Social discontent grows in Chile; unions announce national strike

Santiago. Overnight, and for different reasons, the government of Chilean President Gabriel Boric began to suffer from growing social mobilizations, driven even by union organizations that, theoretically, should be supporters of the government, according to their own leaders.

To the complex social situation in the Biobío Region, 700 kilometers south of the Chilean capital, where some 20 thousand steel workers have begun to lose their jobs after the closure of the country’s main plant, unable to compete against the dumping of subsidized Chinese steel; The mobilization of artisanal fishermen in the area was added to allow them to capture mackerel, whose season has already ended, to make up for the lack of sardines and anchovies.

Also, the leftist Central Unitaria de Trabajadores (CUT) called for a national strike for April 11, which they explain as an attempt to promote demands “raised for the rearticulation of the social fabric, in reaction to discontent and lack of progress in the reforms.” that they are trapped in a technical tie encouraged by the right.”

Yesterday, when the president of the CUT, David Acuña, along with about 30 companions, went to the La Moneda Palace to deliver an explanatory document, the Carabineros police blocked their way and began beating the group.

The beating resulted in the anger of the leaders, who expressed their disappointment with Boric.

“In all sincerity and pain, this is the fault of an incapable, shameful government, which does not know how to deal with social organizations or unionism, nor respond to the needs of the people,” said leader Eric Campos after the repression suffered.

“This is not the government we wanted to vote for, this is the government of shame when it comes to repressing workers; the only thing we wanted to do is deliver a manifesto that seeks to carry out the profound reforms that Chile requires,” he added.

In the middle of his four-year presidency, Boric has not been able to carry out any of the structural reforms that he promised to carry out in health, pensions and taxes, largely due to the right-wing blockade in the legislature, but also due to the disagreements of the ruling party, which They have emboldened those.

According to the CUT, the strike will be “a crucial step in this mobilization process and reaffirms the commitment of the social and union movement to democracy, peace and social justice in Chile.”

Meanwhile, in Biobío, the situation of the Compañía de Aceros del Pacífico (CAP) continues to stagnate, since the customs surcharges of 12.5 percent that the government ceded were considered insufficient compared to the 25 percent that the firm considers necessary.

Yesterday, the Minister of Finance, Mario Marcel, called on the owners of CAP saying that “it is complex for them to completely transfer to the Government the decisions regarding the future of one of their subsidiaries”, in addition to proposing that the mining companies that buy “the most” of CAP steel, “get involved because the problem cannot be solved by a single actor.”