Chilean Protests

The conventional wisdom about Chilean politics has been that the Pinochet regime killed that nation's long legacy of political protest and that in the post-Pinochet years, Chile is the most pro-capitalist nation in Latin America. But as South America wakes up from its 20 year long activist slumber and social justice again begins to play a major role in regional politics, the Chilean people are waking up too. As Bush visits Chile for the APEC summit, thousands of protestors are rallying against Bush. Chile has a long way to go to return to the level of social agitation of the Allende years, but at least a new generation of activists are beginning to work.