SANTIAGO—In late June, the Chilean human rights movement known as La Funa was met with water cannons, beatings and mass arrests for the first time since beginning public “outings” of human rights violators in October 1999. The repression demonstrated the political clout of the Funa’s target, magnate Ricardo Claro, one of Chile’s wealthiest and most powerful men. Claro’s many business interests include a major shipping company, the Santa Rita vineyards, Megavision television and Metropolis Intercom cable TV. He was targeted for his role in the deaths of six workers from his Elecmetal factory who were turned over to security forces in November 1973 and executed. He is also accused of making his ships available as torture centers. Claro has denied these charges and filed a slander lawsuit against a prominent human rights lawyer who discussed his human rights record in a television interview last year.
The June 23 march had barely gotten underway toward Megavision when several busloads of police intervened. Almost fifty of the approximately 200 participants were arrested and fined. Three demonstrators were injured. The police action was technically under the jurisdiction of the intendent (regional governor) but a Funa leader noted that they “don’t move a finger without consulting [the President in] La Moneda.”
Although the government had previously accused the Funa of violating the rights of its targets and failing to respect the judicial process, no effort had been made to prevent the monthly actions. The violent response to the targeting of Claro highlights the limits of Chilean democratization. After a decade of civilian government, embarrassing former members of the security apparatus will be tolerated; targeting pillars of the economic model will not.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rosalind Bresnahan teaches in the Department of Communication Studies, California State University San Bernardino.
