Link to Article: Calls grow for radical reform of Chile’s national police force
In the past year, the National Police Force of Chile has been charged with 8,500 allegations of human rights abuses, starting with the protests that began a year ago. The most recent victim is a 16 year old who was thrown off of a bridge by an officer. The Police Force fired him for an “administrative misdemeanor,” even as he’s being charged with attempted murder.
The government has voiced nothing but support for the police, and its leader Gen. Mario Rozas, going so far as to attempt to hide evidence and violations. Support for institution has fallen, from being the best regarded in the country in 2016 to 36% approval from a survey taken on the 12th.
Chile is not a longstanding democratic nation, or a particularly stable one. Nor is it very wealthy. These cumulation of things can cause an instable country to devolve back into an authoritarian regime. With the government showing support for, and hiding incriminating evidence against, their police force, it is clear that if things continue the way they are, the police and military could take control of the nation.
If that happened, there would be an inevitable blackout within the country, as armed forces forced submission from civilians, and purged out the protestors. Even if at the referendum officials are voted out, they could just refuse to vacate office, kickstarting a military takeover.
This is similar to China in a way, where the government is able and willing to hide evidence of the military’s abuses of human rights. If the democracy of Chile devolves into another authoritarian regime, it is likely the US and UN Peacekeepers will intervene, and cause a larger loss of life.