Four cents. Four cents that would trigger a wave of protests across a country, calls for presidential impeachment, and violent military retaliation. Four cents that would change a country forever.
Early this October, the Chilean government announced another price hike to the metro — a price hike of 30 pesos, or 4 cents. This hike sparked outrage, and in response, the Minister of Economy declared those upset could wake up earlier for a cheaper rate.
Unfortunately for him, Chileans — mainly students — did listen partly to his advice: they woke up. Students from across the country began to evade and blockade the metro. But police responded with force, so Chileans took to the streets.
Suddenly, four cents destroyed the facade of wealth in Chile, leaving only the disturbing reality of inequality in the richest country of South America. Chileans across the country began, and continue, to protest the extremely high cost of living and meager wages, the horrid education system, the poor public health system, and the evasion of taxes by the rich — including the president. These protests grew and grew, and quickly, the president — Sebastian Piñera — called a state of emergency.
Suddenly, the military challenged protests across Chile, and the country flashed back to the 1980s, in which military dictator Pinochet used torture and violence to rule the country. Now, echoes of the violence which rang through Chile’s not-so-distant past has reverberated. This month, military and police have beat up, abused, water hosed, shot, run over, and killed protesters, all the while instating a curfew over Santiago, where half the country’s population lives. Examples of military violence can be seen here. While the videos are hard to stomach, I encourage you to view them — with the government against the citizens, they have only social media to broadcast these human rights violations. The media spreads lies and censors news, portraying the protesters as perpetrators of violence while the majority are peaceful. (In an attempt to remain unbiased, there have been violent protesters. Many have robbed buildings, while some have even burned down buildings.)
This topic hits close to home for me. Last year, I lived for a year as an exchange student in Chile, and now my friends are fighting for rights that they shouldn’t have to but need to, want to. Because everyone has the right to good health and education. Because everyone has the right to speak their minds. And because everyone has the right to fight for something that they believe in.