#35 Chile
Gabriel Boric goes to Washington.
This is the perfect week to talk about Chile because its new-ish President, Gabriel Boric, was just in town. Boric gets a lot of attention because he’s young, progressive, and rose to power as a student protester in a country where the student movement is very visible, occasionally militant, and uniquely effective in getting their demands met.
Boric also made some bold public statements this week on the war in the Middle East, arguing that “the right of a state to defend itself has limits.”
“We choose humanity,” Boric said after meeting President Joe Biden in the White House. “And both these attacks by Hamas have no justification and deserve global condemnation, and what the government of Benjamin Netanyahu is doing today also deserves our clearest condemnation.”
Boric also has the unenviable task of overseeing the attempt to reform his country’s constitution, which needs to be changed because it’s a throwback to the era of the military dictatorship of Agosto Pinochet, which lasted from 1973 until 1990. The document crafted in the 1980s was designed to eradicate Chile's Marxist parties and is no longer considered relevant to a democracy or representative of the country’s diverse population.
This week is about Chile.
Welcome to the 195 series, where I take you on a mini-tour of every country (and maybe some places that want to be countries). Each week I'll feature a new location. Some you may have heard of, while others may be new to you. The point is to learn and nurture our curiosity about the wider world. Maybe you'll find a new artist you like, too. You can skip to the bottom if you only want the week's news.
Country Info:
Population: Roughly 19.5 million.
Current government: According to the organization Freedom House, “Chile is a stable democracy that has experienced a significant expansion of political rights and civil liberties since the return of civilian rule in 1990.”
The fact that Chile has such a robust democracy so soon after experiencing years of a military dictatorship is pretty remarkable. Most of you probably already know the history, but as a refresher, NPR writes that:
The United States worked to end the presidency of an elected Marxist and, in turn, helped usher in an authoritarian right-wing dictatorship.
During the ensuing 17-year rule of Gen. Augusto Pinochet, more than 3,000 people would be disappeared or killed, and some 38,000 would become political prisoners — most of them victims of torture.
Language: The vast majority of Chile's population speaks Chilean Spanish, thanks to Spanish colonialism. A smaller number of people also speak an indigenous language.
Chile was a colony of Spain for almost 300 years until Napoleon's conquest of Spain in the 1800s weakened the country's grip on its South American colonies.
Religion: Most Chileans identify as Christians, with around 70 percent practicing Catholicism and 17 percent Protestantism.
Standout artist: Verónica Byers. I adore her surreal and twisted paintings.
Standout film: La Danza de la Realidad (The Dance of Reality) by Alejandro Jodorowsky.
A surprising thing: Chile is one of the few countries with a government-funded official UFO research bureau.
Story of the week: Chilean President Gabriel Boric, who condemned the Israeli military's air bombardment of Gaza and recalled his envoy to Israel, said that he told U.S. President Joe Biden that Israel's actions were violating international law.
What I’m writing:
• Funding for Ukraine is on a collision course between chambers on Capitol Hill after the new speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, pitched his stand-alone Israel aid bill to Senate Republicans, my colleague Savannah Behrmann and I report. This story is unlocked and free to read.
• More than two years after the U.S. withdrew its troops from Afghanistan, Congress may move to provide permanent residency to the tens of thousands of Afghan citizens who have been living in the United States in a state of limbo since fleeing their country. This story is unlocked and free to read.
My weekly news blurbs:
What I’m reading:
• The vast majority of Israelis believe Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should publicly accept responsibility for the failures that led to the devastating Hamas onslaught on October 7, according to an opinion poll by the Maariv newspaper.
• Israel acknowledged that one of its ministries drafted a wartime proposal to transfer Gaza’s 2.3 million Palestinians to Egypt’s Sinai peninsula, the Times of Israel reports.
• Israel attacked Hamas gunmen inside the tunnel network beneath Gaza as it expanded ground operations inside Gaza, Reuters reports.
•President Joe Biden and his top advisers are warning Israel that it will become increasingly difficult for it to pursue its military goals in Gaza as global outcry intensifies about the scale of humanitarian suffering there, CNN reports.
• Israel attacked Gaza’s largest refugee camp in a strike that reportedly killed Hamas commander Ibrahim Biari and at least 50 Palestinian civilians, Reuters reports.
• A second Israeli airstrike on Jabalia refugee camp killed at least 80 people, CNN reports. The majority of casualties are said to be women and children.
• The United Nations called for the opening of the Israel-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing to allow aid into Gaza. Officials said the crossing is the only one able to “rapidly process a sufficiently large number of trucks” carrying humanitarian supplies into Gaza.
• The United Nations announced that attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank are increasing, with at least 115 killed, more than 2,000 injured, and nearly 1,000 forcibly displaced by Israeli forces and settlers, the New York Times reports.
• A large crowd of people stormed the Russian airport of Makhachkala, in the Muslim-majority region of Dagestan, waving Palestinian flags, surrounding aircraft, and hunting for people arriving on a flight from Tel Aviv, the BBC reports.
• Vienna’s central cemetery was set on fire and graffitied with swastikas in an anti-semitic attack, the Associated Press reports.
• Neo-Nazis and the far-right are trying to hijack pro-Palestine protests, showing up to push antisemitic conspiracy theories and tropes into the mainstream, VICE reports.
• Jordan recalled its ambassador from Israel and ordered the Israeli ambassador not to return, Reuters reports.
• Bolivia severed diplomatic relations with Israel, accusing it of committing “crimes against humanity” in the Gaza Strip, ABC News reports. Columbia announced it is recalling its ambassador to Israel, and Chile recalled its ambassador as a result of the “collective punishment” of Gaza’s Palestinian civilian population.
• North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered his country’s officials to support Palestine and may sell weapons to militant groups in the Middle East, the Wall Street Journal reports.
• In the race to arm allies, North Korea has beaten the European Union to a million artillery shells, Politico Europe reports. Despite pledging to support Ukraine with a million rounds of ammunition within a year, the EU’s weapons manufacturers are nowhere near the kind of output needed to hit that target. Pyongyang has reportedly provided that many to Russia already.
• The Russian paramilitary organization Wagner Group is planning to provide a Russian-made air-defense system to Iranian-backed Lebanese Hezbollah, the Wall Street Journal reports.
• Hamas is stockpiling more than 200,000 gallons of fuel for rockets and generators, which provide clean air and electricity to its network of underground tunnels, NBC News reports.
• Moldova’s President Maia Sandu accused Russia of “buying” voters in the upcoming local elections, alleging Moscow channeled almost $5 million for “criminal groups” and pro-Russian political parties, Reuters reports.
• Montenegro’s parliament voted in a new government, ending weeks of negotiations, Politico Europe reports. The country will be led by a coalition of pro-European, pro-Serb, and Albanian minority parties, led by Milojko Spajić, who leads the centrist Europe Now Movement. At age 36, Spajić is the youngest prime minister in Europe.
• Aleksandar Vulin, the U.S.-sanctioned head of Serbia’s Security Information Agency, has resigned, blaming EU and U.S. pressure, Balkan Insight reports.
• Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has dissolved parliament and called snap elections for December 17, Politico Europe reports. The president and his ruling Progressive Party faced mounting pressure from the opposition after two deadly mass shootings triggered massive protests. The parliamentary ballot will coincide with local elections in 65 municipalities.
• Spain delivered six drones to Senegal and plans to deploy security personnel to help tackle the migration crisis, as the West African population on Spain’s Canary Islands reached a record high, Reuters reports. The drones are meant to detect vessels departing for Spain so they can be intercepted.
• One of Myanmar’s most powerful ethnic armed alliances launched a coordinated attack on a dozen military outposts in northern Shan State, along the country’s eastern border with China, Al Jazeera reports.
• Thailand is trying to bring home 162 of its nationals trapped in Myanmar, where tens of thousands of people have been displaced by a surge in clashes between junta troops and ethnic minority insurgents near the border with China, Reuters reports. Violence erupted last week in Shan State, a northern Myanmar region, where ethnic minority forces fighting for self-determination launched attacks on junta positions.
• Facebook – and Meta’s toxic algorithms – have been accused by Amnesty International of contributing to violence during the brutal two-year conflict in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region, the BBC reports.
• Dozens were killed by drone strikes and house searches in Amhara, Ethiopia, Reuters reports. Fighting began in July between local militia and state forces, as the government is accused of marginalizing the region.
• Rwanda announced that it would allow Africans to travel visa-free to the country, becoming the latest nation on the continent to announce such a measure aimed at boosting the free movement of people and trade to rival Europe’s Schengen zone, the Associated Press reports.
• U.S. President Joe Biden said he will end Gabon, Niger, Uganda, and the Central African Republic’s participation in the African Growth and Opportunity Act trade program, Reuters reports. Biden said the move results from “gross violations” of internationally recognized human rights and failure to protect the rule of law and political pluralism.
• Afghans who fled to Pakistan decades ago are being sent back to a homeland that is foreign to many, CNN reports.
• Pakistan’s deadline for undocumented migrants to leave the country will see 1.7 million people expelled to Taliban rule, Reuters reports.
• Between 9,000 to 10,000 Afghans are crossing the border every day from Pakistan, as scenes at the crossing have been described as chaotic and desperate, the Associated Press reports.
Interesting statements:
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