The article below from a statement released on February 28 by Chilean socialist organisation Movement of the Revolutionary Left (MIR) about the earthquake that hit Chile the previous day. It was translated by Earl Gilman.
Although what is most needed now are concrete actions, small though they may be, with the families and communities affected by the earthquake, we also want to point out the following:
1. The old highways and bridges that were built by the state resisted the quake. But not the new highways in the capital.
The highways that were privatised under the Coalition governments [that have governed since the end of military rule in the late 1980s and which lost elections for the first time earlier this year], which were promoted as public-private investment, did not stand up to any seismic movement and were destroyed.
In spite of millions in government subsidies, in spite of contracts, in spite of the daily fees from users, all the bridges and pedestrian passages have come down, killing people and wounding many more.
2. The Christian Democrat Party, which is part of the Coalition and which controls the housing ministry, left behind so much scandal and corruption in building low-cost housing that the Coalition privatised low-cost housing. Now, with the earthquake, people are being ousted because their homes are dangerous.
Entire housing complexes for the middle class are at the point of collapse, such as the 15-story house in Concepcion, which killed or trapped more than a hundred people inside. In real estate capitalism, the business is not in building but in accumulating capital, which means lowering the quality of construction, lowering the quality of the materials, falsifying reports and bribing the tax collectors.
3. State institutions have functioned slowly or poorly. The hydrographic services of the Armed Forces have committed criminal negligence in not knowing how to interpret their own instruments with respect to the flood danger, resulting in a delay of 24 hours before a warning was issued.
As a result of a lack of coordination between the central government and state institutions, large parts of the country are completely isolated, without water, electricity or food. In spite of the financial resources, the help is not arriving where it should arrive: with the people.
4. In the Bio Bio region, one of the poorest in the country, where unemployment is 10.4% and where the majority who work live from day to day, there is no drinkable water, electricity or food. The speculators in misery are charging about US$7 for a kilo of bread and about $2 for a quart of water.
The people have broken through the barriers into the supermarkets to obtain what they need to live. It is the women who began the movement, as often in history, for their children and families.
Although some criminals have engaged in looting, the reality is that help is not arriving. They have not hurt small business owners — they went for the large supermarkets.
5. The people are turning to direct action to resolve their vital needs. The mayor of Concepcion called for military help. The directors of the supermarkets went directly to the Presidential Palace. Almost magically, the government declared a State of Catastrophe, which allows for the suspension of constitutional guarantees and fundamental rights without needing Congressional approval.
The defence minister announced he was mobilising 10,000 soldiers. Martial law has been declared for the first time since the end of military rule, from 9pm-6am.
We in the MIR are completely in agreement with the necessity, legitimacy and justice of the people opening the doors of the supermarkets and distribution centres to get their
necessities.
Facing the lack of support from the capitalist government, people to the streets! To expropriate the exploiters is a people's right!