Chile's student protest leaders hope to dismantle the system from the inside

[Joe Shlabotnik]

Two years ago Giorgio Jackson was at the forefront of Chile's biggest protests since the end of the Pinochet dictatorship, when hundreds of thousands of students took to the streets in support of the right to free university education.

Now the 26-year-old is running for election – one in a group of former student activists hoping to make the leap from the frontlines of street activism to those of congress. Presidential and congressional votes are set for 17 November, and polls suggest Jackson – an independent running under the slogan "Now is the time" – is likely to be elected.

Two other activists, Camila Vallejo and Karol Cariola – both from the Communist Youth party – are expected to be voted in too. "For those of us who fought for such a long time [for education] … it was important to be actors and not spectators," says Jackson.

If elected, the student leaders will be at the forefront of a host of social movements that have rocked the political stage over the past three years. Not only students, but union leaders and environmentalists are seeking political office and a chance to bring new voices to a congress long dominated by traditional party stalwarts and backroom dealings.

more at: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/25/chile-student-protest-election-camila-vallejo?CMP=twt_gu

[Judi Lynn]

1. The system which supported Nixon's bloody puppet Augusto Pinochet

should NEVER have been allowed to overthrow the elected Chilean leader, Salvador Allende, and relentlessly pursue, kidnap, torture, and murder so many, MANY Chilean people who opposed it.

Pinochet should NEVER have been allowed to steal the Presidency, amid great violence and suffering wreaked upon the people just because the US Republican President, Richard Milhouse Nixon, and the CIA decided to overthrow the election after murdering everyone in their road, including Chile's General Prats, etc.

Here's the fate of two of Chilean Generals loyal to Pinochet:

~snip~
The CIA attempted to persuade Chile's Chief of Staff General Rene Schneider, to overthrow Allende. He refused and on 22nd October, 1970, his car was ambushed. Schneider drew a gun to defend himself, and was shot point-blank several times. He was rushed to hospital, but he died three days later. Military courts in Chile found that Schneider's death was caused by two military groups, one led by Roberto Viaux and the other by Camilo Valenzuela. It was claimed that the CIA was providing support for both groups.

David Atlee Phillips set Townley the task of organizing two paramilitary action groups Orden y Libertad (Order and Freedom) and Protecion Comunal y Soberania (Common Protection and Sovereignty). Townley also established an arson squad that started several fires in Santiago. Townley also mounted a smear campaign against General Carlos Prats, the head of the Chilean Army. Prats resigned on 21st August, 1973. His replacement as Commander in Chief was General Augusto Pinochet.

On 11th September, 1973, a military coup removed Allende's government from power. Salvador Allende died in the fighting in the presidential palace in Santiago. General Augusto Pinochet replaced Allende as president. Soon afterwards Townley was recruited by General Juan Manuel Contreras, the head of DINA, the new secret police.

Townley's main task was to deal with those dissents who had fled Chile after General Augusto Pinochet gained power. This included General Carlos Prats who was writing his memoirs in Argentina. Donald Freed argues in Death in Washington: The Murder of Orlando Letelier that: "On September 30, 1974, shortly after the first anniversary of the violent overthrow of the Allende government, Townley and a team of assassins murdered Carlos Prats and his wife in Buenos Aires. Their auto was exploded by a bomb."

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/JFKtownleyM.htm

Very best wishes to the new leaders in the youth movement in Chile. They are confronting a lethal system, and they need every bit of support they can muster.

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Giorgio Jackson, Camila Vallejo





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Thank you for this information.

He has a point. The world needs people to be more than spectators.