20

Dec

9:11pm
Sumedha Chatterjee Ireland
El Pueblo Unido Jamás Será Vencido

El Pueblo Unido Jamás Será Vencido

Sumedha Chatterjee Ireland//9:11pm, Dec 20th '21

Chileans have picked up their pens, off to the ballot box, they are slowly writing an obituary for neoliberalism. The Quilapayún rejoices. Traumatized after Pinochet's shameless quest for power, Chileans can let out a sigh of relief today. 

Gabriel Boric's victory is the reason for their sigh of relief. In the birthplace of neoliberalism, we shall soon find the relics of it. 

Boric as of today is the youngest president of Chile. And the second youngest state leader in the world. He vows to bury neoliberalism. Boric was one of the leaders negotiating the agreement that prepared the way for a referendum on changing the Constitution during Chile's civil unrest in 2019. The 35-year-old former law student, leading a leftist coalition of the broad Frente Amplio and the Communist Party, is now the copper-rich country's next leader. After winning the official primaries with 60% of the popular vote, he was chosen as the presidential candidate of the Apruebo Dignidad coalition (which included the Broad Front, the Communist Party, and other smaller movements) in 2021. Boric won the second round of the presidential election on December 19, 2021, defeating José Antonio Kast with 55.9% of the vote. 

Image

Who is Kast?

Kast, a devout Roman Catholic and father of nine, rose from the far right after receiving less than 8% of the vote in 2017. As a supporter of Brazil's far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, he rose slowly in the polls this time with a divisive message emphasising conservative family values and exploiting Chileans' fears that a surge in migration — primarily from Haiti and Venezuela — is fueling crime.

As a legislator, he has a history of going after Chile's LGBTQ community and advocating for stricter abortion laws. He also accused outgoing President Sebastian Pinera, a fellow conservative, of betraying the economic legacy of the country's former military leader, Gen. Augusto Pinochet. Miguel Kast, Kast's brother, was one of Pinochet's most trusted advisers.

If you read our blogs then why not our magazine!!!
Image
Click here to subscribe our monthly magazine

But, Kast's tryst with the tyranny of far right runs deep. A little too deep perhaps. Kast and his brothers are not the only far right members in the family. In fact, their father Michael Kast was a Nazi. Originally born in Germany, Mr Kast settled in Chile after the second world War. He not just fought against the soviet union, but was also most likely a member of Hitler Youth. At the age of 18, he joined the Nazis. Mr. Kast has been involved in terrible controversies, including forced disappearance of factory workers. Needless to say, Antonio Kast keeps defending his daddy, after all, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. One of his sons was the poster boy of the Chicago Boys. 

Image

He is not alone in his fight. He has been endorsed by celebrities such as Pedro Pascal ( Javier Peña from Narcos) and Viggo Mortensen. With so many celebrities endorsing him, it is likely that he will be labeled as just another entitled millennial by the far right. While I disagree with the entitled millennial bit, as everybody deserves to live with dignity, which happens to be the premise of Socialism, I would still say that it would be wrong to put labels on anybody like that. Chileans are indeed entitled, for the have see  the darkest of days- Murders, loved ones being snatched away from the police, unbridled sexual violence, manufactured  shortages of goods under Pinochet's regimes. Chile also brims with inequality. As per OECD's Economic survey of Chile, persistently high inequality was already a key challenge for Chile where, despite progress in reducing poverty, 53% of households are classed as economically vulnerable, meaning they have no financial cushion to protect against a sudden drop in income, compared to an OECD average of 39%. The current taxation system does little to alleviate the miseries. Pinochet's regime indeed brings about a sense of uneasiness in the minds of Chileans. As his widow passed away this week, it is time to bid adieu to the Chicago Boys as well

A Forever Battle:  Postal Workers and Their Struggle with Pandemics
Tony Rodriguez//1:13am, Nov 20th '22

A Forever Battle: Postal Workers and Their Struggle with Pandemics

A forever war, a battle with an ever-evolving opponent has kept postal letter carriers on their toes. For the past three years, scientists have been baffled about the COVID19 virus, particularly its origin.....

Read More
A Commentary on the Use of Force by US Southern Command
Luis Lazaro Tijerina USA//3:05pm, Apr 29th '23

A Commentary on the Use of Force by US Southern Command

The Monroe Doctrine is a relic of history and no longer valid in a multi-polar world. The history of the United States foreign policy is a sordid affair in which the peoples of Latin America have been....

Read More
Psychology of Late-Capitalism And Why It Will Sustain
Kalatan Banerjee India //11:02pm, Feb 9th '22

Psychology of Late-Capitalism And Why It Will Sustain

It was the year 1760 the world saw a massive change in industrial sectors and commodity production in England, it was the Industrial revolution, which revolutionised the production system all over the....

Read More
United States at a state of alert : American president-elect Joseph Biden addressed the nation
Owen Williamson USA//5:25am, Jan 7th '21

United States at a state of alert : American president-elect Joseph Biden addressed the nation

In what has been described by mainstream American media as an “armed insurrection” and a “coup attempt,” supporters of outgoing American President Donald Trump have occupied the Congress in Washington....

Read More
Tribute to Mehdi Amel
Jad Kabbanji Canada//12:52am, May 30th '23

Tribute to Mehdi Amel

36 years ago, on May 18, 1987, the intellectual, militant, resistance fighter, and philosopher of the Communist Party of Lebanon, Hassan Hamdane - better known under his pen name and nom-de-guerre Mehdi....

Read More
A 21 years old college student will be the Mayor  of a Communist headed Municipal Corporation in India for next five years
Own Correspondent//4:15pm, Dec 27th '20

A 21 years old college student will be the Mayor of a Communist headed Municipal Corporation in India for next five years

Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation is the largest city corporation in Kerala state of India by area and population. The city corporation is spread over 214.5 km2 with 100 wards and a population of....

Read More