Submitted by Michael Irwin on the 2020 winter session study abroad program in Chile sponsored by the Department of Languages, Literatures & Cultures…
I arrived this week in Santiago, the capital of Chile. I was a bit nervous because I would be living with a host family, but as soon as I arrived my nerves were calmed. Throughout the past couple of months, the country has been in a period of turmoil. There have been various protests that have broken out in major cities, especially Santiago. The protests started for various reasons, but from what I was able to gather, it was a protest about the injustice towards many citizens in the country. These protests went from being peaceful, to quickly out of hand and violent. They began to die down before I arrived, but I was still able to see the damage that had been done in various areas of the city.
Curious about the why the protests began, I asked a few locals that I was comfortable speaking with about their opinion. From what I gathered; the protesters believe that the government needs a big change which begins with the constitution. The constitution was written in a time when Chile was ruled under a dictatorship. Many people want this to be revised to help alleviate the injustice and due to the protests, there will be a vote in April to have it rewritten.
The protests have caused a great deal of destruction to parts of the city. I have encountered people who believe that this was necessary for a change and some who think it is a shame. It was very interesting to hear both aspects.
