In an example of showbiz mirroring reality, the movie La Fuente, has just been released.
It relates the history of Carlo Siri, owner of the Antigua Fuente, a Bar situated in Plaza Baquedano, who throughout the estallido, resisted repeated attempts by the mob to burn his place down.
Regardless of the quality of the movie (the trailer doesn’t look too promising) in this Libero interview he simply, but eloquently gives his account of events, and his tentative, and not very optimistic view of the future, post the Boric clown show.
A reminder of the shit show from just 3 years ago:
His comments on Chile’s recent political past and future are quite interesting.
He admired President Piñera’s intelligence but thought that, by temperament, Piñera was never cut out to be a hero. This was what was demanded in order to successfully face down the orchestrated mutiny Piñera was confronted with in 2019. It didn’t help that none of his so-called political allies lifted a finger to support him.
Regarding Evelyn Matthei, he also admires her intelligence and dedication, but believes that she is surrounded by the same people who refused Piñera in his hour of need.
As for Jeannette Jara, (and Boric), they belong to a class without moral values, capable of anything to gain and maintain power.
So he’s going to vote for Kast, in the hope that he will be strong enough to quash the opposition’s destabilization efforts before another estallido occurs.
And tomorrow is the anniversary of when these very turbulent times began in recent Chile history. I remember it so clearly and the parts on Avenida Barros Luco that became the antifa occupied playground virtually every Friday here in San Antonio till the scamdemic modified their plan.
Yes for us it was the end of a mostly idyllic run that started several years prior. Chile still had a decent intl reputation. Expats were still interested in visiting and possibly moving to Chile.
Then the communists couldnt leave well enough alone and they began to pull down their pants,
squat, and defecate on Chile. The estallido…aka the poop sandwich that preceeded the coup de grace: covid
Whats worse is “it worked” for the communists more or less. The rest of Chile gave in to the communist terrorists so eventually similar methods will be employed again especially if they dont get fellow communists elected by hook or by crook.
Well, well…finally some justice - at least for these estallido victims. A Santiago Tribunal found in favour of the plaintiffs:
..once the state of emergency ended and activities resumed throughout Chile, the Plaza Baquedano area remained in a permanent and constant state of violence, where the Chilean State simply gave up, leaving its inhabitants and local businesses to their fate for more than two years, in an environment of violence that was only tempered by the quarantines and restrictions decreed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
But many more businesses suffered, remember all those looted Supermarkets?
Maybe this case will set a precedent for similar legal actions by other victims, although I don’t believe Chilean law goes in much for retrospection
Of course the compensation the state pays out will eventually come out everyone’s pockets.
The estallido was a lose-lose situation all round, and hopefully the instigators will be called to account some day.
Another chicken coming home to roost: the Hotel Principado was looted and sacked during the estallido and was forced to close. Now its owner wants compensation, alleging that the state failed in its constitutional duty to safeguard his property.
“A nosotros nos destruyeron un hotel, dos restaurantes. Todo quedó en cenizas. No hemos hecho un recuento de cuánto perdimos, pero fueron varias veces más que mil millones de pesos. Y hemos gastado aún más en restaurarlos. ¿Sabes cuánto cuesta reconstruir de cero un edificio quemado?”
Faced with a flood of demands from similarly-affected individuals and businesses, no doubt these lawsuits will be ruled inadmissible as Chile cannot afford to pay out massive compensations.
The capacity of the defendant to pay should not ameliorate the judgment amount. It would be better to rend the full proper judgement against the defendant and make clear the defendant is culplable and liable even if not able to pay restitution
Not only is justice corrupt here, it is also not impartial. It tends to follow the path indicated by the state, which would be reluctant or even unable to disburse huge sums in compensation for the thousands of cases of damage and destruction that occurred during the 2019 riots.
A public admission of Chile’s inability to compensate those who suffered as a result of the state’s abandonment of public control during the estallido would damage Chile’s international image.
The publicity surrounding the Carlo Siri affair—complete with a movie—meant that justice had to be seen to be done. However, other less well-known cases will probably not prosper. The government employs armies of lawyers who are experts at suppressing this type of initiative.
If plaintiffs persist, the government can bring other pressures to bear, such as threats of PDI or SII investigation. They have no compunction about fighting dirty if necessary. The underside of the Chilean state is not pretty, although I suspect it’s no worse than many others.
