Blog - La Peña Cultural Center

Berkeley, CA – La Peña Cultural Center joins the Chilean community of Northern California in denouncing the human rights abuses by which President Sebastian Piñera and his government have been responding to the people’s uprising in Chile.

As an organization founded in direct response to the U.S.-backed military coup in Chile in 1973, which lead to the disappearance, murder and exile of thousands of Chileans under General Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship, we are deeply worried about the current situation in Chile and call for international support for the demilitarization of the streets of Chile.

In order to create international pressure on the government of Chile to remove military troupes, we ask for your support in these three ways:

1) Request that the organizations you are a member of co-sign the following letter and that the letter be shared on your organization’s social media, newsletters, and any other communication. To officially co-sign as an organization, please email Natalia@lapena.org.

2) To co-sign as an individual, please sign this petition! Please share this petition on your social media, text it to your friends, etc!

3) Additionally, you can support by attending Wallmapu Support Committee’s event “Qué Está Pasando en Chile?” Sunday, Oct. 27th, 2019 at 2:30pm at La Peña Cultural Center.

Pictured: The Chilean community of Northern California at La Peña Cultural Center in Berkeley.

The following letter was created by: Exile Members of the Chilean Navy, Wallmapu Support Committee, La Peña Cultural Center, Ex Political Prisoners from Chile (San Francisco/Berkeley/Oakland), University Students, Professors, Artists, Union Members, Cultural Workers and Activists in Northern California.

PLEASE NOTE: AN UPDATED VERSION OF THE LETTER (OCT. 28, 2019) CAN BE FOUND AT LAPENA.ORG/CHILESOLIDARITY

Oct. 25, 2019

Chileans in Northern California in Support of the Peoples’ Uprising in Chile

It is with great sadness and concern that we are witnessing the repression, militarization, and criminalization by which President Sebastian Piñera and his Government have been responding to the people’s uprising in Chile.

People in Chile are expressing their frustration, anguish, and discontent with the Chilean socio-political and economic system, which has failed to overcome the structural inequality that pervades the country. What we are witnessing is a legitimacy crisis of the institutional structure that should have been working for the people, but has instead served as the principal mean through which the traditional political parties have protected their power over the past thirty years.

We, a community of Chileans and allies living in the United States, many of whom experienced first-hand the atrocious consequences of the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, are deeply worried about the human rights violations perpetrated by the police and, especially, by the military against the people in Chile.

According to the information provided by the National Institute of Human Rights (INDH) in Chile, there are more than 2400 detainees; 200 of them are children or teenagers. There are more than 50 lawsuits presented by the agency against illegal detentions, 14 of which are habeas corpus, and nine are for sexual violence against female detainees. But even worse, there are more than 20 human beings that have lost their lives, five of which were perpetrated by state agents.

We are also dismayed by the impressive and bleak inability of the government to respond to the people’s demands and manage the crisis. We express our total rejection of the government’s decision to deploy military troops to respond, fight, and repress their own people and we demand their immediate return to the barracks.

The organizations that sign below wish to express their support and solidarity with our people. We demand that President Piñera ends the state of emergency, the curfew, and the war strategy it has imposed by criminalizing the peaceful demonstrations.

It is the responsibility of the Government to ensure a space for dialogue in which the Chilean people can express their legitimate demands. Those include, but are not limited to, a new Constitution drafted and adopted through a democratic process and significant reforms to the tax, pension, health, transport, and educational systems, among many other institutional and social changes that need to be implemented.

With this letter we seek your support to pressure the Chilean government and its political and economic elites. The world is watching and we will not hesitate to denounce injustices and take action in support of our fellow Chileans.

Signed by the following organizations and individuals of Northern California:

Exile Members of the Chilean Navy, Wallmapu Support Committee, La Peña Cultural Center, Ex Political Prisoners from Chile (San Francisco/Berkeley/Oakland), University Students, Professors, Artists, Union Members, Cultural Workers and Activists

Co-signed by:

– Latino Community Foundation – San Francisco

– A Day Without Immigrants SF – San Francisco

– Do not Harm – San Francisco

– Colombia Conexión – San Francisco

– Members of Boricuas en Berkeley – UC Berkeley

– UAW Local 2865 – Berkeley

– Steven C Pitts, Associate Chair, UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education – Berkeley

– Peace and Justice in Wallmapu Working Group – UC Berkeley

– La Peña Community Chorus – Berkeley

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On Monday (10/21/19) at La Peña there was an emergency community gathering to discuss the political crisis unfolding over the past few days in Chile. The gathering brought together a diverse community of Chileans and allies living in Northern California, including: exiled Chilean refugees, University students, artists, teachers, union members, cultural workers and community organizers. This will be the first of many gatherings. Here is our unified message:

This past Saturday (Oct. 18th, 2019) President Piñera decreed a state of emergency, which granted the military control of public life throughout Chile and imposed a curfew, reactivating dark moments of the Pinochet dictatorship.

We express our admiration for the courage of the Chilean people, especially the youth, that are standing up for their rights and dignity.

We stand in solidarity with all of the Chilean people that are suffering the consequences of the violent repression and militarization.

We demand the Chilean state lift the State of Emergency, end the curfew, and remove military police from the streets.

Ways to get involved:

If you want to help organize, join us on Sunday, Oct. 27th at 2:30pm at La Peña for Qué está pasando en Chile?, an event presented by Wallmapu Support Committee!
Come out Thursday, Oct. 24th at 8am to the Chilean Consulate in San Francisco! Peaceful solidarity actions are being organized all over the world to stand with the peoples’ uprising in Chile! Bring your signs! Bring your pots and pans to bang! Bring your instruments!