Southern Macrozone: the diagnosis is key

El Mostrador, August 3, 2022

What the Minister of the Interior and Public Security faces is a national security problem that involves the sovereignty of the State of Chile, its territorial integrity, the self-determination of the Chilean population, their security with a real risk to life, all of which is enforced by the use of arms. We can blame the Public Ministry, Congress, or the laws, but the truth is that if we do not clearly define the problem, we will never solve it.

Albert Einstein is attributed with a saying that goes: “If I had 60 minutes to save the world, I would spend 59 minutes defining the problem and 1 minute solving it.”

After witnessing the spectacle of the Minister of the Interior and Public Security pointing out to the Chamber of Deputies that “someone hit their head” in an attempt to extend the State of Constitutional Exception for 15 days and justifying that the problem of the Southern Macrozone predates this Government, there is no alternative but to raise our voices to say that the problem is misframed and the diagnosis is flawed. Unfortunately, the current generation in the Executive Power grew up in an environment where language was distorted to such an extent that some have come to believe that it is enough to change the name or meaning of something to solve the problem, or that everything is due to communication issues. Stubborn facts demonstrate that reality is very different. https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/core/bridge3.522.0_en.html#goog_1359109158124K A Constitution for All | Chapter 12, interview with former President María Elisa Quinteros

The Government is not only failing to properly address the problem, but it also risks losing complete control with an escalation of violence that has already been announced, without intermediaries, by Héctor Llaitul. The CAM has openly declared rebellion against the State of Chile and has proclaimed an armed insurrectionary path, instilling terror and insecurity among our compatriots who live and work in the area, to assert their political and ideological objectives. What is the name of this problem? The problem is called terrorism and armed insurgency, something we have never known in democracy as such in Chile, as it is not comparable to the efforts of the FPMR in the early governments of the Concertación.

It is true that there is poverty, it is true that there is marginalization, it is true that there is a lack of opportunities, it is true that there is organized crime, it is true that there is trafficking in arms and drugs. All of this is true. But the definition of the problem is lost if it is not prioritized appropriately. Without security, it is impossible to create the conditions to correct all the shortcomings in the area. Let us not be misled. What Héctor Llaitul declares has nothing to do with any of these situations of marginalization. His call is clear to rise up in arms against the State of Chile to establish political and administrative autonomy in a territory he claims as his own, adding a racial indigenous foundation and an ideological stance against private property and capitalism. He is not asking for more State, better opportunities, or greater investment. He is not even asking for land. What he is saying is that Chile is not recognized as having sovereignty, authority, or jurisdiction in that territory, which he and others call Wallmapu.

What the Minister of the Interior and Public Security faces is a national security problem that involves the sovereignty of the State of Chile, its territorial integrity, the self-determination of the Chilean population, their security with a real risk to life, all of which is enforced by the use of arms. We can blame the Public Ministry, Congress, or the laws, but the truth is that if we do not clearly define the problem, we will never solve it.

The question is: How do we address a national security problem generated by a group of people who, through the use of arms, seek to undermine the territorial integrity of the Republic, disregard its laws, authorities, and sovereignty, aim to override the self-determination of the citizenry, and impose their ideology through armed violence?

The Minister and the Undersecretary of the Interior have at their disposal all the power of the State. They must generate multi-agency and inter-ministerial responses. The ministerial team is the one that must coordinate, synchronize efforts, and give substance to the State’s actions to quell the insurgency and bring the insurgents to justice. They must create and maintain the necessary conditions for national security and public safety in the Southern Macrozone to correct all the defects and shortcomings that have persisted for years. No one intends to attribute to this Government, in its 5 months of management, the responsibility for the problems inherited from previous administrations. No one has hit their head. But now is the time for the vocal criticism they had when they were in opposition to turn into action. The courage to shout their slogans in the faces of uniformed personnel must now be demonstrated by having the bravery to impose the rule of law and alleviate the anguish and terror of the population that sees with desperation that no one is doing anything in the face of the threats and terror sown by the CAM and other insurgent organizations.

What they are currently doing is of no use. It is more of the same and, worse still, the insurgency perceives the political weakness and lack of definition of the Government. A strong antibiotic in the right doses is needed to push back the disease. It is of no use to keep trying with aspirin or paracetamol or a lower dose of the antibiotic recommended by doctors, as it will only contribute to making the disease and the bacteria that attack us more resistant. Just like in medicine, the key is a good diagnosis and a robust immune system.

There is no worse patient than one who does not want to hear that they are sick, but there is something worse, a doctor who, having the diagnosis and thus knowing what ailment affects them, prescribes solutions that only reduce the fever and do not address the underlying causes.

Richard Kouyoumdjian
Vice President AthenaLab

Source: El Mostrador