Chile Set to Exhume President Allende's Body

Last Friday, Chilean judge Mario Carroza ordered the exhumation of the late President Allende's body decades after his death during the bloody 1973 coup that resulted in General Augusto Pinochet’s military dictatorship from 1973 to 1990. The disinterment, which is scheduled to take place some time late next month, will be done in an attempt to put to rest any questions surrounding the death of the president.

Autopsies performed hours after the death of President Allende stated that the president died from a self-inflicted gun shot would through the chin with a AK- 47 assault rifle. But questions still trouble many human rights groups and political officials. They wonder if his death was really due to suicide or if he met his untimely end by General Pinochet's military forces. The autopsy will continue the investigation announced in January by a Chilean prosecutor into the death of Allende's death and more that 725 additional human rights complaints against General Pinochet’s military dictatorship.

Allende's family has long accepted the theory that their relative committed suicide and never disputed it. Although, recently the family made a formal request to have the body exhumed for autopsy. Allende's daughter Isabel Allende, who is also a Socialist member of Parliament, told CNN-Chile, “It’s not that the family has changed their minds, or that we have doubts that we didn’t have before, but we support a criminal investigation that has never happened. We think it is extremely important for the country and the world that we legally establish the causes and circumstances of his death, which occurred under extreme violence.” At the time of his death the family was never allowed to see the body, a closed casket funeral was 75 miles out of Santiago; his current resting place.

It will be very interesting to see the results that experts at the Legal Medical Service report in regards to the official's death. This exhumation will bring clarity to one of Chile's major historical events. It seems to be another step in Chile's effort to open politics to the public, giving their citizens access to more information.

Pilgrimage Despite Conflicts in the Middle East

The occurrences that I am going to relay today took place back in February. I know that it may seem to be "old news" but we were asked to provide information on how and if the revolts in the Middle East were affecting our chosen country and I find this story relevant to that topic.

I'm sure that most are aware of the 25 Chilean miners that were trapped underground for 69 days and rescued back in October. After being rescued the miners have been invited on many trips including going to Disneyworld in Florida and being the guests of honor of the Manchester United soccer team in Britain.

At the end of February, the group left for a week long visit to Israel accompanied by partners or family members. Arrangements for the group to tour Israel as guests of the Israeli government had been made prior to the upheaval in the Middle East and the current mayhem did not deter the miners. Many of them viewed the trip overseas as a pilgrimage, an opportunity to thank God for their miraculous rescue.

Jimmy Sánchez, the youngest of the Chilean miners trapped last year, and his wife at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem





The group toured the holy sites of the Old City in Jeruselam, Israel’s national Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem, the Dead Sea, Nazareth, the Sea of Galilee,and the Church of the Nativity in the West Bank city of Bethlehem.

The trip was planned as a way to improve public relations and promote religious tourism to the area. Taking recent events into account I feel that a spike in religious tourism seems highly unlikely. I am even surprised that the miners did not choose to post pone their excursion overseas. For these Chileans the revolt and chaos in the Middle East was not of concern. I think it would be interesting to see if other citizens of Chile are still traveling abroad despite the current conditions.

Japan's Devestation Creates Concern with Proposed Nuclear Energy Program

Last Friday the United States and Chile signed an accord with the hopes to help the country develop a nuclear energy program. Chile imports nearly all of their energy and with hopes of bridging a predicted energy gap in the decades to come, have been considering constructing their our nuclear reactors.

The accord calls for cooperation in areas that deal with operation and utilization of nuclear reactors, safety,radioactive waste management and scientific exchange; with specific focus on the training of nuclear engineers.

Although, things have become complicated following Japan's devastating earthquake and fears regarding the spread of radiation throughout the Asian country. The recent disaster has reopened Chilean concerns regarding last year's 8.8- magnitude earthquake that destroyed cities throughout the country.

Chile's mining and energy minister, Laurence Golborne, signed a similar accord with France last month, but recently stated that the Chilean government will need to study the situation in Japan prior to committing to a nuclear program. He stated that due to recent occurrences the country may decide against investing in this type of energy. More sustainable renewable sources of energy are being considered in place of nuclear energy, such as, solar, wind, and geothermal. Chile is looking at Japan's destruction as a warning sign. They are taking into consideration that their country is prone to earthquakes and the construction of nuclear reactors could ultimately lead to a catastrophe of epic proportions.

While concerns are understandable, officials are troubled about what impacts the country's limited imports of energy and an outdated power grid will have on the growth of the Chilean economy. Chile's electricity demands have been steadily increasing at 6% each year and the country will need to double their supplies over the next 12 years if this continues. More than half of this will have to come from fossil fuels if nuclear energy is not part of Chile's future.

Media Regulation

I mentioned in a prior post that the BBC reported Chile ranked 33rd out of 175 countries and territories in respect to their level of current media censorship. This ranking reflects their lack censorship in regards to media.

Chile maintains a freedom of speech and press policy from which media outlets benefit. They are able to report current news, criticize government policies and officials, and report on controversial issues without the threat of governmental censorship or retaliation.

Relaxed media regulations allow for Chile's national and local television to operate along side many international affiliates. These positive aspects extend to Chilean internet usage, with 8.4 million citizens currently able to access the internet.

The majority of Chile's citizens are able to obtain current international news from a variety of media sources which has a direct connection to their democratic stance on freedom of press.

Traditional Communities Within Chile

The Mapuches are an indigenous tribe that originally inhabited the south-central parts of Chile. they are the largest ethnic group in Chile and make up approximately 10% of the population. The Chilean government did not officially recognized the Mapuches, their culture, or their language until 1993. Although the Mapuches suffered a fate similar to the indigenous tribes of the US, there is still a large population of Mapuches that live in Chile. Some continue to maintain their traditions, continuing to live in more rural areas surviving agriculturally and from the sale of textiles. T exile skills have been passed down generation to generation, mother to daughter to continue their treasured forms of traditional art.

Others have migrated to less rural areas trading in their agricultural roots for the city life. There is a large population of Mapuches residing in Santiago, the capital and largest city in Chile. The city life offers more opportunities for economic advancement than a traditional lifestyle.

There are roads being built through Mapuche areas, the forest is being felled in at fast speed and big power plants are being constructed in the rivers. Encrochments on traditional Mapuche settlements threaten their ancestral way of life.

All of these occurrences have brought more attention to the still surviving traditional communities. Many feel that there depiction within the media has perpetuated their simplistic, poverty stricken, lazy, drunkard stigmatic image the world holds of their ethnic group. this has caused many Mapuche to turn their back on their culture to avoid the discrimination that poor press creates. Furthermore, more and more parents are choosing not to teach their children the Mapuche language because it puts them at a disadvantage in school and understanding different media sources. It seems that to avoid the stigma of the Mapuche culture many individuals feel that assimilation would be the easiest route.

There is still hope!! even though many are choosing to assimilate into current Chilean culture and reject their ancestral roots, some have not given up the fight. Hungers strikes have taken place to draw attention to the need for more Mapuche rights, something that they have been fighting for for quite some time. hopefully these protests pay off and it is possible that they are able to use the media to change the views of their culture and people.

Who Owns the Media?

It seems like many countries Chile's media does suffer from conglomeration. It appears that the countries major media sources are primarily owned by just a handful of individuals. Agustín Edwards Eastman is the owner of the El Mercurio chain of newspapers which controls about 20 national and regional newspapers. While Álvaro Saieh heads the Consorcio Periodístico de Chile (COPESA) that controls the newspapers La Tercera, La Cuarta and La Hora, a radio network and the magazines Qué Pasa and Paula. These two individuals create what has been referred to in my readings as a "duopoly" within Chilean press. Additionally, there is Sebastián Piñera a presidential candidate for the rightwing Coalition for Change whom owns the Chilevisión television channel.

These three individuals are all part of conglomeration seen with in Chilean media. I find it extremely interesting that the owner of one of the oldest television stations, ranking 3rd in viewership in Chile would double as a presidential candidate. This is a perfect example of the risks that conglomeration can create, companies or individuals that are able to use their ownership to promote their own agendas through mass media. Interestingly in recent news, Time Warner has proposed the purchase of this station. So media ownership is shrinking even further with Time Warner, the second major media conglomerate in the world, getting their hands on one of Chile's major television stations.

Potential For New Trade Agreements??

On Sunday President Sebastian Piñera of Chile traveled to Israel to meet with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with the possibility of introducing negotiations for new trade agreements and tax laws between the two countries.

Prospects of these negotiations had previously begun with Chile's former president Michelle Bachelet. Although, it looks as though some Chile legislators plan to delay negotiations until Israel changes their policies with Palestine. The pro- Palestine legislators announced they would not be signing any free trade agreements between the two nations in the near future.

Legislators offered two arguments in support of their firm stance. First, no negotiations could be settled while Israel continues to have settlements in politically disputed territories. Second, some members of their legislation believe that signing a free trade agreement with Israel would be hypocritical considering the nation currently affects Palestine's ability to trade.

To alleviate some of the controversy, President Sebastian Piñera mentioned that countries such as Argentina and Brazil (that acknowledged Palestine prior to Chile) already had established free trade agreements with Israel.