Thursday, November 11, 2021

Pinochet's Ghost: Surging Far Right vs Rising Left, as Chile’s Elections Loom

 

Chile is set to have its first elections following the 2019 uprising, which was provoked by growing inequality and fueled by a violent and deadly police response. But as the left has made gains, so too has the far right in Chile. Here to break it all down and discuss how it fits into the broader Latin American scene, including Peru and Argentina, is Renato Vélez, a left-wing Chilean activist and researcher currently completing a PhD in Latin American studies Listen to every episode of Rania Khalek Dispatches anywhere you get podcasts. Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3za9DRK Apple: https://apple.co/3zeYpeW TIME CODES: 0:00 Intro 0:56 The rise of far right presidential candidate José Antonio Kast 16:37 Sharp increase of migrants in Chile 18:55 Scapegoating Maduro, Fidel, Russia, the UN & George Soros 23:08 Steve Bannon’s far right Bolsonaro network 25:59 Argentina’s far right 29:38 Why Pinochet was never held accountable 34:08 Who is the left candidate Gabriel Boric? 39:51 Why did the communists lose to Gabriel Boric? 45:11 Gabriel Boric vs José Antonio Kast 49:54 What the 2019 uprising accomplished 53:07 Systematic right-wing attack on the constitutional referendum 56:19 Indigenous Mapuches rebellion 1:11:56 Pedro Castillo under attack in Peru 1:18:54 Argentina’s left 1:23:01 What’s behind the Latin American left’s successes & failures?