In 2019, Chile was swept by the largest revolt in its history. The uprising fundamentally changed the political situation. The right-wing government under billionaire Sebastián Piñera responded with military repression. At the height of the protests, there was a massive general strike that paved the way for a constitutional referendum.
After two years of work by the constitutional convention, the new draft constitution was rejected in a referendum.
Introduced by a military coup and far-right dictatorship in 1973-1989, neoliberalism deepened in an authoritarian democracy from 1990. Social inequality remained high. In 2017, 77.5% of the population was considered poor or at risk of poverty.
During protests on October 18, 20 subway stations were set on fire. The president declared a state of emergency and deployed armed military. This further fueled the revolt, which had already spread across the country. The repression of the first weeks resulted in 20,000 arrests, 3,000 injured and 34 dead. The scale of the violence, the size of the movement and the initially decentralized organization of the protests were new for the post-dictatorship era.
The previously formed MUS (Round Table of Social Unity) directed part of the protests without leading them. It included the moderate anti-neoliberal union confederation CUT, and radical organizations capable of mobilization, such as the feminist Coordinadora "8 de Marzo" and the student´s association ACES.
Neighborhood initiatives and territorial strike committees set up roadblocks. The mobilization of the non-unionized working class deepened the crisis. The government declared a state of emergency and deployed the military.
On November 15, the government proposed a referendum on a new constitution. This weakened another general strike. The Covid 19 pandemic beginning in March 2020 further weakened the protests.
Four features of the revolt and general strike stand out:
Two years later, after intensive work by the Constitutional Convention, the proposed constitution was submitted to the people for a vote. The proposed constitution not only aimed to overcome the subsidiary state and replace it with a social state, but also introduced public ownership of water, promoted sexual and reproductive rights and environmental rights, and recognized plurinationality in Chilean territory.
It was a constitutional process that was the result of pact among different political parties that, unfortunately, structurally lacked effective mechanisms for participation and ownership by the majority regarding the whole process and its outcomes.
It was also a process carried out in very little time and, which was also massively attacked by the major economic powers and the political right. A media war that led to a tragic rejection of the Constitution.
After the defeat, a feeling of exhaustion and disappointment prevails in the country. The right has emerged stronger. But it is not all in vain. The social movement and the workers' movement are continuing their work in the territories, reorganizing them and preparing to continue the transformation process from the basis. For the moment, the Pinochet Constitution is still in effect, and the outlook is not encouraging, given the recent approval of the TPP11 free trade agreement, which further limits the country's sovereignty and its ability to make changes in public policy, not to mention unthinkable changes in the ownership and management of such basic natural resources as water in this current context.
Hope lies in the social and individual progress achieved against all odds with the creation of a proposal for a new constitution based on values and principles of social justice, multiculturalism and ecofeminism. Values that are becoming increasingly important in Chilean society and throughout the region. The struggle continues!
Story-telling: Dario Azzellini and Adriana Yee Meyberg
Illustration: Carina Crenshaw
This is a visual storytelling inspired by the article "Anti-Neoliberal Revolt and General Strike 2019" by Domingo Pérez y Sebastián Osorio, published in the anthology "If not us, who? Global Workers against Authoritarianism, Fascism and Dictatorships" (external link, opens in a new window) by Dario Azzellini. This graphic storytelling is published under the terms of the Creative Commons license CC BY 4.0! (external link, opens in a new window)Share, use or adapt this graphic narrative for your educational work. Don't forget to continue using it under the same conditions, crediting LINX and the authors!
With the neoliberal reforms that Macron has rapidly implemented, social dialogue between social movements, unions and the government has become more difficult and fragmented. The French trade union movement is split along political lines into several umbrella organizations, and the level of organization has stagnated. The yellow vests have not been able to decisively change Macron's course. But they have rearticulated positions critical of capitalism and class struggle, also taking migrant struggles into the equation.
Labor struggles have a long tradition in Germany. Over time, they have not only focused on the demand for better working conditions, but have also been linked - albeit in a rather shy form at the beginning - to the anti-racist and anti-fascist struggle. Within the trade union political education programs, right-wing agitation was increasingly countered with a realistic picture of asylum and migration policy after the "Summer of Migration" in 2015.
Since 2014, a coalition led by the right-wing Hindu nationalist BJP, Party of the Indian People, has ruled under Narendra Modi. India competes as a location for manufacturing companies. To attract international private capital, layoffs and crackdowns on unions have been made easier, and state-owned enterprises (including railroads, telecommunications companies and airlines) are to be privatized. In this complex situation, not only traditional unions and federations are organizing, but informal and migrant workers are also becoming part of a movement facing a major socio-political challenge.
During the Trump presidency, U.S. unions initially opposed the rise of authoritarianism only symbolically. Over time, they acted more decisively. Where union members became active in the workplace, they succeeded in slowing the trend toward authoritarianism and sometimes achieved significant successes.
In 2019, Chile was swept by the largest revolt in its history. The uprising fundamentally changed the political situation. The right-wing government under billionaire Sebastián Piñera responded with military repression. At the height of the protests, there was a massive general strike that paved the way for a constitutional referendum. After two years of work by the constitutional convention, the new draft constitution was rejected in a referendum.
Colombia is considered the oldest democracy in Latin America. In fact, it is an authoritarian regime that has waged war against the population for over 100 years. How does the population resist? How do workers organize against injustice? Colombia: More than labor struggle!
#LabourStruggle (external link, opens in a new window)#Democracy (external link, opens in a new window)#Unions (external link, opens in a new window)#ClassStruggle (external link, opens in a new window)#Neoliberalism (external link, opens in a new window)
Cookie Notice
Please select all cookies so you can experience L!NX at its best! We deploy our video and audio content via Youtube and Soundcloud! Allow our cookies if you want to see the full content! Cookie declaration
