by Emilee Gaebler
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

SANTIAGO, Chile – The Aysén region of Chile continues to experience unrest as local residents rebel against the government in an attempt to get better health care access, fuel subsidies, education programs and infrastructure improvements.

On Thursday, February 23, about 400 protestors in the Aysén area clashed with police when their week long blockade of the southern highways was not dismantled.  Police also clashed with protestors in the capital city of Santiago on Thursday.   A group of over 1,000 people, mainly students, were demonstrating in support of the Aysén cause.

In both instances, the Chilean police forces used tear gas and water cannons in dispersing the groups.  As reported by the Santiago Times, the protest in Santiago was the third one this week and was markedly different; there were hardly any signs and no chanting.  Instead, the group, immediately upon entering the square, began to throw rocks at the buildings and the armored police cars surrounding them.

The Aysén protest movement began last Friday when negotiations with the government broke down.  The Aysén region is in southern Patagonia and is a rural area that largely subsists on the tourism industry.  The cost of living in the area is disparately high in comparison to those living in urban areas.  Local leaders had been in talks to get higher government investments in the area.

The uprising is led by the Social Movement for the Aysén Region (MSPRA) which is a collaboration of labor, environmental and student organizations.  The week-long blockade of the highways is significantly slowing the tourism industry as well as causing reported food shortages.  Residents are describing the situation as a war zone

“Tonight is a night of terror like every night, because this is turning into a war. It’s not just clashes anymore but a war where rocks fly, pellets fly, Molotov cocktails fly, buckshot flies. There are all kinds of things outside our homes,” was a statement by an unidentified resident to NTN24 News.

On Friday the protest expanded into the fishing industry as well.  Roughly 200 local fishermen blockaded the North Route 9 of the Magallanese strait and access to the Punta Arenas airport.  They were demonstrating their solidarity with the overall Aysén movement as well as protesting against proposed amendments to the fishing and aquaculture laws which favor “big business” over local production.

For more information, please see;

NTN24 News – Aysén Protestors Clash with Chilean Police – 24 February 2012

The Santiago Times – Chile’s Local Fishermen Add More Roadblocks in Aysén Protests– 24 February 2012

The Santiago Times – Aysén Protest Fails to Make Waves in Chile’s Capital – 23 February 2012

The Guardian – Clashes with Police in Santiago over Aysén Region – 21 February 2012

by Emilee Gaebler
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

LA PAZ, Bolivia – Yesterday police and a crowd of protestors clashed in the Plaza Murillo, the center of the national government.  Roughly 50 disabled individuals ended a 1,000 mile protest walk at the Plaza Murillo and were met by police barricades.

Upon entering the Plaza the group attempted to pass the barricades and the police stepped in to stop them.  Some of the protestors used their wheelchairs, canes and crutches to fight the police.  Pepper spray was used to disperse and end the riot.

La Razón, a daily news agency in Bolivia, reports that four protestors were detained by police and roughly 10 of the disabled had minor injuries from the confrontation.  The police report that about 10 officers were also injured.

The group began the protest on the 15 of November, roughly 100 days ago, in the streets of Trinidad, Bolivia.  Along the way the protestors were fed and given places to sleep by families in the towns they passed through.

The protestors sought to draw attention to a government statute, passed on the 5th of November, that kept monthly payment subsidies, to those disabled, at roughly $130 US.  The demand of the group was that payment be increased to $400 US; a more appropriate amount which they could viably live on.  They also want to establish a more integrated place in society for those with disabilities.

The march was especially symbolic as it claimed for those disabled a strong political identity just like any other social group.  They specifically chose to end the march at Plaza Murillo as that is where other groups typically gather for protests.

“Why not us?  It is a public space and like everyone we all have the right to protest,” said Camilo Bianchi, a leader of the group.

Living in Bolivia as a disabled individual is not an easy life.  Most of the buildings throughout the nation are not handicapped accessible and there is a strong prejudice that continues to exist against them.  Most who are disabled find it impossible to work or to attend school.

“It’s very hard to be a person with a disability. Even our own husbands abandon us because they feel ashamed of us. I look after my four children alone, washing and ironing clothes for people, and doing whatever I can,” said Domitila Franco, one of the protestors.

The group has now declared that 10 individuals will begin a hunger strike in an attempt to gain governmental acquiescence to their demands.  The government’s defense of its actions yesterday centered on the theory that the group had been “infiltrated” by other political activists.  This presented too great of a threat to the Plaza as a public forum and thus police barricades were erected.

For more information, please see;

BBC News – Bolivia’s Disabled Clash with Police Over Subsidies – 24 February 2012

Bolivia Weekly – Disabled Battle Police in the Street – 24 February 2012

The Guardian – Disabled Protestors Clash with Police in Bolivia – 24 February 2012

La Razón – Tras la Violencia, Discapacitados Ingresan en Huelga de Hambre – 24 February 2012