Monday, June 4, 2012

Richard Lagos — Chile in the Streets

Chile is South America’s most prosperous and, until now, one of its most stable countries. But Chileans are demanding new rights and refusing to accept the restrictions imposed by the country’s past dictatorship, thus making one of the region’s most prosperous countries a less harmonious one.
Read it at Project Syndicate
Chile in the Streets
by Richard Lagos | formerly President of Chile
But today’s Chileans have a broader view of the world, are more empowered through social networks, and are using the Internet as a platform to demand greater participation in public affairs. These are the citizens who are in the streets, who demand change and reject neo-liberalism, with its deregulation and failure to protect the vulnerable from abuses of power.
Anyone see a pattern here?

2 comments:

Oliver said...

I think South America will be the place to look for cristallisation of new social ideas in the coming years.

Tom Hickey said...

Oliver: "I think South America will be the place to look for cristallisation of new social ideas in the coming years."

My take, too. Interestingly, Latin American has been the hotbed of Liberation Theology, which focuses on the social teaching of Jesus and is considered "Leftist."