This Monday, September 11, one of the most important milestones in the administration of President Gabriel Boric reached its climax: the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the coup. The path there wasn’t easy. It was marked by the resignation of Patricio Fernández as presidential adviser in charge of the event and by constant questions from the opposition. What complicated La Moneda most, however, was the criticism that the president’s plans received from the ruling party itself.
Although everything seemed to speak against it, since the “Elf” has already ended, the balance within the ruling party is positive and the events organized in the palace have the approval of everyone, from the Party for Democracy (PPD) to the PC. However, the latter community has concerns about some aspects of the milestone.
Without elaborating, the PC issued a statement on Sunday evening in which he expressed that “we regard the police measures to protect the thousands and thousands of compatriots who took part in the commemoration, many of them and them as weak and “a family.” In this sense, the Secretary General of the Community, Lautaro Carmona, explained that “what happened was, from the point of view of provocation, a very organized offensive.” (The police) did not distinguish anything and their aim was to disrupt. “There was no act that should have taken place 50 years after the coup.”
In the same vein, the communist deputy María Candelaria Acevedo claimed that “the actions of the carabineros have always been a cause for concern.” For this reason, I have stated more than once that the institution needs to be modernized, starting from the school to the curriculum in which the topic of human rights is present throughout the training (…)”.
On Sunday, representative Ana María Gazmuri (Humanist Action) said in the middle of a march: “We are being oppressed, there is pepper spray, there is tear gas.” It is supposed to be an authorized march and we have been oppressed from the beginning. The truth is that this is outrageous (…). It is deeply painful that this is happening now, 50 years after the military coup. Terrible, terrible.”
Regarding the riots and the police operation, the senator and president of the RD, Juan Ignacio Latorre, said that “they were rather minority groups that could be perfectly identified in advance because they wore hoods, carried sticks or carried other weapons.” one in photos, in social networks. How could we have acted sooner to stop and protect those who demonstrated peacefully and to isolate those groups who acted with the clear intent of violence?”But that is not all. The absence of the armed forces at the ceremonies organized by Boric also caused anger among the communists. When questioned by La Tercera, MP Matías Ramírez (PC) said: “I was deeply impressed by the absence of the commanders of the various branches of the armed forces. Undoubtedly, in an act of commemoration, a gesture would have been important to (…) understand that these are non-deliberative organizations and that all the phrases that were thrown around about “never again”, both by the Navy and Army, it would have been nice to capture them at this memorial service. This is something that undoubtedly makes me think.”
Acevedo added: “It is quite worrying for us PC fighters that the Armed Forces were not present at the 50th anniversary event.” It is a very bad sign that is given because, moreover, they are not deliberative, they must (…) make yourself available to the President of the Republic, our President Gabriel Boric.”
In addition, the communist deputy Boris Barrera added: “I have some concerns because the president has mentioned many countries that have welcomed Chileans in exile with solidarity.” He mentioned Venezuela and Senator Isabel Allende (PS) mentioned the solidarity of Cuba, but I did not see any representatives of these countries at the event. And I don’t know if they were invited because we asked and didn’t get an answer. “I think his presence would have been important.”
Beyond the PC, PPD deputy Raúl Soto claimed that the commemoration organized by the executive was “emotional and consequential” and that it was “not only about memory, truth and justice in relation to what happened 50 years ago, but also about how we learn from it.” the past in a transversal way, to take care of our democracy and think about the next 50 years: the great insight is that the problems of democracy are solved through dialogue and agreement, always through institutional means and never through force and violence .”
In this sense, the former President of the Chamber stated that he missed “an overall more favorable environment for promoting these minimum levels of civilization, in line with the letter of the former Presidents (…”). There is a lack of political maturity, democratic conviction and the will of the opposition to make this possible.”
On this last point, representative Camila Rojas (Comunes) reiterated: “In my assessment, the Chilean right is very bad.” This is reflected in the UDI statement, in which it points out that the coup was inevitable (… ) and in that they did not take part in the La Moneda event in which members of the foreign right took part (…). What capped the afternoon was their attitude in honoring President Allende in the House of Representatives… They are the ones who are polarizing the country.”
