana de Usuarios de la Salud Publica
Corporación Urracas de Emaus, and 36 other social, trade union and environmental groups.

Partido Ecologista. In the early 1980's there was a reasonably strong Green tendency in Chile. I don't know what happened to it, but there are a number of ecological groups. And judging by the millions of plastic bags polluting the countryside, the air pollution and the clear cuts, they cannot be all that effective. Just recently, Chilean Greens came together to form the Partido Ecologista and will be running in the up-coming election.

Trotskyists. I saw no overt evidence of Trotskyism in Chile. I know that a Trotskyist party, the PRT does belong to PODEMOS. But it is not one of the major groupings of the tendency, and is a split-off from the horrible Healyite WRP! Indeed, there does not seem to be any Mandelist, ISO or IMT organizations in Chile. Of course, compared with Argentina, Peru or Bolivia, Trotskyism has been weak here. I think it might be due to the fact that strong movements to the left of the Communist Party have always existed in Chile and people who would otherwise become Trotskyists join these organizations instead.

CHILE:

CHILE TODAY:

BY LARRY GAMBONE

The following is the second installment of Larry Gambone's writings(see the Porkupine Blog for the original and further installments) on his recent visit to Chile. The first installment was presented earlier on this blog, and it dealt with the present anarchist movement in Chile. This article deals with the general political situation in Chile, relating to the government and its main opposition.

Chile Today Part 2 The Social Neoliberals
Chile has been governed by a coalition of Christian Democrats (DC) and social democrats (Socialist Party and Popular Democrats) since the return to so-called democracy. Back in the days of the Unidad Popular, the DC was old style social democratic and the SP was more radical than the Communist Party. Today, all these parties are economically neo-liberal, lock stock and barrel, ironically (or perhaps not so ironically) adopting the underlying ideology of their old torturer and murderer, Augusto Pinochet.

When a socialist or social democratic party tosses aside its basic principles, it announces to the world that it is corrupted in spirit. Thus, it comes as no surprise when such a party becomes corrupted in practice. True to form the Concertacion, (the name given to the DC-SP-PD coalition) is now mired in scandal. The Alianza (the Pinochetista opposition coalition or Los Momios) is making hay out of this situation, an amusing situation where the corrupt are calling the corrupted to account!

The scandals relate directly to the neo-liberal methods adopted by the Concertacion. Rather than instituting a proper state or community-run system of education – like in Canada or Europe – they chose to funnel government money to private concerns. Naturally, along the way some officials also dipped their hands in this pig trough. Then there is the hideous mess that is Santiago transit. Pinocho had destroyed the previous public system, handing transit over to scores of private concerns, resulting in a kind of Wild West in the streets. Rather than rectifying this disaster by creating a public transit system – like every other large city in the world – the Concertacion shovelled money into the hands of 10 or so capitalist transit corporations, and the result, as one might expect, is chaos. (Remember, I am talking about a city with six million inhabitants, not some one horse town)

Then there is that favorite of brown shirts the world over – the crime problem. And it does exist – people get ripped off all the time by pick pockets, muggers and burglars. The mass media, if anything even more vile than our own, spare no effort in reminding the readers of this situation. But then what do you expect in a society without any social welfare and a great mass of unemployed and under-employed people, some of whom are still living in tin shacks on dried up river beds or beside highway overpasses? And even if you have a job, 75% of Chileans earn less than $420 a month in a land where most prices are about as high as in Canada. There is a lot of petty crime. Gee, I wonder why? The Alianza blame the Concertacion for being soft on crime and drag out the no brainer of harsher punishment.

There is an election coming and it is quite possible the Pinocho crowd may gain the upper hand. I look upon this with some trepidation, for as bad as the Concertacion is, they have refused to be a stooge for the US in relation to the growing popular movements in Ecuador, Venezuela and Bolivia. The Gringostate already has death squad and narcotrafficante-run Columbia as its stalking horse. I would hate to see Chile as part of this criminal endeavor.

CHILE

CHILE TODAY PART 1- THE ANARCHIST MOVEMENT:

BY LARRY GAMBONE

Larry Gambone, long time anarchist writer and the person behind Red Lion Press, has recently returned from a trip to the country of Chile. At his Porkupine Blog he has begun to write his impressions of his trip to that country. The following, reproduced by permission of the author, is the first installment of same. Stay tuned to the Porkupine Blog for further impressions.

Chile Today Part 1 - The Anarchist Movement

This is the fifth time I have visited Chile in the last 17 years and never before I have I seen as much evidence of social action. Graffiti and murals advocating popular struggles and radical organizations are everywhere, and most especially in the working class neighborhoods. Much of this is anarchist. Support for the Mapuche to regain their stolen lands is a big issue right now. The three cities I visited, Santiago, Concepcion and Chillan all have anarchist activists. Santiago has the Espacio Comunitario Emma Goldman (See www.traidores.org/emma/ ) which I visited and the Centro Socio Okupado y Bibliotecha Sacco y Vanzetti, ( CSO y Biblioteca Sacco y Vanzetti ) which I did not get a chance to visit.

The Espacio Comunitario is located in the basement of a neighborhood bar and contains a book shop and library. It is also a space for meetings, work shops and get-togethers. According to the companero who was minding the premises when I dropped in, they have had many visitors from foreign countries this summer, anarchists from the US, Mexico and Argentina. He told me that I was right in thinking there was more anarchist activity than before and that the upsurge was in large measure due to the influx of youth in the last two years. ( I suspect this is related to the huge student strike that occurred in 2006) Most of these are really young, 15, 16 years old, and the companero who was all of 21, said that he was one of the older members of the movement. In Santiago, the anarchist movement has a good deal of influence on one poblacion (workers neighborhood) and will be involved in organizing Women's Day on March 8. Most anarchists are working class, with a few middle class and no upper class members at all. Although the Chilean state is oppressive, few anarchists have been arrested, but the police do videotape rallies. Later using the videos they are able to identify the younger members and then go to their parents. If needed, they bully the parents into stopping their child from being involved in the movement. ( Ah, freedom of speech and assembly, aren't they wonderful?)

The group also holds a gathering at a park every Sunday to bring together anarchists and other youth. There are a number of different tendencies in Chilean anarchism, of which anarchist communism is the most evident, yet there is dialogue and unified action among the tendencies. The most important publication is Hombre y Socidad, now in its twenty-third issue, but there are others like Accion Direct and Agitacion which, if you are interested, are available from the Espacio Comunitario. There is an on-line publication which gives news about anarchism and social struggles in Chile at www.labatalladelostrabajadores.blogspot.com Santiago anarchists have made March Anarchist Month and are sponsoring a host of work shops and events throughout the month. See www.traidores.org/marzoanarquista

A GENERAL ON THE LAM:

Retired General Raul Eduardo Iturriaga Neumann, formerly of the Chilean military during in years in terrorist power, skipped out on his date with destiny on June 12th when he "went missing" on the day that he was to begin serving his five year sentence for his actions during the Pinochet dictatorship in Chile. An arrest warrant has been issued. He was sentenced for his role in the "disappearance" of 21 year old left wing militant Luis Dagoberta San Martin. He has also been sentenced to 20 years imprisonment "in abstentia" by a court in Roma, Italy way back in 1995 for his planning in his role as the Chief of the Exterior Department of the 'DINA' (the Chilean secret police) for the attempted murder of Chilean Christian Democrat politician and former vice president Bernardo Leighton in Rome back in September, 1975. General Neumann was, of course, a graduate of the US's "torture academy", the School of the Americas back in 1965. He played a prominent role in 'Operation Condor', an international terrorist campaign against Latin American leftists both at home and in exile. To read more about this cuddly cute individual go to http://www.soaw.org/article.php?id=205

For some "inexplicable" reason Molly always feels a little thrill every time one of these government thugs gets caught. May General Neumann's unpleasant time in the luxury of the right wing underground be as short as possible.

MORE SOLIDARITY APPEALS:

A number of appeals for solidarity from union groups and social activists have crossed Molly's desk in the last few days. Here are a few:

A. The Swedish syndicalist union, the SAC, is planning a campaign against the international furniture company IKEA because their section in the city of Jonkoping is engaged in an industrial dispute with IKEA. If you have an IKEA outlet in your city the SAC would be happy to hear from you at ikea-sektionen.jkpg@sac.se as to what you can do to help. To check if you have such an outlet go to the IKEA website.

B. The online labour solidarity group Labour Start has launched a campaign to protest the murder by Chilean police of forestry worker Rodrigo Alexis Cisternas on May 3rd. More than 7,000 subcontracted forestry workers have been on strike in Concepcion since early May demanding a monthly raise of $38 US. Most of the workers make less than US$100 per month. The shooting of Cisternas took place during a battle between police and striking workers during a road blockade on the night of May 3rd. To learn more and to participate go to http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidarityforever/show_campaign.cgi?c=247 .

C. The Jobs With Justice organization began a campaign on Mothers' Day in solidarity with workers at flower plantations in the country of Columbia. Mothers' Day, the biggest flower buying day of the year was an appropriate time to begin the campaign, but it is still ongoing. The management of the Dole Company who run the Splendor-El Rosal and Splendor-El Corzo flower plantations refuse to negotiate in good faith with the workers of the independent union Sintrasplendor. The El-Corzo farm was shut down last October, as a company response to unionization, and the workers' demands include salary increases, job security and employment for the 10% of workers who still remain at the El-Corzo farm at the El-Rosal location. To learn more about this campaign and to participate go to http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/dole_mothersday/wukd7sdrhbxbexw?

More appeals later,

Molly

There's Always Room In Hell,
Former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet is presently clinging to life in the Luis Felipe Brieba Military Hospital in Santiago, Chile. His doctors have performed an emergency angioplasty to restore blood flow to his heart after he suffered an heart attack earlier in the day. Bypass surgery is being considered. The retired murderer regained consciousness soon after the first operation. On his 91st birthday on Nov. 25th Pinochet issued a statement taking "full political responsibility", if not moral responsibility, for the crimes of his regime. The last rites have been administered to the aging tyrant, though one imagines that they were the "abbreviated version". It would take a long time to confess to each of the 3,197 politically motivated executions that Pinochet's regime committed while in power. Pinochet is probably lucky enough to get a priest who doesn't demand "detail"- or repentance either for that matter.
Meanwhile down in the Stygian regions corporate executives of Hadean Enterprises are reportedly considering a new development of the "boiling oil" subdivision. Leaked details report that the good general will join his predeceased friend Milton Friedman in a vat of molten copper.
General Pinochet presently faces three indictments in the Chilean courts. One is in regard to murder and kidnapping, the other is in regard to human rights abuses. The final one is the only one likely to achieve justice even after the dark angel comes to collect Augusto's soul. It's about tax avoidance charges. Shades of Elliot and Big Al ! If justice can't be done while the murderer is alive at least get his estate.