September 11, 1973 in Chile and Ecuador Lizardo Herrera
The June 29, 1973, the Argentine-Swedish cameraman, dies at Leonardo Henrichsen streets of Santiago de Chile. Henrichsen was filming the coup known as the "tancazo" against President Salvador Allende. To his misfortune, as his camera focused on a group of military rebels, one of them, Corporal Hector Her nán Gomez Bustamante, was shot in front and close range. Immediately, we see as the camera becomes unstable and falls Henrichsen the ground filming his own death.
Why talk now Henrichsen? What is the point of death in Ecuador from October 2010? In Chile, the Popular Unity government (1970-1973) built his platform of government from the idea of \u200b\u200ba socialist revolution through peaceful and democratic. This ideal was well received among the poor, who mobilized to elect and support the government of President Allende.
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The great Chilean documentary filmmaker, Patricio Guzmán, The Battle of Chile, tells in three parts, from the perspective of what he calls the struggle of a people without arms events culminating in the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet on September 11, 1973 and the death of President Allende. Guzmán shows, in the first half, the Chilean right was gradually creating the conditions for the coup, the second, can see how you conducted this coup and, third, we see that the popular sectors and unionism, who with unprecedented mass organization - "the people without arms" - different ways of breaking the political deadlock and economic and fought to defend the Popular Unity government which they saw as their own.
The current president of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, like Allende built his political platform from the offer of a peaceful revolution at the polls and also enjoys a high popularity. But unlike the Popular Unity government, first, not forced to permanent and then confronting irrational obstructionism of a parliamentary majority, which in 1973 openly advocated military intervention to oust Allende. Second, Correa has an ongoing conflict with trade unions and social movements and gives to his government a highly technocratic tinge that sets it apart from the Popular Unity.
However, both governments agree on the creation of an environment where extreme polarization as well as my friend Esteban Ponce says we are increasingly forced into siding with an option to reject the other missing the nuances so necessary to preserve a truly critical and progressive attitude. Ie, low sinking down into a perverse game in which criticize a means positioned himself aligned with the other. In the case of Chile, the radical polarization, despite my great sympathy with the government and the figure of Allende, led the country to the brink civil war where the political field was divided into two irreconcilable sides, or was with the reactionary right to disqualify as "filthy communist" or sided with what the left branded as "criminal odds." Was gradually losing the ability to build bridges between different groups and attended a relentless class struggle where the other was defined as the enemy. This polarization, as expected, the disadvantage both in Congress and in Amadas Forces led to the irrational right victory with the subsequent implanting of a dictatorship it will be no other adjective than criminal, which handled admirable sweep the grassroots organization that supported the Allende government, although the organization for the most popular was not armed should be clarified as well as shows Guzman factions of the Socialist Party and the MIR promoted the delivery of arms to the people or the resistance Navy and the radical discourse was one of the evidence he sought and used the coup to impose terror.
In the current circumstances of Ecuador, it is clear that the Correa government has openly touched the interests of powerful groups that were long entrenched in the state and immorally usufruct of the latter. The reaction of these groups was furious espererarse has been expanding a series of lies and fears to destabilize the government. However, in my opinion, Correa has also reacted badly, especially, reifying the position of "technical" to silence those who think like him. Therefore, the recurring phrase: "Trust us because we know what we do, we are well prepared." As in Ecuador, most technicians are not we would have no other way to trust the president. In addition, Correa's speech also contributes to the polarization often unnecessary because not only directed against the conspirators, but attempts to establish a principle of authority to disqualify the other by multiple insults and prevents many-Ecuador is primarily a diverse nation, we join a project that concerns us all. Appealing to trust, use bigoted language and prevent the effective participation of different sectors of the population, from my point of view, is not a democratic position.
However, I did not bring to mind the image of Leonardo Henrichsen to attack the government, but to bring some more rationality to the political debate in Ecuador. In Chile, after the failed uprising of "The tancazo" right irrational immediately came to shout that there had been no coup attempt, it was all a mañosería the incumbent government, a self-coup, to achieve a dramatic effect on public opinion. At home, the opposition has taken the same turn hypocrite and say the same about the unfortunate events of 30 September.
Beyond the "rebellion police", to which there have been named after "The Chapazo" was planned or not, personally I am inclined to think so, "is a foolish not to consider that in this life insubordination President was in danger and it was held against his will in the Police Hospital. So now defending the rioters as people who claimed only their professional interests maliciously means hiding the real problem. Nor can we overlook that in this case the rebellion is an armed character and when the military or the police take up arms there is always the risk of someone illegally taken power by force. It is also now the rightwing opposition in Ecuador, like the Chilean 73, contradictorily argues that ideology critique: a union demand. The neoliberal discourse flies in the fiscal deficit and, therefore, any vindication in the public sector salary because it goes against the fiscal austerity, something similar happened in Chile with the strike of the mine of El Teniente or truckers.
But worst of all is that now appear always demagogues who claim to defend human rights of police officers. It is true that we must defend the rights of our officers with determination, courage and frontal, for the life of each one of them is important, but this does not mean they have carte blanche to violate human rights of others for more that these be criminal. Human rights are universal and not selective. In this case, selectivity is rather an indication that you wish to use no less criminal forms of violence such as Pinochet did to end what the dictator and his camp described as "filthy communist" or "the evil influence of Marxism ".
If the right and the opposition complain of the intolerance of Correa, I propose instead that contribute a goodwill gesture to his senses, stop looking for the fifth leg, openly condemn what happened on 30 September and work together to punish the rebels. Any person who believes in democracy is obliged to energetically condemn all forms of insurrection in law enforcement because that involved an armed force that takes advantage of the weapon unlawfully against a public sector of the population is disarmed. If we demand more rationality on the part of government, we do not fall into irrationality to justify the unjustifiable because democracy contradicts with any kind of rebellion in the armed forces or the police for more than just that they could be.