Things in Chile are getting out of hand

"Spanfeller is a twat" (theaspiringengineer)
10/23/2019 at 15:31 • Filed to: None

I hope our !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! is OK despite the state of emergency in the capital.

I show the opening scene to 31 minutos because it’s a wholesome TV show from Chile. Originally the host had an R170...

Chile was considered one of the most stable countries in the region, which is why many people were caught off guard... But the current wave of protests (originally sparked due to a public transport ticket price hike) are here to remind us that 11 out of 18 Chileans are indebted, and that Chile has one of the worst GINI coefficients of any country... including those in Latin America.

Truthfully, Latin America as a whole is living a time of reckoning... Governments across the region haven’t been exactly characterized for their stability, or commitment to their people... and this is something seen across right wing countries and left wing countries.

If you ever see a news article by someone from Latin America you might see “hartazgo social” as a term used to widely encompass the range of issues citizens of Latin America have had to deal with.

DISCUSSION (10)

Ash78, voting early and often > Spanfeller is a twat
10/23/2019 at 16:04

Our Church’s missionary team just got back after a 2-week trip, they missed the chaos by just a couple days. This is pretty shocking, since Chile is probably the last place in Latin America I would expect to see this, at least not over the past 30 years since Pinochet.

On the surface, it’s like “A 3% hike in bus and subway fares caused this?!” but it was really just a tipping point. Makes me wonder how far we in the US are from taking similar action...my non-discretionary expenses are all still growing a lot faster than my income. Eventually I won’t be able to pay the bills, and I’m in a better-than-average position than most people (college degrees, almost 20 years of work, no student debt, low taxes).

Good for them. I just hope it’s resolved more peacefully because I really wanted to retire there one day, at least part time.

Spanfeller is a twat > Ash78, voting early and often
10/23/2019 at 16:20

Chile is incredible... Much better than Argentina if you ask any Latin American worth their salt.

Income inequality has been a growing issue for many years. What worries me the most is that we’re yet to see any actual progress in fighting it.

Lopez Obrador, a man inside a “Democratic socialist” party is scared as shit about raising taxes on anyone ... Colombia, Chile, and Brazil all have neoliberal governments, the US has.. erm..T rump.

So yeah, unless there’s a huge institutionalized push in America in general, we’re going to wind up with lots of issues and very soon.

wafflesnfalafel > Spanfeller is a twat
10/23/2019 at 16:25

Y eah, our office down there is locked down, everybody staying at home. Every country is vulnerable to destabilization tactics...

OrigamiSensei > Spanfeller is a twat
10/23/2019 at 18:36

I spent two weeks in Chile this summer to experience the solar eclipse. What I saw was a lot of working class poor who were really struggling to get by, although not blatantly destitute. The margin for error seemed to be pretty much zero. There were a lot of people hustling for coins to get by, but things were not nearly as cheap as I would have expected with such low incomes. The combination of low income and relatively high cost has to hurt.

It was brought home to me a little more powerfully as we were checking out at a Lider (Latin American branding for Walmart). There were two guys in front of us who were trying to pay for their purchase with a pile of coins. The checkout person was getting visibly frustrated at the delay, while I was just sad realizing how much work they had gone through to earn those coins a couple at a time. They weren’t trying to be rude, that was all they had.

Although things seemed peaceful, I guess I’m not entirely surprised? There’s a lot of money going somewhere, but it seems like it’s not flowing back to the people. I will say one difference between there and here is that conspicuous consumption was virtually nonexistent. There wasn’t an obvious overclass of people out and about flaunting their wealth. So is the money going to corporations or to a super small, largely invisible group of really wealthy people?

Spanfeller is a twat > OrigamiSensei
10/23/2019 at 19:20

If the list of Chilean billionaires serves as any guide, it seems like it’s a group of invisible people that own many services and mining companies...

MrSnrub > Spanfeller is a twat
10/24/2019 at 13:02

Between this and Trump’s im pending impeachment, it’s feeling very 1973 at the moment

Spanfeller is a twat > MrSnrub
10/24/2019 at 14:42

Don’t forget the Russian military is getting involved in a middle eastern country

MrSnrub > Spanfeller is a twat
10/24/2019 at 15:33

Which reminds me of the ignominious US pullout from an unwinnable conflict! We just need an oil embargo and that’s a bingo

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > Spanfeller is a twat
10/24/2019 at 17:16

What we had previously assumed to be stable, mature and in some cases even affluent societies are experiencing waves of discontent. France , Hong Kong, Indonesia, Chile, Spain/Catalonia, etc. IMO, even the US is not far from the ills of late-stage capitalism.

A friend described it in a surprisingly convincing way: people are living longer, and capitalism by nature feeds itself and not the society. Left to its own devices, wealth accumulates at the top and bleeds the bottom dry. The youth have significantly poorer job prospects than their parents did, in economies that are either bubbled or stalled.

Spanfeller is a twat > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever
10/24/2019 at 17:25

You can also throw in Uruguay into the list... It’s just not the same without Mujica.

I think that this is sort of a response to how lazy politicians have been in regards to improving tax law, social security, and the environment. The modern age of corporatism and venture capital have eroded community trust in capitalism.

I also think that nowadays, our access to international news, and heightened expectations leave us unhappy... rightfully so, but I don’t think the general problem outside the industrialized nations has changed a lot in the last fifty years.