States of Emergency

La Tercera, Thursday, August 20, 2020

Dear Editor,
Regarding an article published in your outlet on Wednesday, August 19, indicating that La Moneda is not considering renewing the current state of emergency for a second time, I find it appropriate to complement what you have already stated with the following reasons that should reinforce the idea of not extending the state of catastrophe:

• Constitutional states of emergency imply that we leave Chile in the hands of the armed forces, with generals and admirals managing the various regions of the country. Is this something we want to become almost permanent? When the exceptional becomes habitual, we have a problem, and having Chile managed by the armed institutions should not seem normal to us.
• When we leave the country in the hands of the armed forces, we are forcing them to become political actors, as we expect them not only to provide security, logistics, and support to the healthcare system, but we also begin to hold them responsible for the solution to all our ills, including the reopening of businesses, the irresponsibility of Chileans who do not follow the rules set by the authorities, the political issues in Araucanía, the public security problems that existed prior to the social outbreak, and many more.
• It is common for countries like Chile to turn to their most prestigious institutions whenever there are problems, but we all know that what is done excessively, regardless of whether it is good, can end up generating new and different ailments.

Richard Kouyoumdjian Inglis
Vice President of AthenaLab