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From pop to politics, I write about it all.
Women perform the Las Tesis anthem "A Rapist in Your Path" on repeat outside the Presidential Palace. These women were among the first to perform the song in November, which since went viral across the world
#8M2020
#InternationalWomensDay
#Marcha8M
Happy international woman's day! I'll be sending a few updates from Santiago, Chile, today to The Guardian's live global coverage of 8M, which has already kicked off in London. I'll also be tweeting!
#InternationalWomensDay
#DiaInternacionalDeLaMujer
LA police shot dead a Chilean child at a mall while targeting an unarmed man. The man died, and so did 14-year old Valentina Orellana Peralta. No reaction from Chilean authorities to condemn trigger-happy US cops. Probably because it's the US..
2 years since this powerful, huge
#8M
march in Chile! Since then, the country's feminist movement has achieved: a feminist president-elect with a women-majority cabinet; the drafting of the world's first constitution written by equal parts men and women
On Rapa Nui, I investigated the ongoing
#devuelvanelmoai
campaign against the British Museum and found it wasn't as straightforward as it seems.
Chilean hashtaggers strike again!
Pinochet's brutal dictatorship began 50 years ago today. Let's remember UK's involvement - Thatcher lifted an arms embargo to Chile and was a core ally to later dictator. Later, Blair's government blocked his extradition to court, and he never faced punishment for his crimes.
Rosalía took her Motamami tour to Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Colombia and NOT Perú, so YouTuber iOA
@ioanispatsias
spent four months rehearsing the show song-for-song and sold out a 3000 person venue and I can't stop watching the TikToks
Shocking images coming from yesterday's police raid in Mapuche communities in Chile's south. The same day an officer was declared guilty for killing Camilo Catrillanca, PDI were pictured detaining members of Catrillanca's family, including his 7-year-old daughter...
ultimately Larrain wasn't persecuted by the Pinochet regime and his family contributed to upholding Pinochetism. Fair he admits it but he's also got to accept people questioning his cinematographic monopoly on the topic. He seems overly defensive here.
Excited to have joined the genius team at
@galdemzine
as Music Editor-at-Large! On the look out for MUSIC profiles & features that focus on people of colour, and from marginalised genders. Keen on ALL genres of music!
Read the pitch guidelines here:
“Boric is a great step forward, he cares about the environment and has always sided with the demands of students," a 16-year old Chilean told me at Boric's celebratory base. This is a victory for the youth.
#BoricPresidentedeChile
#BoricPresidente
The Chilean police are now filing a lawsuit against
@lastesisoficial
for inciting violence with their
@pussyrrriot
collaboration "1312", in which they denounce state repression.
Former footballer, LGBT activist Ale Benado is Sports Minister. In 2013, she took the Chilean Gov't to court over same-sex parental rights. She now is the first openly lesbian minister in Chile's history.
#gabinete
Estado Nacional - a symbolic place to vote. Following Pinochet's coup in 1973, the stadium was used to imprison and torture opponents of the regime. An example of the undemocratic origin of Chile's current 1980 constitution.
#Plebiscito2020
Boric appoints Vallejo and Jackson to core govt advisory and comms roles & Izkia heads the home office; keeping the people who've always been with him close. There's no parity in the cabinet — there are more women ministers than men (a lot of firsts here).
#gabinete
#18O
in Chile marks three years since the Chile protests, when dozens died at the hands of the state and thousands were injured.
Earlier this year, I spoke to families still seeking justice, systematic police impunity, and judicial failings.
Rosalía knows that most of us in big stadiums / festivals see shows through phones / screens now and that's why motomami tour is technically incredible - set designed for vertical shots; cameras in mics, props, on dancers: it's made it for the people at the back
#LollaCL2023
Today is the international day of the disappeared - and in Chile, where an estimated 1469 are still missing, Gabriel Boric signs an agreement to official launch the National Search Plan that vows to find them.
I wrote about it earlier this year.
Folk singer Victor Jara's murderer was only arrested last month; 50 years after Pinochet's coup. It only happened because his wife, British-Chilean Joan Jara, tirelessly campaigned for justice. Joan passed away last night - hoping she now can finally find peace with Victor.
The equal marriage law in Chile has been passed! This is an important day for many in the LGBT+ community in Chile, including myself, that gives us rights and choices to live and have secure futures with our partners and families.
#MatrimonioIgualitario
Police dodged accusations and falsified information in the aftermath of the Mapocho bridge push. The accused officer has now been detained while facing frustrated homicide charges.
I spoke to five women in Chile who protested for change, but now their option is being in the same position or even worse off. For many in Chile, today's constitution vote will feel quite demoralising.
Pic of Natalia Aravena by
@SofiaYanjari
Full article
It's
#8M
, a day commemorated with massive marches across Chile. In the ten years I've been here, I've seen this march swell into the largest protest in the country, with hundreds of thousands of Chile women take to the streets. Safe & legal abortion is among key demands.
Self-testing DNA kits, social networks, and huge efforts from Chile-based NGO
@nosbuscamoscl
are helping thousands of children trafficked during the Pinochet regime find their biological parents, decades after they were stolen.
My story for
@restofworld
Hundreds of women trusted the faulty birth control pills the state gave them. Then they got unexpectedly pregnant - in a country where they are denied abortion rights. Neither the pill manufacturer nor the government has offered help.
w
@nataliealcoba
Chile's COVID rates continue to peak each day, and strict lockdowns stretch into a third month. For anyone interested in helping those struggling during the pandemic, this thread links to some organizations and people who are providing relief.
Big day for Chile: a referendum for voters to decide to approve (apruebo) or reject (rechazo) the new constitution. In 2020, 79% of Chileans voted to replace the country's Pinochet-era charter, after a year of intense social unrest over inequality.
The first in the world written by equal parts men and women, Chile's new constitution set a new global standard for gender equality.
“It’s time to anchor feminism and use it to open up democracy." 👏👏👏
I’ve been spending time with the Chilean exile community in the UK, 50 years on from the Pinochet’s coup. This is Gloria’s story - she is a 72 year old torture survivor who continues to fighting for justice.
Chile is home to the largest Palestinian population outside of the Middle East, making the community a political force. From sporting activities to concerts, they've relentlessly rallied for peace in Gaza.
Una Mujer Fantastica´s Oscar nomination comes at an important time for Chile´s trans community. "If Chile wins an Oscar because of this film, thanks to Daniela Vega, it would be a huge step in helping trans people live better lives."
For
@VICEUK
.
#AFantasticWoman
Powerful image - brother of police officer Morales Balcazar, who was shot dead earlier this month, shakes hand with father of late Mapuche farmer Camilo Catrillanca, who was shot in 2018. Both deaths a result of armed police raids in indigenous communities of Chile's Araucanía.
En estos momentos Ramón M. Balcazar, hermano del PDI que perdió la vida en el operativo en
#Temucuicui
, saluda a Marcelo Catrillanca, padre de Camilo. Respeto y diálogo entre pueblos es la clave de una sana convivencia. Foto e info de
@RoyoManuela
Elisa Loncón (centre) is president of the constutional assembly. A Mapuche academic and linguist, her work focuses on the sociocultural and educational importance of indigenous language.
Photo : Erick Valenzuela Bello
#ConvencionConstitucional
Independent journalists in Chile work with little resources and the most risk. They go into the marches and document what's really happening, far more than legacy media who rely on government narrative. The truth wouldn't exist in Chile without journalists like Francisca Sandoval
From protesting in a Pikachu costume during Chile's uprising to writing the new constitution. Giovanna Grandon's is a remarkable story of what can be achieved on the streets.
#TiaPikachu
I've been doing some talks on my work in Chile & Latin America. Last week was at my alma-matter,
@UvA_Amsterdam
on media and revisionism in Chile, 50 years since the Pinochet dictatorship
Chile confronts the harsh reality of violence against women with new law to support orphaned Chile, and help femicide survivors.
I looked at the case of Silvana, who was a fantastic mother.
Thank you to
@totiorellanag
,
@AmlDefensa
, and Brenda Garrido.
*points to Chile*
-Hundreds of low-income women were given faulty birth control pills BY THE STATE and got pregnant. They weren't able to access abortion, cause it's criminalised here.
-In 5 yrs, 366 women have faced prosecution for autonomous abortions, including 39 minors.
Mon Laferte & Francisca Valenzuela dancing Chile's national dance, cueca, with the feminist green scarves. Female artists cheer them on. A powerful reintepretation of a patriarchal tradition - this is Chile looking forward, with women's rights in the centre.
#MonLaferte
#Vina2020
Chile's new constitution really illustrates groundbreaking fundamental rights for women, queer people and marginalised groups - important in a country where violent homophobia still exists, HIV is rapidly rising and abortion is outlawed
total non-apology and absolute lack of responsibility, as if the bullet magically made its way into the changing room where she was trying on a dress. enraging.
The way that Manuela Martelli's 1976 captures the shadowy uncertainty of the Pinochet dictatorship is masterful. The unnerving uneasiness, the hunches surrounding each atrocity, those that turned a blind eye, and the women who didn't
“A president can’t declare war on his own people”
Today is Piñera's last day as president. I spoke to families of civilians killed by armed forces under his watch. They hope his next step is jail.
#chaopi
ñera
#CambioDeMando
It's Chilean Independence Day, BBQs are lit in celebration. This coal brand quotes exSantiago metro president "kids, this won't catch on" when he dismissed the student-led metro protesters, which led to the social revolt. Profits support Chile's ocular trauma victims
#Feliz18
AUDIO | Las ventas del carbón "Cabros, esto no prendió" aportan a la Fundación Ojos de Chile: "Uno puede ganar plata pero también pensar en el de al lado"
#CiudadanoADN
There is a lot of anticipation to the event today — Chile's in the middle of a social revolt, where women have made their voices crucial. Yesterday I passed a sign saying "the revolution will be feminist, or it won't happen"
"And it wasn't my fault, not where I was or how I was dressed.
You are the rapist.
The rapist state is the macho oppressor"
Feminist groups all over the country are protesting with the
#LaTesis
performance. Filmed yesterday evening.
#ElVioladorEresTu
#UnVioladorEnTuCamino
The 1980 constitution impedes abortion rights, excludes Chile's Indigenous population, discriminates LGBT+ groups, has allowed privatisation to flourish and led to widespread inequality. Sunday's vote could end it.
242.355 cases of COVID in Chile, overtaking Italy's tally of 238.499. Cases per million sees Chile as the world's highest. This makes Santiago, where the majority of the country's cases are concentrated, a global epicenter of virus contagion.
It's going to a be a long winter.
Valentina Orellana-Peralta. This 14-year-old baby girl was shopping for quinceañera dresses on Christmas Eve when she was gunned down.
A stray bullet didn’t kill her — a police officer with a loaded gun did.
Headlines like these help police violence to continue to go unchecked.
Landslide vote to bury Pinochet's constitution and write a new charter through a popularly elected body with gender parity (the first in the world - huge victory for global women's rights!). CHILE MAKING HISTORY
Chile congress just approved by a landslide to criminalize stealthing - taking off a condom during sex without consent. Great to see 2022 begin with such an important step forward for sexual rights.
(Photo:
@MaiteOrsini
)
I took the first pic 12 October 2019 in an uneventful and empty Plaza Italia, days before the uprising. The second pic is the same place, right now. It's been a year that people stopped thinking things could be worse and started demanding things should be better.
#18DeOctubre
Media covering Chile's irregular adoption tends to focus on heartwarming reuniting stories. But the wider picture is anything but heartwarming - it's a story of corruption and baby theft on a massive scale.
@naomilars
spoke to the robbed mothers.
Lastesis in
@TIME
's list of most influential people. They created a global feminist anthem that powerfully exposed the violence of institutionalised patriarchal structures. In Chile, the police are pursuing a criminal case against them for 'inciting violence' :/
“Instead of protecting people and investigating real crimes, police persecute activists and protect those with power,” activists
@pussyrrriot
+
@lastesisoficial
on co-penned manifesto against state repression and song "1312"
Pinochet normalized an extremely conservative society in Chile— divorce was allowed from 2004! the morning after pill from 2008! abortion is still illegal! It's an archaic, out-of-touch mindset that Boric + the Chileans who voted for him, seek to change.
Gabriel Boric is the only president to declare himself a Swiftie and personally invite her, yet Taylor still skips Chile on the tour. Ultimate ghosting o no 🫠
El 11 de Septiembre de 1973, Chile escogió la libertad y el país que tenemos hoy, es gracias a los hombres y mujeres que se alzaron para impedir la revolución marxista en nuestra tierra.
Today marks a year since
#Catrillanca
was assassinated by police forces in the Araucania. He was driving a tractor, unarmed, poising no threat to anyone. 24 years old - with no sense or reason for his killing. People in Chile were angry a year ago. People are angrier now.
Some of the most sickening crimes against women were committed during the Pinochet dictatorship, including rape, using electroshocks on genitals, and training animals to sexually molest women.
To deny these crimes as an "urban legend" should be a punishable offence.
Conversion therapy profits from intolerance towards LGBTQ+ people in Chile, normalized by religious groups backed by a conservative, political elite. But activists are pushing to ban it — and hoping a new constitution will help them.
“…democracy & human rights must always be defended, independent of our differences” said minister
@camila_vallejo
, on the importance of memory, justice and why downplaying the crimes of the dictatorship is “unacceptable”, 50 years since Pinochet’s coup
Antonia was 20. She was enjoying independence day celebrations in holiday town Pucón when Pradenas went to her cabin and attacked her. Since the accusations have emerged, several other woman have come forth as victims to Pradenas' sexual violence.
#JusticiaParaAntoniaBarra
A few weeks ago the Chilean police attacked Tia Pikachu — and now they've arrested "Sensual Spiderman"! Both are figures of Chile's protest movement, who participated in a creative and peaceful manner, during a time of violence and rage.
It's a wrap! The writing for Chile's new constitution comes to an end. Now for two months of campaigns before a September referendum will decide its fate. Tense times ahead.
#ConvencionConstituyente