Change is coming to the Aisén region of Chile, be it through proposed
mega hydropower, the future Patagonia National Park, or current protests
disrupting the region. Social
unrest since mid February has led to roadblocks of the port town of Puerto
Aisén, the capitol city of Coyhaique and to the regional airport in
Balmaceda. The protests have
caused intermittent transportation interruptions, blackouts, and fuel
shortages. Kendall, another
intern, translated this message that was sent to us from a friend of the park
in Coyhaique:
As far as things go here, nothing came of the
minister's visit; he asked yesterday that all the barricades come down before
he'd even sit down and talk. This morning, the protesters counterproposed
that they open the barriers every two hours, but the minister rejected the
idea, which spurred the leaders of the protests to declare a total blockage.
The government answered with the threat to impose the national security
law. People in Coyhaique started to protest and set up barricades early
this afternoon, and there are a lot of people in the central plaza who plan to
spend the night there. For now things haven't gotten out of hand, but the
government is just waiting for the first fighting or looting to send in special
forces. It's looking ugly. This afternoon, finally, I got to talk
with Patricio [another Sin Represas employee] and I told him that I was
worried...his words were, "That's how revolutions are..."
The disruptions in long distance commerce that have resulted are a fine
example of the fragility of our globalized world. How far do the things you use every day
travel before they reach your possession?
What is their story, how were they extracted from the earth, by whom,
and under what methods? What would
you do if you work up in the morning and the supermarket shelves were empty? These are questions we need to start
answering.
Here is some more information on the protest and a great
article in the New York Times about the challenges faced in the Aisén region.
