Calls For “Re-Nationalization” Of Chile’s Privately-Controlled Water Resources

Millions of residents in Santiago were left high and quite literally dry in recent weeks by a series of water service cuts that some Chilean citizens groups and politicians are calling a wakeup call to the perils of privatization.

The first of the disruptions hit the Chilean capital between Jan. 21-22 after flooding from a heavy rainstorm flushed copious amounts of sediment into the Río Maipo, Santiago’s principal source of drinking water. The event forced Aguas Andinas, the city’s primary waterworks company, to temporarily shut three of its treatment plants and thus cut the water supply to an estimated 2 million residents. Complicating matters was the timing of the problem – at the height of the southern summer. Between December and March, daytime temperatures in Santiago regularly top 30˚C (86˚F).

Is Piñera, Chile’s First Conservative Leader In Two Decades, Also Its Most Gay-Friendly?

President Sebastián Piñera has proven to be an unlikely ally for Chile’s LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community, most notably by overseeing passage last year of the “Ley Zamudio,” an equal rights law that had been promised – but never delivered – by his more left-wing predecessors. The conservative leader could cement his legacy as a gay rights pioneer by making good on a campaign pledge to legalize same-sex civil unions. With just a year remaining in his term, however, time is running out.

Ethnic Tensions Again Boil Over In Chile’s Araucanía Region

A flurry of arson attacks, land occupations and violent police raids have refocused public attention on Chile’s long-simmering “Mapuche conflict,” which is once again showing signs of boiling over.

Citizen Revolt, Police Repression In Far Southern Chile

Residents in far southern Chile’s Aysen region demand more government attention (Periodico El Ciudadano)

The most sparsely populated of Chile’s 15 regions, Aysén is in many ways the most isolated as well. But in recent weeks, a burst of popular unrest has lifted the normally out of sight, out of mind outpost to the top of President Sebastián Piñera’s priority list.

A Summer Ceasefire For Chile’s Student Protestors. Will They Be Back In 2012?

"No more repression" (simenon/flickr)

Chile’s warm southern summer has brought an end – for now at least – to a relentless sequence of student-led protests that dominated headlines for much of 2011, cost two education ministers their jobs and sank President Sebastián Piñera’s approval rating.  

Widespread Abuse Allegations Amid Police Crackdown On Chile Protests

Police cavalry readies to pounce in Valapariso (Flickr/Dave_B_)

By the time Francisco Gómez, a volunteer human rights observer, first saw 18-year-old Sebastián Bravo Piña, the teenager’s face had been so battered by police it “looked like a sack of potatoes.”

In Political Free Fall, Chile’s Piñera Has Company — On The Left

President Sebastian Pinera (Gobierno de Chile/Flickr)

Since last October’s improbable yet ultimately successful rescue of 33 miners in northern Chile, President Sebastián Piñera has had little else to celebrate – except maybe that the opposition Concertación coalition is faring just about as badly as he is.

Student Movement Marches On In Chile

Student protestors in Santiago (Tom/Flickr)

Chile’s student protestors are beginning to regroup following a tragic plane accident earlier this month that cost the powerful reform movement both momentum and a popular ally: beloved television personality Felipe Camiroaga. One of the country’s biggest celebrities, Camiroaga died along with 20 others when the military plane they were traveling on crashed off the coast of Chile’s Juan Fernández islands.

Chile’s Student Demonstrators Put President Piñera To The Test

A June protest in Santiago, Chile (credit - Dave_B_/flickr)

At some point over the past several months, President Sebastián Piñera, a billionaire businessman who until recently had also enjoyed a winning record in politics, lost his Midas touch. Now it seems he may be losing control.

In Chile, Students Mount Massive Education Reform Movement

Teachers' Union head Jaime Gajardo (left) and student leader Camila Vallejo (Credit - Flickr/Gonzalo Zapata)

Five years after the famed revolución de los pingüinos (penguin revolution) erupted along the streets of Santiago, Chile’s students are once again experiencing of winter of serious discontent, leading a series of massive demonstrations that many observers describe as the largest since the end of the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship (1973-1990).