Chile Run Off Election

With just 3 days before Sunday run off election, between right-wing billionaire presidential candidate Sebastián Piñera, and Centre-left ruling Concertación coalition Senator and former President Eduardo Frei, President Michelle Bachelet said today in a interview on Radio Cooperativa, she will be voting for Eduardo Frei.

Bachelet said her option, although clear from the outset it is reasoned on the fact Frei was able to separate business from public life when he entered politics 20 years ago, by divesting all of his business interest. Something that business mogul Piñera has not done. Bachelet said, Piñera has yet to divest of his businesses, has not sold of or set a blind trust for his multiple stakes in Chile's flag airline carrier, LAN, private hospitals, private television channel CHV among other of Piñera´s multiple business interests.

Pictorial Essay Dec 31, 2009 Viña del Mar, Chile

Look at a picture set taken from the streets of Viña del Mar waiting for the arrival of 2010. Dec 31, 2009

Is Chile Moving to the Right in Dec 13 Presidential Elections

Chile's National Elections, may yield for the first time since 1958 a President from the right-wing. Billionaire businessman, Sebastian Piñera is riding high on the polls. It seems that he will end 20 years of centre-left Concertación coalition Presidents. The Concertación coalition has ruled Chile successfully since the country's return to democracy in 1990. It appears that Michelle Bachelet and her extremely successful government will not be able to pass the torch to Concertación candidate Senator, and former President, Eduardo Frei.

This from France 24, Focus program, Jessica Le Masurier is the hosts, guests are Kevin Cas-Zamora, Latin America specialist at the Brookings Institute, and myself.

Progressive Governance Summit

A view of the Progressive Governance Summit, that took place in Viña del Mar, Chile. The Summit was hosted by Chilean President Michelle Bachelet. In attendance were the UK Prime Minister Gorodon Brown, Spain President Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, Brazil's President Lula da Silva, the President of Argentina Cristina Fernandez, Denmark's Primer Minister Jens Stoltember and US Vice President Joe Biden.

Here is part of my experience at the Summit:

Chile Now Boasts two All-News Channel

Wednesday Chile’s public TV network, TVN, unveiled its 24-hour all-news channel, called 24 Horas. This new channel comes into the cable TV market to compete with CNN Chile. Chile's version of CNN is a partnership between Liberty Global –owner of Chile’s largest cable provider VTR- and Time Warner.

CNN Chile began operations last December with 30 minutes news segments around the hour. The channel is centred mostly in Santiago and brings regional news items from partnerships with regional television channels.



The Atlanta based news channel arrival was welcomed by all sectors of public life, because it gives fresh look to news coverage in Chile. CNN Chile is able to give a more diverse view of news than the one seen on Chilean TV channels, who in their news coverage are mostly concerned with the crime beat and other sensational news items.

CNN Chile has been a different voice. But CNN Chile has failed to break news, it has failed to provide live coverage of news events. In fact CNN Chile has had multiple technical glitches due to serious technical editing errors in their digital software that feeds reports to air.

Also CNN Chile is extremely rigid in its 30 minutes segments, it lacks segmented programming, it lacks personalities. CNN Chile is a bland news channel with little muscle or zest behind its coverage.

One click away on the clicker is TVN’s 24 Horas. The channel is oriented towards creating programming that delivers content after a 15-minute news segment at the top of the hour. It has personalities; it is developing segmented niches, with interviews, sports, arts and entertainment, international and financial news. Each of these areas is covered as a clear segment with a presenter identified with each area. To ensure international coverage, 24 Horas signed a partnership deal with NBC’s MSNBC news network.



However, 24 Horas makes the same mistake seen throughout Chilean television, its inability to edit and keep time. 24 Horas continues with the national incapacity to respect the clock, it continues to run over two or three minutes in its programming into the next hour. This is unacceptable for a serious news organization.

The major flaw 24 Horas has, is its Santiago centric news coverage. That coverage can also be seen in its continuity like graphics and information, for example, the weather in Santiago, traffic camera that show Santiago streets. The rest of the country also needs to know the weather and many cities are equipped with traffic cameras that can be followed on the Internet. That is the plus CNN Chile has over 24 Horas, it covers the country better, despite the fact 24 Horas is a channel owned by all Chileans.

24 Horas with its programming segmentation would appear to have an upper hand over CNN Chile’s 30 minute news segments, that contradicts its slogan “está pasando, lo estás viendo”. A slogan that translate to "it’s happening you are watching it," but with its ongoing 30 minute segment, after an hour-and-half, the viewer gets a constant repeat of the same news items. So CNN Chile’s slogan, “está pasando, lo estás viendo,” should translate to "it’s happening we are repeating it."

One final note, I applied unsuccessfully to both channels for employment as a journalist/producer. CNN Chile’s Director General Patricio Hernández told me I was too expensive for the local market. Meanwhile at 24 Horas, I was part of a cattle call with some 80 people. In that cattle call we were placed in an auditorium, there a HR person came to front of the auditorium, told us to fill in a job application form -all had sent resumes- then we were told to do a “psychology profile test.” In that exam we were shown 4 slides of different images and we were supposed to describe what we saw. We were also told to do a word matching test, where we were supposed to find the most correct word that would match with another.

In all my years of living and working in Canada, where I took part in many hiring processes as a candidate or as an interviewer, I was never given nor did I ever performed a psychological test. I was not called for a second interview, which leads me to think I was either to old and expensive, or I did not passed the so-called sham of psychological test.

Chileans Killed in Florida, Spying Charges

Here are the latest news highlights from Chile.

For Friday, February 27, 2009

Two Chilean students in a work and travel program were killed by a deranged 60 year old Florida, USA man. Chile defense not compromised says the Minister of Defense. Dakar 2010 Rally to be stated in Chile. Eduardo "Lalo" Parra gravely ill.

Lalo Parra Gravely Ill

Eduardo "Lalo" Parra the 90 years-old musician is gravelly ill, his family reports. Lalo Parra, better known as Tío Lalo, or Uncle Lalo, is in a Santiago Hospital connected to a ventilator to ease his illness. Doctors say Parra has a severe urinary infection that is compromising internal organs. His Family says they will wait 72 hours to determine if he will be disconnected from the ventilator with the hope, Parra makes a recovery.


Lalo Parra Profile on TV 2 Years Ago

Parra belongs to Chile´s Royal family of folk music. He is a younger brother to the great folk musician and artist Violeta Parra, and to poet extraordinaire Nicanor Parra; who has been nominated for a Nobel Prize for Literature numerous times. Violeta who has had many of his songs covered the world over was also a plastic artist, who in the early 1960s held an exposition of her work at France's famed Louvre Museum.


Violeta Parra in a French TV documentary

Nicanor is one this country's greatest poets. He is known as the antipoet, because he developed the anti poetry style to break away from Pablo Neruda's poetry. Nicanor's verb incorporates prose, the turn of phrase and pounding of the urban sound into his lyric -some say his work inspired the Beat writers.


Nicanor Parra Documentary Part 1


Nicanor Parra Documentary Part 2

As a teenager, Lalo Parra arrived in Santiago with his brothers and sisters, from their native San Carlos, near the town of Chillan, some 500 Km south of Santiago. In Santiago, they performed folk music in restaurants, cabarets, clubs or anywhere they could get a music gig. Lalo Parra then went on to form a duo with brother Roberto. With Roberto they began to perform and record Chile's national dance and song the Cueca, mixing it with other sounds leading to a Chilean version of jazz/foxtrot.

That music style was rescued by a younger generation of musicians who returned Lalo Parra to the mainstream of Chilean rock pop music. Lalo Parra is also responsible for the resurgence in Cueca during the country's national festivities. But particularly the Cueca Brava, or urban rough and tumble Cueca.

The Parra family was large, nine brothers and sisters all artists who performed singing the music from the countryside, which they made known into the mainstream of Chilean culture and society. That work is owed to the seminal work of Violeta who travelled the countryside north and south capturing and composing the country's music. Lalo and Roberto's duo concentrated in bar music that eventually made it to the current rock and pop music.

Tio Lalo Parra retired from performing two years ago when a severe pneumonia kept him bed ridden, he caught it, when he was performing during National Day Festivities. Parra did make a promise to make it to Chile's Bicentennial in 2010.

For those of us who love music and popular culture deeply rooted in Chile's countryside, we hope Parra is able to make it and sip a cup of red wine or chicha -homemade sweet wine made from grapes or apple- on September 18, 2010.

Mapuches Accuse Chile of Torture

Mapuche Indian activists face a difficult time as they try to make historical claim to recover their lands. But in their struggle, they have come into a head on collision with forestry companies, large landowners. Also, the Government appears to do little to solve the long-standing conflict.

Waikilaf Cadin accuses police and prison officials of torture. He is a Mapuche Indian activist who has seen his father Antonio Cadin, mother -Werkén and Community Chief- Juana Calfunao, and a brother Jorge jailed when they fought to recover part of their ancestral lands taken during the Pinochet dictatorship. Cadin’s 14 year sister, Remultry had also a rough childhood.


Cadin´s arrest for Public Disturbance

"Remultray was raised in a hostile climate, in an environment were a child cannot grow healthy she witnessed police raids, detention, and lived through 3 house fires," Cadin said nonplussed.

He adds: "when we were attacked by paramilitary groups she hid under the bed, listening to shots. So as a family, we decided to let her live a different life where she can grow as a normal girl." Remultray is now seeking asylum is Switzerland,

In the land struggle, Cadin and Remultray’s parents, who are Mapuche elders, were convicted to 3 years imprisonment. Cadin himself was in custody for 18 months. During his detention, Waikilaf Cadin was busy inside the Temuco jail, organizing a movement around the prisoners’ rights of his fellow Mapuches.

It was then when Cadin claims, he was beaten by Prison Guards.

"I began to lead a prison rights movement fighting against human rights violations, inhuman and degrading treatment, jail overcrowding, trial delay and many other pressing issues."

The response to his activism it was to transfer him from the Temuco Jail to Santiago's Maximum Security Jail, 800 km north. During that transfer Cadin says, "I was tortured for some 9 hours in the transfer to Santiago’s Maximum Security Prison. I was beaten on the road, the van would take side roads so I can be beaten it was scary."

Cadin alleges torture inside a police van when he was transported to Santiago’s Maximum Security Jail.

He shows this reporter photos of himself, depicting multiple back bruises consistent with truncheon lashes.






Pictures supplied by Cadin

Cadin is now waiting for trial for street violence and disorderly conduct.

The Cadin case is just one of the many, in fact, the violence against Mapuche Native peoples is much more systematic says Cristóbal Carmona, a journalist with News Radio Bío-Bío, based in the Mapuche heartland of Temuco.

"Some weeks back a Latin American organization for peace based in Buenos Aires was here investigating the conditions of jailed Mapuches and corroborate charges of torture. They filed a formal complaint against the Chilean State at the Inter-American Human Rights Commission," Carmona said.

He points out that, "in fact, that body has sanctioned Chile a number of times for cases of torture against Mapuches, and for the use of the anti terrorist law against Mapuche activists."

"But the Government usually responds to the Commission with well-intentioned letters but in the end, nothing happens", Carmona stresses.

Mapuches Natives make up 10 percent of Chile’s population, they are the largest ethnic minority. They live in rich lands for agriculture and forestry in the south of Chile, and have fought for their rights since the Spanish invasion.

Smaller ethnic groups live in communities located in the desert north of the country.

Rodolfo Valdivia, is a lawyer with the NGO Observatorio Indigena that works to protect Native rights. He says democracy and related rights have not yet arrived to the Mapuche heartland. "For example, the public prosecutor’s office get to the Mapuches whenever a criminal act is reported somewhere in the region. They are detained, often prosecuted and some tortured."

Valdivia adss the new investment is also detrimental to Mapuche communities. "New investment plans that are not liked by the community like garbage dumps are placed near Mapuche communities or place a new airport in middle of lands used for traditional rituals."

A team from the International Committee of the Red Cross will arrive in the region in March, to investigate Mapuche accusations of torture and undue violence at the hands of police and prison guards.

But Mapuche activists are not hopeful. They say despite numerous visits and reports from NGO’s, Mapuche Indians continue to face harsh treatment and government indifference. The discrimination is deeply entrenched they say.

Bachelet in Cuba, Mapuche seeks asylum

Welcome to my first video blog outlining the current news from Chile. For this Thursday February 12, 2009, here are the main items: Bachelet in Cuba; 11 year-old Mapuche girl seeks asylum.

Closed Corporate Culture

Have you tried to speak with a company official on any subject in the news or dealing with company news?

No?

Well, it is not a pleasant experience. Chilean corporate culture is one of mistrust of the press. Most businesses, large or small, do not have a public relations department nor personnel. Forget about finding a vice president responsible for corporate communications, the closer you will get is marketing officials with some communications responsibilities.

Here all company communications is done through public relations firms. A hideous reality of the communications world in Chile. PR firms expertise is not to give access of company officials to the media, but on the contrary, their sole objective is to run interference with a journalist pursuing a story.

PR firms have instituted a policy, as a norm, that the only person who will speak to the media is a company president, no one else is entitled to speak to the media.

This closed doors mentality of mistrust happens not only during times of crisis but even at a time when a journalist is writing a soft piece on "why a business ranks high on a poll as one of the best companies to work for" in Latin America.

That is the reality of Chilean business and their relationship with the media. They hire expensive public relations firms whose objective is to open doors, but they fail to do so. This happens because in one hand they do not understand the work of the media, while on the other, PR firms want to control the message that comes out from their clients to the press.

That control of the message is independent of a business own objective. Their in lies the rub, PR firms have a one simple objective, manage the message and push their own communications' strategy consultancy at a very high fee.

Hence business pay large fees for bad communications advice and to run media interference. As a fact it would cheaper and more transparent if Chilean business hire a VP in charge of communications and to stop wasting money on useless PR firms with a clear conflict of interests.

Another Notch for World Justice

A retired elderly man boards a plane from Santiago to spend his time touring parts of Europe during the summer. The man, 83 years-old, is a lawyer from Temuco, his name Alfonso Podlech. He is just another respected looking elderly man travelling and touring sites after a lifetime of successful work. But when Podlech approaches the customs window at Barajas Airport in Madrid a red alert pops up on the customs' computer. Alfonso Podlech is wanted on human rights violations.

Podlech was a Chilean Army military prosecutor accused of 1973 disappearance and killing of former priest Omar Venturelli, an Italo-Chilean national. Venturelli was part of a movement called Christians for Socialism, and he was a university professor at Temuco's Catholic University. Podlech is wanted by an Italian prosecutor on Venturelli's disappearance and killing. Podlech spent a few days under Spanish detention before being deported to Italy.

He is now under arrest in an Italian jail awaiting prosecution. Podlech is charged of the October 4, 1973,Venturelli disappearance less than a month after the September 11, 1973, Pinochet led military coup. Venturelli a retired priest, vanished soon after a visit by the notorious "Caravan on Death", that killed many former members and supporters of the overthrown Salvador Allende government throughout Chile, arrived in Temuco. Podlech is charged in Chile of participating in the killing of at least three other people. All part of the "Caravan of Death" October 1973 Temuco killing tour.

Podlech was charged after Venturelli's widow Fresia Cea Villalobos filed charges in an Italian court. Villalobos hopes justice is done to Venturelli and to all Italian nationals victims of human rights violations.

In Chile Podlech was, as of 2005, under investigation for his role during the "Caravan of Death" Temuco killings. He was also under investigation for other cases of human rights violations. Podlech beyond that investigation continued with his life as a retired respected lawyer in Temuco, and overseeing his eldest lawyer son managed his influential law firm's work in the region.

Podlech who is under arrest at an Italian jail, he was denied bail due to the risk of flight. Podlech's personal lawyer travelled to Italy to ensure he has proper legal representation and that he be freed from detention. But he will be in jail until Podlech's trial in late September or early October.

Foreign Minister Alejandro Foxley told reporters the Chilean government will give Podlech the required consular support, just like it would do with any other Chilean facing charges abroad. Podlech's family wanted the retired military prosecutor be given the same diplomatic immunity given to Agusto Pinochet during his 1998 London arrest. The government dismissed the demand.

Supreme Mess

The Michelle Bachelet administration got it self into a difficult bind; this after its candidate to occupy a seat in Chile's Supreme Court did not receive sufficient votes in the Senate. Santiago Appeals' Court Judge Alfredo Pfeiffer, a conservative judge, was nominated by the ruling centre-left Concertacion coalition, after a deal was struck with the right-wing opposition to get the ruling coalition's own candidate, Justice Harold Brito, appointed to the occupy one of two vacant spot in the country's Supreme Court.

Judge Pfeiffer, in his entire career as a judge, has upheld the Pinochet dictatorship era Amnesty Law. A law that pardons human rights violators. Pfeiffer has never prosecuted human rights violators, he always has applied the Amnesty Law. Pfeiffer has defied a Supreme Court edict that sets aside the Amnesty Law, which ensures the prosecution of human rights violators. Pfeiffer has closed human rights cases even in some cases without holding an investigation in cases of disappearances of Pinochet era political opponents.

Judge Pfeiffer's reasons for defying the Supreme Court in human rights cases, is that he believes the Amnesty Law is valid, in the books and that it has not been repealed. But the Supreme Court ruled that Law should be set set aside in human rights violation cases.

He also argues that International Law and legal treaties Chile has signed do not have legal binding value in national law, Pfeiffer argues national law trumps international justice.

But what really sets Pfeiffer apart, is an interview he gave in the early 1990's with the conservative daily El Mercurio. He told veteran reporter Raquel Correa, that he did not believe movies that depicted the Jewish holocaust at the hands of Nazi Germany. Pfeiffer the son of a German immigrant to Chile, told Correa the Holocaust was not as bad as depicted in movies.

This is the judge the Bachelet government wanted promoted to the country's Supreme Court. This after the Bachelet government struck that deal with the right-wing opposition. With the agreement the Bachelet administration managed to get the respected judge Haroldo Brito, who has made an impressive career investigating and prosecuting human rights violators, to the Supreme Court in exchange for the second seat to be allocated to Judge Pfeiffer.

It is surprising that the Socialist Bachelet, her centre-left ruling coalition many like Bachelet victims of human rights violations, hitched their reputation on a holocaust apologist and who is dismissive of human rights violations in Chile.

It is also surprising for the right-wing opposition to be angry, they called the Senate rejection of Pfeiffer a betrayal. It is surprising how political deal making becomes an act of political betrayal. Also it is surprising how little attention was given to Pfeiffer's legal views on human rights, international law, and particularly to Pfeiffer's egregious holocaust apologizing.

Truckers Shut Down Chile

Friday morning truck owners ended their four day indefinite strike after reaching an agreement with the Government following all night negotiations. Truck owners demanded the Government do something with the high price of diesel needed to power their rigs. The Government agreed to subsidize up to 80% of the diesel tax collected each time a truck fills up at the pump.



The strike was called for Tuesday dawn, but some truckers jumped the gun Monday partially shutting down the main highway that links Santiago with major ports in central Chile.

Truckers are not the only group feeling the pinch of high oil prices, the rising cost of fuel is causing damage to the economy overall. The country is showing slower economic growth and higher inflation.

Also the cost of electricity has increased dramatically due to the dwindling supplies of natural gas from Argentina used to generate electricity in combine cycle plants. So the generating plants use diesel to power up their electrical generating stations.

In response to the high price of fuels, President Michelle Bachelet announced Monday a series of measures aimed at reducing fuel prices at the pump and energy generation. She announced her Government is investing one billion dollars to the oil stabilization fund, this significant deposit means that when it begins operating will allow for gas, diesel and kerosene prices to be lowered at the gas pump some 50 pesos per litre (10 US cents).

But the truck owners association called the measures a band-aid solution. Truckers who pay on average $1.35 US for one litre of diesel, say the measure is not enough.

Juan Araya, the President of the truckers' association, told the press that the stabilization fund makes him think the government is not listening. He says the billion dollars is important to all Chileans because it will have an impact. "But in our case is a partial solution."

Despite the billion dollar announcement the strike was on. Truckers partially shut down highways all over Chile, and prevented delivery of gasoline to gas stations and of food staples to supermarkets. In some smaller centres, gasoline run out and in supermarket shelves food products began to scarce.

With the spectre of shortages the Government Thursday, called truckers to the sit down to negotiate. The Government caved in to truckers' demands. Truck operators now can write down 80% of the diesel tax they pay at the pump for one year. They had demanded a 100% write off of the diesel tax, but agreed to 80% after the Government moved up from a 50% write down.

Now a truckers' strike in Chile brings back bad memories, because a massive two-month long truckers strike in 1972 and a year later another major strike in part paved the way for the 1973 military coup.

Amnesty International Calls on Government to Rein in Police

Michelle Bachelet was elected President of Chile in 2006, the first woman to hold that post. With her election the long protracted transition to full democracy ended. As she became president, Bachelet invited citizens to become active in their affairs; she said her government would listen to the people. The country's social forces were empowered and began making long postponed demands.

A major demand was the education system, left broken during the military dictatorship; despite the efforts of the democratic governments which pumped millions of dollars into the education system bad outcomes remained.

Students see that their future depends on the quality of education. So they took to the streets just three months into the Bachelet administration in 2006, abruptly ending the honeymoon.

The government ordered police to reign in demonstrators and restore order on the streets.

Now into the third year of the Bachelet government, human rights observers say police heavy handedness and undue force is normal police reaction to peaceful protests.

In early April, the Chile chapter of Amnesty International, they wrote the Interior Minister demanding an end to what they called the police repression of public demonstrations.



Sergio Laurenti, Amnesty International's Chile chapter director, says the serious repression of students in the past year and other activist has prompted us to present a letter to the home minister to discuss openly what's the purpose of this increase brutality that is observe in the police force."

"The most recent and serious situation happened when a group of women were protesting in favour of the distribution of the day after pill, were gravely repressed with the use of addition…extra force and water contaminated with water contaminated with chemical materials."

Laurenti says Amnesty International has not received a response from the Interior Minister.

But the Minister says he has not seen the letter and invited Amnesty International to send the letter again, adding he would gladly meet with them.

Felipe Harboe the Undersecretary of Interior, responsible for police and security, also admitted not seeing the letter and could not comment.

But when he was asked about the repression of demonstrations, and in particular about a severe eye injury sustained by a photojournalist for the Spanish news agency EFE, who was struck by a metal whip wielded by mounted police officer at a recent demonstration.

Harboe says "that a basic democratic principle is the right of the press to work freely. What happens at times is that when there is a free-for-all unfortunately clashes happen that involve journalists, like the grave episode of the photojournalist."

Harboe says "there is not a predetermined police attitude to repress demonstrations and journalists." But he qualifies that some protesters carry video and photo cameras.

Marcial Campos, the President of the Foreign Journalists Association, agrees with Amnesty International. He says journalists are concerned and that police heavy handedness has increased with the Bachelet Government.

"Repression is heavier in this government," Campos says. "I don't know what is behind it or the authorities are trying to protect. I don't know what is their idea, perhaps they think if more police are on the streets there will be less problems."

"They are wrong. People should be allowed to demonstrate, I have covered demonstrations and many times people are provoked. People march in peace but are provoked."

Campos cites the use of the water cannon and the so-called skunk, a jeep that spews tear gas to disperse demonstrators

The government maintains police will ensure public order as a democratic victory and will not allow public disorder, because maintaining public order is the only way to protect democracy.

But Campos says in a democratic society people should be allowed to protest peacefully without fearing police repression for exercising their right to assembly and free speech.

Chilean Students Back to the Streets

In Chile this week, hundreds of high school and university students protested a new education reform bill in Congress that they say prioritizes profits at the expense of education. Demonstrators shut down a number of high schools, and earlier this month protesting students at four universities went on strike.

This week's actions and earlier street demonstrations follow years of student opposition to the country's education system, that boiled over in 2006. Then high school students took to the streets shutting down schools for more than a month, in the so-called penguin revolution, in reference to their uniforms.



The movement forced the ousting of the minister of education and the installment last year of a Presidential commission. The commission made up of educators, education administrators, school operators and students tabled a report that was the framework for the new education legislation.

In committee discussions students demanded clauses that allowed for profit making from public funds in the education system be removed, but it was rejected by most committee members.

Students say the basic principle of profiteering by private operators in education remains in the new legislation.

Profit was introduced to the education system during the military dictatorship as part of introducing market forces to the public sector. The dictatorship also dropped schools into the laps of unprepared municipal governments telling them to compete for students with individuals that opened new schools.

Students are demanding that the new bill be withdrawn and redrafted with the profit provision removed.

David Mora, Vice President of the Catholic University of Valparaíso Students' Union, says "we are mobilized because the Presidential commission that prepared the education bill did not remove from the proposed legislation the issue of profit making with public funds earmarked for public education, as we demanded it in the Commission."

"The government has failed to reject the concept of profiteering with public funds we want them to do so that is our position. That is why we oppose the new legislation."

Another major demand is public funding to public universities that now only receive limited and unequal funding between universities. Many public institutions are in financial peril.

Chile's education system is made up of three segments, public schools, private schools that receive public funds and truly private schools.

The conflict is in private schools that receive public funds operated by individuals who are more concerned with making money than providing education.

Also students demand that public schools be run by the government. Students charge municipalities do not have the capacity to operate schools.

High school student leader Matías Ponce says the new education legislation must be withdrawn. "It is extremely important the President let us know what she thinks because during the state of the nation speech she did not do so."

"She failed to discuss the flawed bill that is being debated in Congress, a bill we want withdrawn," Ponce adds.

But the center-left government does not appear moved by the students' mobilizations.

Administration spokesperson Minister Francisco Vidal says the bill is in Congress, now it is up to elected officials to debate it.

Vidal says decision lies with the people's representatives not with school assemblies. "Students' are calling for the end of profit and their rejection of the new education bill; Chilean society has to make a decision on where public policies are debated."

Vidal says "in a democracy they are decided in Congress another option is they be debated in a student assembly. Chile's decision was to listen to all stakeholders, but the place to make decisions is Congress."

The government wants the bill approved, because there is an agreement with the right-wing opposition to approve the legislation as drafted that includes the controversial profit concept.

Meanwhile students will continue to demonstrate against the bill.

Chile Receives Palestinian From Iraq

The US war in Iraq has resulted in masses of refugees, many of them Palestinian-Iraqis, who now reside mostly in desert camps in the Iraq Syria border. After the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees pleaded with its member nations, the government of Chile said it would allow 117 Palestinians to enter the South American country. Last April, a handful of Palestinian refugee families arrived in Chile.

The small city of La Calera some 50 miles north of Santiago saw the arrival of 8 Palestinian families totaling 38 people, most of them children. The town was chosen because of the large Chilean-Palestinian resident community that began settling in these parts some 100 years ago.

Tamer Khalifah, who was a history teacher in Iraq, found work as a school hall monitor at a local public school, in La Calera, aptly named Palestine Public School. In basic English, he tells me that he is happy to come to Chile. He adds that he is pleased to have left behind living in a tent at the Al Tanf camp in the Iraqi-Syria border.



To Khalifah Chile is a place to begin a new life, particularly for his children. A history teacher in Iraq, Khalifah now works as a school hall monitor in the aptly named Palestine Public School. A school that is now home to all school-age Palestinian refugee children.

The 38 refugees are in their first month of a two-year settlement program. The adults will be placed in jobs after six months of language training program.

The Government is also providing housing, heath care and education for the children.

UNCHR's director in Chile has praised the settlement program calling it to date a success.

Nancy Ponce is the school principal at the Palestine Public School. She is also a neighbour to the 8 families settled in La Calera.

She says having the new students in school has been a rewarding experience for her and for the entire school community. She tells me there has been a normal integration process. She says Chilean students have taken under their wings the new students. "The girls take the new students by their hands, they teach them, play with them.

Ponce describes the integration process a normal. But Ponce cautions that regular Chilean society is not the same as her school. Adults will have a tougher time integrating.

Specially trained resettlement workers are assigned to each refugee group and are monitoring the settlement program. In La Calera the group is monitored by social worker Monica Chahuan.

She says the local Chilean-Palestinian community here is helping the new refugees, for example they have arranged jobs for the new arrivals as soon as they finish language training, this as a way to remember and repay their grandparents who fled Palestine some 100 years ago.

Chahuan says it has been an intense, difficult, beautiful experience. She says, they now have their own IDs, they are slowly becoming part of the community making friends among with the locals.

Two weeks ago, a second group of Palestinians arrived from the Al-Tanf camp. They settled near La Calera in the small city of San Felipe. Two remaining groups will be settled in the coming weeks in Santiago neighbourhoods that have a high concentration of Chilean Palestinians.

Morning After Pill Judgement Could Be Impugned

The local daily La Tercera in today's edition publishes that the legal arguments used to impugned the distribution of the morning after pill were taken from a legal opinion written by Constitutional Court judge Raul Bertelsen a few years earlier. Bertelsen wrote a legal opinion against the morning after pill, birth control pills and IUDs that these methods prevent the implantation of an egg in a woman's uterus.

That opinion was taken word by word, according to La Tercera, in the constitutional challenge against the distribution of the morning after pill and all other forms of contraceptives. Lead lawyer Jorge Reyes says he used the opinion in proper legal form. But Reyes failed to cite the legal opinion in the challenge.

But Bertelsen now becomes the issue because he ruled in a Constitutional challenge knowing that his opinion was part of the legal writ filed by those opposing the distribution of birth control methods and emergency contraceptives.

Members of Congress who oppose the 5-4 decision to ban the distribution of the emergency contraceptive want the Court to quash its decision and demand judge Bertelsen to step aside on this particular case. The same position, say the Congressmen, should extend to Jose Luis Cea who issued a press release outlining the Courts decision and Mario Fernandez who is on record saying that when it comes to moral opinions he defers to the opinion of his Catholic Church Bishop.

Women's and pro choice groups are accusing judge Bertelsen of not only conflict of interest, but of prevarication. This means that a judge acted as part and jury in a legal case subverting the principle of equality before the law.

Constitutional Court Bans Emergency Contraceptive

In a decision that angered the Government, the Constitutional Court in a 5 to 4 vote declared unconstitutional the public distribution of the emergency contraceptive "morning after pill." The ruling comes after a group of 36 conservative right-wing members of the Lower House of Congress petitioned the Constitutional Court arguing the pill causes abortion.



The decision though awaited, it angered President Michelle Bachelet, women and pro-choice groups who demonstrated in anger Friday and the days before the release of the ruling.

The Constitutional Court ruled the emergency contraceptive "may cause an abortion" and that point of uncertainty the majority found it contravenes the right to life provision in the Chilean Constitution which enshrines life begins at the point of conception.

The claimants also wanted declare unconstitutional a series of birth control pills and IUDs claiming they also cause spontaneous abortion by denying conception from taking place. The Constitutional Court rejected these claims.

President Bachelet told reporters the ruling tears down the principle of equality in society because it creates inequality in women´s rights to control their reproductive life. Bachelet says the decision allows for the emergency contraceptive to be sold in pharmacies, but the public health system cannot freely distribute the emergency contraceptive to women who needed it.

The majority opinion in the country is to condemn the Constitutional Court ruling, the Minister of Health, Soledad Barria, says the risk for clandestine abortion is greater and a throw back to back alley abortions. The same opinion was given by reproductive medicine expertes.

Pro-choice groups and supporting politicians demanded the resignation of two Court members who did not declare a conflict of interest on a previous legal opinion written a couple of years back and the second of strict religious beliefs.

Raul Bertelsen a few years back in private practise wrote a legal opinion describing the emergency contraceptive abortive. Meanwhile, Mario Fernandez says he takes into account on issues of moral values the opinion of his Catholic Church Bishop before any other view.

Women and pro-choice organizations are calling on the Government to seek alternative options to distribute the emergency contraceptive, including selling the pill to low income women at a reduced cost.

The pill sells on pharmacies at about $7 thousand pesos, some 14 dollars. The minimum wage in Chile is about 300 dollars a month placing the emergency contraceptive outside the ability of low income Chileans to acquire the pill; explaining Government anger and initial decision to freely distribute the medication within the public health system.

Minister of Education Suspended by Congress

The Lower House of Congress voted to suspend the Minister of Education, Yasna Provoste, for serious dereliction of her Constitutional duties. The Chambers of Deputies voted 59 to 55 to fire the Minister. Now is up to the Senate to either uphold or quash the Deputies' decision.

The vote comes after a more than two-months of news and debate on a serious accounting disorders found inside the Ministry of Education that dates back to 2004 and 2005; a period before this Government. The opposition right-wing Alliance coalition pushed the case until it filed in mid March a Constitution Accusation against Provoste for dereliction of her Ministerial duties.

The Alliance argued the Minister did not act with promptness to fix the serious accounting problems found by the Auditor General. The Minister countered saying her Ministry was taking actions, she assured the public funds were not misspent and denied it a case of corruption.

The Ministry of Education is responsible for funding public and semi-private schools. The monies in the accounting mess were destined to pay schools for the students attending classes, pay for teachers and educational support personnel. The funds were also destined toward breakfast, lunch and snack programs.

Provoste defended herself saying she was taking action, but the opposition charged she did not act fast enough to remedy the mess and guaranteed the public the monies did not go missing.

The deposed Minister called the entire process a political attack, making her to be a convenient scapegoat before the Auditor General files the final report on the financial records sent from the Ministry to be audited. Provoste says the accusers and those who voted against her in Congress were politically motivated. Provoste says the presumption of innocence was not invoked, she described opposition victory, pyrrhic.

The opposition was able to gather enough votes because two Government Concertacion coalition Congressmen did not vote and four former members of the Christian Democratic Party, part of the ruling coalition, voted with the opposition.

It is up to the Senate to either confirm or deny the Constitutional accusation. If the ruling is upheld, Provoste will be the first Government Minister sacked by Congress since the Salvador Allende administration (1970-73).

Bachelet Approval Raise

The approval rating of President Michelle Bachelet rose for the first time since the implementation of the flawed Santiago public transit system, in February 2007, the polling firm Adimark found in its monthly poll.

Bachelet´s approval raiting rose to 46.4%. Adimark, a right wing polling firm tied to the far right UDI party, found the President´s personal rating rose considerably. Adimark found 76.4% of the public has feelings of endearment with Bachelet; the President also increased its leadership rating to 54.1%; and her credibility also rose to 62.1%.

The Government took the poll numbers in stride, Francisco Vidal, the Government spokesperson called the March poll numbers "good news."

According to the UDI party "Bachelet´s likeness with the public" was the cause of the increase in the poll numbers.

The poll unearthed a disturbing trend with the increase of the perception of corruption to 69.1% within the public. The poll says the public feels the Government is not working hard enough to stamp out corruption.

Government spokesperson Vidal reacted to that number saying the country is decent, but says the perception increased because of the a disturbing public trend to "accuse, judge and dismiss government officials and business leaders."

The poll interviewed 1,028 men and women located in the 17 largest urban areas, with a margin of error of +/- 3%.