All language subtitles for My.Imaginary.Country.2022.SPANISH.WEBRip

Allende, the people support you!

When I was a young filmmaker,

I was lucky that Chris Marker
came to Chile.

He liked my first film,
"The First Year",

about Salvador Allende's
first months in power.

He took it to France and organized
its release in movie theaters there.

We exchanged many letters.

It was as if I were doing
a correspondence course in film.

I was thrilled.

Later on, when we were making
The "Battle of Chile",

he gave me some advice
that I remember well:

"When you want to film a fire,

"you must be ready at the place
where the first flame will appear."

MY IMAGINARY COUNTRY

On October 18, 2019,

a social outburst set Chile on fire.

This time, I wasn't able to film the first flame.

One year later,

when I arrived with my camera,
I was reunited with my old friends

the stones of the Cordillera.

They are scattered around,

there are many of them.

As if it had been raining stones.

The young people, here,

seem to have very clear ideas.

They are preparing something
that I wasn't expecting.

I see they are determined to take risks.

They are united by a single purpose

and they act as if
they were one single body.

Without leaders, without ideologies.

This is new.

These are the accessories

that I use to protect myself.

With the hood on, it's better.

It protects me from the tear gas.

Do you always wear the flowers?

Yes, this hood is a part of me.

Why do you wear the flowers?

I think the flowers represent me.

I also have them tattooed on my body.

They represent me so much that...

In fact,

with the revolt, I've blossomed.

I could put it like that.

The uprising gave me strength,
it gave me life.

Being able to help people,
to fight for my people,

that's something that touched me here.

I have nothing to do with politics.

I'm not a member of any party.

And I'm not the only one.

There are many of us who think this way.

We might be killed.

I have a son, I'm doing this for him.

If they kill me,
he'll live with my memory.

If I lose an eye,
I'll still be there for him.

If they hurt my legs, I'll carry on.

If the cops arrest me,
I'll suffer, but they'll let me go.

So nobody must worry, I'll be alright.

Look after my son.

Look after him
and if anything happens to me,

take him in and look after him.

That's what I say to myself
each time I leave home.

I know that each time I leave,
I may not return.

But we must do this
so that they listen to us,

so they pay attention to us.

Because there are people
who have nothing to eat.

It happened to me.

I had to pay for university

and I had no money left
to feed myself or my son.

He is nine years old.

He's a big boy.

He's nine years old.

He has his own hood.

He covers one eye
when he sees the cops.

He detests the cops,
but I didn't influence him.

It's because of what he sees on TV.

They showed things on TV.

Afterwards, it was censured,
but that's another subject.

He saw it on social media.

Videos.

He wanted to be a police officer.

I would say to him:

"Tomás, it's your decision.

"I live my life as I want to,
you must do the same.

"I won't say anything.

"But don't be a cop with no morals.

"I didn't bring you up that way."

And he would reply:
"I will be a good cop."

Dumb cops!

Cops, I'm ashamed of you!

Murdering cops!

Bastards!

Murderers!

We're all on the frontline.

Everyone is equally important.

Some are braver than others,
that's for sure,

but we are all on the frontline,

from those who carry the shields,

to the families sitting on the grass
with their banners.

I believe we are all equally important.

It is thanks to us
that this is becoming reality.

That's what scares
the cops and the State.

We are acting out of love,

we act because we are courageous

and because we must fight.

We are courageous.

I wonder, how is it possible

that I am facing
a second revolution in Chile?

What happened
that woke up an entire country?

Each time I came back,

I noticed that Chile
was turning into a shopping mall,

a display window that didn't show
what was behind it.

That lasted for thirty years.

Meanwhile,
three fearless generations were born.

When I was young,
I lived through a revolution

that was led by the political parties.

Today, the movement
is wary of the political parties

and of all the institutions.

I wonder how it all began?

In October 2019,

subway fares increased by thirty pesos.

I never imagined

that this would be the spark
that set the country on fire.

Fare dodging,
is another way of fighting

If you don't jump you're a cop!

Not paying your subway ticket

was an expression
of anger and furious indignation.

The conflict spread.

Fires were started, stores attacked,

pharmacies and banks were looted.

A mixture of things
that were hard to understand.

There was an atmosphere
of liberation, adventure,

and street fights.

On October 19,

the President of the Republic,
Sebastián Piñera,

declared a state of emergency.

We are at war

against an enemy who is powerful,

ruthless,

who respects nothing and nobody,

who is willing to use violence

and delinquency without limits,

even when that involves
loss of human life.

An enemy willing to burn our hospitals,

our subways, our grocery stores

with one sole objective:

to create the maximum possible damage.

I had never seen,
other than under the military regime,

a head of State
deciding to call in the army

to resolve social conflict.

As a Chilean,
seeing the soldiers in the street

reminds me of the coup d'État.

The people's rejection of them
was immediate.

Soldiers get lost!

On Friday October 25,

1,200,000 people

gathered in Plaza Baquedano.

I had never seen anything like it.

They told their president:

"You are wrong, we are not at war!"

It was the biggest people's protest

in the history of Chile.

I am moved to see an entire country

breaking the silence
with such determination.

I don't think anybody had foreseen

the effect of the revolt
that altered the soul of Chile.

It was very strange

to enter a subway station

and to go out
into a very different Chile.

I came out of Santa Lucía station

and there were people with saucepans.

They were shouting and walking
towards Plaza Dignidad.

I burst into tears.

Seeing people shouting
and waving banners.

People I never imagined
I would see at protests.

And I began to cry.

I took my friend's hand and said to her:

"We've been saying it for years."

We've always spoken about this.

People have realized
that we are exploited.

This system is permanently oppressing

women, the disadvantaged,
the rural areas, the laborers.

It was very moving

to see the image
of a woman with a banner

that demanded a rise
in pensions or a new model,

while banging her saucepan.

She could be my grandmother
who wasn't able to be there,

but people are protesting for her

and for all the victims
of this shameful pension system.

It was amazing to come out of the subway
into a different world,

a different Chile,

the Chile in which I'd wanted to live
for a long time.

CHILE WITHOUT FEAR

I dream of a different society.

I want to live in a Chile
that offers basic standards of living.

Not even dignified,
just basic, such as housing.

Some children, in the shanty towns,
do their homework on the floor.

The State has never taken measures
to give them a decent home.

We will fight for what we deserve,
which is dignity.

That is all I hope for of this Chile

that we are starting to build.

It woke up, it woke up

Chile has woken up!

"Outburst" isn't the word,
it was more of a relief

to be able to go outside
and speak or shout your mind.

People were laughing and dancing.

One week later, there was that big march

that was more carefully planned.

There were banners, etc.

But on that Friday, it was chaos.

A marvelous chaos.

There were people dancing,
older women...

I still can't quite believe it.

But I'm left with the feeling
of a wonderful buzz,

as if the soul has returned to the body.

"It's strange, I am on fire.
We are on fire!"

That was the start
of the social outburst.

It was the beginning,
when the young people revolted.

I remember the emotion
I felt at that moment.

People were so happy.

There was no fear
and the students were so moved.

They were worked up and angry too.

The fear disappeared.

The young people had had enough
of poverty, of exploitation

and of precariousness.

And all of a sudden, they did this.

This is a photo

of the frontline
who were defending the protesters.

Those stones were the people's weapons.

They broke the ground with hammers.

They banged relentlessly
to release the paving stones.

Those stones were their only weapons.

For me,

this Chile, riddled with bullets,

this half-destroyed Chile

is being transformed.

It is a Chile in flames.

This flag dotted with holes
symbolizes the bullets

that they shot at us.

During the first days of the protests,
everything was improvised.

People only wore their hoods.

Then, they realized
there was a real danger,

a real danger in the streets.

The protesters could be badly wounded

or they could die.

"I want you to take a photo

"just of my mutilated eye."

I asked him if he was sure,
because it would be intense.

He said: "I want this to be seen.

"In Chile, human rights
are systematically violated.

"Look what they did to me,
they burst my eye!

"They shot at my face
from less than 20 meters.

"I want people to know that.

"Please, take a photo of me."

Cameras played a fundamental role
in this revolt.

They couldn't repress,
kill or torture us more

because there were ten cameras
filming what they were doing.

That is also the reason
why we became targets.

All those who, like me, were observing,
journalists and photographers,

we became targets and were shot at.

They shot me in the eye.

The impact...

was very brutal.

I felt a pain...

I had never felt anything like it.

It felt like my head
was going to explode.

I felt...

With the impact,

I felt that my eye
had knocked against my skull.

It was atrocious.

I fell to the ground, I lost my balance.

I was terrified
as I couldn't see anything.

I saw a dark shadow

in my wounded eye.

Your left eye?

You can no longer see well with that eye?

I can see rays of light on the sides.

It is still inflamed.

Looking on the bright side,
it could have been worse.

At least I don't need a prosthesis.

But they have still done me
terrible damage.

I felt alone,
nobody could understand how bad it was

to lose your sight
when it's your work tool.

Why did it happen to me?

Why wasn't I wounded
in the face or an arm,

why did it have to be my eye?

Your silence is an accomplice

Of the gunshots, of the abuse

Of the humiliation!

Your silence is an accomplice

Of the lies, the violence
and the harassment!

Your silence is an accomplice

Of the powerlessness, of the pain

Of the failure of your conscience!

Your silence is an accomplice

Of the pepper spray, of the contempt
and of the blindness!

Your silence is an accomplice

I've been a first aid worker
for one year.

I never could have imagined

everything that I've seen.

So many seriously wounded...

A panic attack is serious.
People think they are dying.

But concerning physical health,

we've had deaths.
There's nothing more serious.

I've had to deal with eye injuries,

open fractures,
people who've been run over.

Now, all that is par for the course.

I had never experienced confrontation.

I'm not somebody who fights,
I'm a peacemaker.

But the fear is there
and I will never get rid of it.

The fear that I feel because of
what I've seen and experienced,

it won't go away,
I'll always be afraid of the authorities.

When it's curfew time, I rush home.

Not because I respect the curfew
but because I'm afraid of the military.

Especially because I'm a woman

and they have weapons of war.

As a first-aid worker,
I've experienced extreme situations.

I've received blows from a baton.

Colleagues had to protect us
from military attacks

while we performed first aid.

They've thrown tear gas at us.

We have to wear shields
and protective gear.

Not because we have to kneel down,

but to avoid being wounded
by the military.

We are medical staff.

Our role is precious.

Without us, there would be more deaths.

We had to protect ourselves
because we were in real danger.

People aren't protesting
for just one reason.

The people we see in the streets,
after this first stage,

are people who feel
a general dissatisfaction.

That won't alter with one law change.

It would be a start,

but right now, they have

parents who receive a pathetic pension,

a brother dying of cancer,

children who are forced into debt
to study,

or to whom the banks won't give a loan.

These things will surely change,
but people need immediate solutions.

They don't want to give up and go home.

They finally feel part of a movement
and can voice their discontent.

What unites us are our moral values,
our ethical values.

It's a question of civic-mindedness,
it's fundamental.

What we have in common is saving lives.

Colleagues of mine have shielded me
and been shot at

to protect me
while I was giving first aid.

Nothing could unite us more than that.

It's touching to hear the young say:

"I can't stand seeing
my grandparents forced to work,

"selling things in the street
to survive."

It makes me want to cry

when I see a 17-year-old boy

collecting the garbage,

who looks at me and says:
"Yes, I had to give up school

"because I have to help
my grandparents and my parents,

"as they are fragile.

"I will try to go back to school.

"But for now, I'm doing this
and I'm proud of it

"because I'm supporting my family."

One year has passed since October 18,

and not a single measure has been taken

to help

and reassure all those who have nothing

and who urgently need state help.

One year has passed.

Not one single measure has been taken

to say to those people:
"The system will help you."

How many women

represent the majority
of poor families today,

heads of the household,

without a man
to help them raise their children?

73% of babies in this country

are born out of wedlock.

73%!

We don't know how many women
make up these poor households,

we only know that they count
for more than 60%.

But how many are there
and in which municipalities?

We would only need to compare data
and to go find them.

These women need urgent help.

These are the women who are protesting.

They have nobody
to look after their children

so they can't go out to work.

They don't receive any help at all.

I see them every day

and I'm left speechless.

During the dictatorship,
women had to search for their partners

who were prisoners

in the concentration camps
or who had disappeared.

They travelled all over the country

to look for them in the barracks,
morgues or hospitals.

Afterwards, they went out to work,

washing clothes for others,
cleaning houses,

then, little by little,

they became housewives again.

This time, there will be no going back.

This movement will have the face
and the voice of women.

There will be no going back
in this country.

Women are furious.

And they are right.

They are totally right.

The youngest women, the students,

often speak of sexual freedom.

I think they are right,

because the right to make love
is a human right.

Of course.

Women have been denied this right
for centuries.

But there are many women

who, forced to clean offices
from morning to night,

their hands are covered...

with cracked skin.

They can't even caress their children.

They come home exhausted
to make food for their children

and notice that one of them
has new sneakers.

They don't even ask
where the shoes came from,

because they already know:
the drug traffickers!

Those women don't even think
about making love.

They just want somebody
to help them raise their children.

It has never been said

that making love was a human right
that had to be defended.

For women.

How long have you lived here?

I've been in this camp for nine months.

What will happen here?

I'm fighting to obtain housing.

I'm head of the Housing Committee
"Towards a reality".

That's the name of our school too.

I cannot give up.

People here don't trust the politicians?

They are just lining their pockets.

Here, thousands of people have turned up:

counsellors, deputies,

from all over,
from each municipality.

All those idiots, sorry to say it,

they only think of getting rich.

They turn up here
to take advantage of us,

to benefit from our needs.

That's the truth, damn it!

We don't see them here
the rest of the year,

they only come before the elections.

It proves they think only
of themselves, not the people.

Come get some candy!

Irma, did you tell the kids?

Tell them to come get some candy.

No, it's for the under 14's.

Those who live here know the reality.

People may criticize the camps

because it's true,
you can find delinquents here.

But there are families too,
not just delinquents.

I have three daughters, a husband.

We are a family
who came here to find a home.

We want our own space, some comfort.
Do you see?

You have to live here
to be able to speak of our reality.

Others can't talk about it,
they haven't lived here.

They've never stepped
outside their bubble.

They've never lacked
a piece of bread or some milk.

That is what we are fighting for:
equality!

We are fighting for that together,
as a community.

There was a feeling of victory,
a beautiful atmosphere in the square.

THE STATE IS RESPONSIBLE

We heard

the noise of a saucepan in the distance.

And Nati said to me:

"A saucepan!"

She got up,

we picked up a saucepan and we began

to bang it.
We didn't stop to think.

After one hour,

it had become this amazing orchestra.

We went out into the streets
where people were gathering.

It was a moment...

Friends came to see us
and we began to talk

about this shared feeling
we all carried inside us,

deep down inside.

That feeling

of bitterness, of constant sadness,

of disgust and injustice

was a lot stronger than it appeared.

That is what initiated
our conversations.

We didn't just wake up one day
and suddenly realize.

It had been slowly building up

for quite a while.

But it exploded, it burst,

and now we are going to change things,
there's no going back.

Civic responsibility
still isn't taught in schools.

Civics just isn't taught.

We grew up hearing people say:

"You mustn't talk about
politics or religion."

Isn't that right?

You couldn't express an opinion,
that was bad manners.

I think we are disconnected.

The politicians are disconnected
from the people and vice-versa.

And people are disconnected
from politics too.

I think the politicians deceived us.

They promised us many things.

They sedated us heavily

over the last thirty years.

Major social change takes a lot of time.

We must be patient.

These changes are not for us.

They are for the next generations,

for future generations.

Chile is known for being backward.

If you don't jump you're a cop!

I think there is a flame.

I hope that this flame

will serve an important purpose.

That it will create a fire

that will help to build this new Chile.

We know how to light fires.

My father used to take me
on the railroaders' strikes.

There was always a fire and a tin,
an empty can...

A can for toasted flour.

In that can,

they put rags and gasoline

when we went into the street.

I'll never forget that
because it was very impressive.

There are flames that consume
and flames that nourish.

We'll see what happens.

No violence!

We have reached a level of violence
that's never been seen in Chile.

I think that violence has laid bare
our problem with the police,

which is not something new.

This isn't a result of the revolt,
it's an old problem.

The use of the military

to suppress the protests.

That allows them, in some way,
to justify their violence

and lack of respect of the rules.

The police force is considered
a politicized enemy.

There is total divorce
between the armed forces

and the civilian population.

There is no real monitoring
by the Chilean State

of what is taught in the military

or the police academies.

That hid many problems
inherited from the dictatorship.

Today, with the revolt
and the police tactics,

we are paying the price
for not acknowledging or resolving

the problems inherited
from the dictatorship.

The people, united,
will never be defeated!

I cannot believe
that I'm in present-day Chile.

I feel like I'm witnessing a civil war.

The police violence
reminds me of Pinochet's era.

The armed men

appear to be fueled
by unrestrained impulses,

without leadership,
without a legal framework.

It really is unbearable.

I never imagined
I would see here, once again,

what I saw more than forty years ago.

The repression is so violent

that it provokes anger and despair.

I am anxious about
the outcome of this struggle.

Who will lose and who will win?

For a long time,
we found it normal to pay for everything

and normal that certain people got rich
on the back of cheap labor.

To receive a good education,
you had to pay.

To receive good medical care,
you had to pay.

We no longer believe that is normal.

There was a feeling of indignation.

That's why they renamed the square
"Dignity".

Ultimately, the indignation soaked in.

At the same time, it blossomed.

People began to form Open Councils.

Everybody wanted to take part.

The Open Councils grew and multiplied.

What did people want most?

To change the Constitution.

Why?

Because even though
they had tried to hide

the fact that we had
a terrible Constitution

and a terrible system of government,

people realized it for themselves.

The information was circulating,

we knew that the Constitution
was important.

But never before had social unease

developed a solution:

to change the Constitution.

The objective of the Open Councils

was to determine what people wanted
for the country

and what was actually
in the Constitution.

We realized it was terrible
and needed to be changed.

The social outburst

has also sparked
a creative outburst in Chile.

The rupture is violent,

but it is also full of joy.

Now, there are not only stones.

There is also a horizon for the future.

The current economic model
seems outdated.

The fear of talking about the chaos
has disappeared.

That is the feeling of many families
and of society in general.

I APPROVE

These four women wrote a poem

that has been sung
by thousands of Chilean women.

All Chilean women were able
to identify with this poem,

women of all ages

and beyond borders.

The patriarchy is a judge

Who judges us for being born

And our punishment

Is the violence that you see

It's not my fault,
it's not the place, it's not my clothes

It's not my fault,
it's not the place, it's not my clothes

The rapist is you!

The rapist is you!

It's the cops...

Here, in Chile, the popular revolt
has being going on for one year.

It is huge.

This revolt comes from the base,

it has no leaders,

no individuals who, in some way,

might lead this revolt
towards a fixed goal.

That is what makes it complicated

to initiate negotiations
with the authorities.

And that's a good thing, as we don't want
to negotiate with anyone.

We just want to change things,
that's all!

We want to put an end to this system
that has put us at risk

in a deeply inhuman way.

The protesters didn't demand
a referendum,

but a constituent assembly.

There was a referendum,
we voted for this constitutional change.

We know that symbolically,
it is an important first step

because it is very violent
to carry on living in a country

governed by the laws
of a military dictatorship

and to continue experiencing
the direct consequences

of that horrendous period

of our history.

We know that this is the first step,

but the change we are demanding
goes a lot further.

It's a socio-cultural change.

That's why us women

think that the demands
of the popular uprising,

of the revolt,
are also feminist demands.

Therefore, the solutions

should be tackled
from a feminist point of view.

These are not lesser demands,

they aren't just about sexual abuse,
for example.

They concern everybody's well-being,

everybody's dignity.

We want people to be able to have a life,
not just to survive.

That is what we have done
for too long in this country.

If you ask us for our opinion:

we hope that
the neo-liberal system burns,

that the patriarchy burns,

and that all of
the harmful institutions burn,

those that perpetuate

the situation we are in today.

We can no longer live
with these kinds of institutions

in our society.

It's impossible.

We aspire to this macro-social change.

We know it is hard,
it must be done step by step,

one of which is the rewriting
of the Constitution.

But we hope to live
to see this concrete change.

Until all forms of oppression have ended,

we will always face the same problems,

that's the reality.

Because it's a very perverse system,

one that unfortunately,
has been well constructed.

The patriarchy is a judge

Who judges us for being born

And our punishment

Is the violence you can't see

It's not my fault,
it's not the place, it's not my clothes

It's not my fault,
it's not the place, it's not my clothes

The rapist is you!

The rapist is you!

It's the police

The judges

The State

The President

The oppressive State is a macho rapist!

The oppressive State is a macho rapist!

For months,

many people kept the sound
of disapproval resounding.

It is the sound of indignation,

like a symphony of protest

that will not stop
until there's a solution.

I APPROVE, IF NOT, WHAT'S THE POINT?

I APPROVE

Today, we have the chance
to create a true democracy

that reflects the plurality
of Chilean society.

We have never had that.

In these thirty years of democracy,

our plurality has not been represented
in the political system

because the rules of the game
falsify the reports.

They hinder some public policies,

even though many people want them.

But I think we should address
the specific problems.

In Chile, the major problems
are the excessive elitism of politics,

the concentration of power and exclusion.

We have denied the Indian peoples
representation

for far too long.

Chile hasn't advanced, it's one
of the most conservative countries,

whose political participation
is based on centralism.

To this day,

Congress is composed mainly
of elderly men,

most of whom are related to each other.

It really is an inadmissible elitism

during a political period

in which people are demanding
different levels of participation.

The people, the people

Where are the people?

The people are in the streets
demanding dignity!

A CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY NOW!

The constituent process
will allow us to be open to uncertainty.

Uncertainty generates anxiety and fear,

but it is necessary
for the legitimacy of the policy.

If there is no uncertainty,

there is no democracy.

What is happening is positive,

but I wish it had happened earlier.

If only 400 people hadn't lost an eye
for us to get here.

In almost every film I make,
we see the National Stadium,

as if I were a football player.

During the dictatorship,

it was Pinochet's
biggest concentration camp.

I was imprisoned here
with thousands of other prisoners.

That marked me forever.

The Stadium also acts as a polling place.

Today,

people are voting for the end
of Pinochet's Constitution

in order to write a new one.

Faced with pressure from the people,

the government and political parties
had no other choice

but to organize this referendum.

On the same day,
the results are published.

80% of votes want a constituent assembly

to write the new constitution.

That is the victory
of the social outburst.

For a long time,

Parliament was the center and the heart

of the country's political history.

A place of discussion, conflict

and laws that were approved or rejected.

After the coup d'État, in 1973,

Pinochet, the dictator, dissolved it

and abandoned it after its evacuation.

For years, it remained empty.

I often filmed here
when I made "The Battle of Chile".

I had to come and go

according to the decisions taken
by the members of parliament.

For me, the never-ending world
of the political game was a mystery.

I remember the hallways
and the noise of the comings and goings.

It was a hive

full of smoke and glasses of tea
that they served during the sessions.

Today, as if History were being repaired,

this place is finally recovering
its purpose.

It is here that the members
of the Constituent Assembly

will write the new Constitution
over the coming months.

Nobody could have imagined
something like this happening

just two years ago.

In chess,

the most important pieces are the pawns

but nobody says that.

People think it's the Queen.

Well, I see a certain symbolism.

There are eight pawns.

It's the only piece
that is reproduced eight times

and when all eight work together,
they define everything:

the movements of the other pieces,

the position of the defense,
the attack strategy,

who controls the center

and therefore, the whole chessboard.

I think that this, in the Convention,
is very clear.

Very clear.

We have approved

many popular participation mechanisms.

Generally speaking,

us members of the Convention,
that is where we come from.

We are part of these people.

It's not just a number, it's the reality.

When we discuss the various issues

of the new Constitution,
regulatory or more important ones,

we see that we all have shared history.

Nobody told us about public health,

nobody told us stories
about public education,

we experienced it firsthand.

And that is very precious.

It's a process of constant debate.

We are also constantly listening

to the citizens, the young people,
the children.

I think it's quite an intense process.

The most intense process
I've been involved with.

In your life?

It's like playing in a chess tournament,
but every day.

It's very, very intense.

When we began this process,

we didn't only think about
the constitutional text.

We did it, thinking that

writing a new Constitution,

the first one written
in a democratic context,

the first one in the world
to be written with equality,

was one stage of a journey.

For decades,
we've been fighting for matters

that are partial:

we fight for free, decent,
non-sexist public education,

we fight against
specific extractive projects.

Gradually,
we are generalizing our outlook.

We fight against patriarchal violence,

probably one of the most general issues.

But now, we'll be addressing everything
at the same time.

Everything.

That will probably cause an earthquake.

My name is Valentina Miranda.

I live in Lo Espejo,

one of the poorest municipalities
in Chile.

I am a radical and homosexual activist,

a young, feminist woman,

ex-representative of the
Federation of High-school Associations,

the first in my family
to go to university,

born of public education
and a humble family,

daughter of the slums.

I grew up surrounded by drugs,
poverty and extractivism,

violation of human rights and corruption.

I am 21 years old, a hick,
a bumpkin, scum, an Indian.

Proud to be a campaigner
for the Communist Youth.

I am convinced that the Constitution
written here will be ecological,

feminist, multinational, intercultural,

and that it will enable
all people to thrive.

I don't forget my origins,
as memory is our best weapon.

This is for you, Grandma!

Free the protesters of Santa Adriana!

From the turnstiles to the Convention!

We students have made it here,
the humble will triumph.

Thank you very much!

I dared, because I needed to say:

"The young people are here."

Two years ago,

we jumped over the subway turnstiles,

now, I'm writing the new Constitution.

So, it's really...

As well as being gratifying,

it is very moving to know,

to be aware, now,

that everything we went through
during the 2019 repression

and everything that happened

led to this amazing process
that we are experiencing today.

We students made the first move,

but it turned into a social struggle
of all Chilean people.

What we are writing

are the wishes of those who said:
"Enough!"

We must build,
that is our main responsibility.

Build and move forwards.

And hopefully, in the future,

we won't have to jump over
all those turnstiles,

because I didn't just do it
on October 18,

I had to jump over many more
to get this far.

This is a solemn moment.

I ask the members
of the Convention to rise,

please.

Now,

in accordance with article 79
of the General Regulation,

I declare, before the plenary Assembly,

the official opening
of the constitutional debate.

Elisa Loncón

is the president
of the constituent Convention.

She is also the first Mapuche woman

to take on such a role
in the history of Chile.

She makes us feel
this breath of fresh air

that is traversing the country.

Each day,
we deal with many things,

but I am very happy
to be participating in this process.

I am also happy for the Mapuche people,

for the young people
and for all those women

who see in me so many delays

but, at the same time,
so many opportunities for action.

That makes me so happy
and it fuels my dream of transformation.

We are moving forward,

we will achieve
the goal we set ourselves.

When we Mapuche, say:

"marichiweu",

that means:
"We will never be overcome".

It is a word that has historic importance

and one that is also very colloquial.

I learnt it from my grand-mother.

Whenever she achieved something,
she said: "Marichiweu!"

I understood that every achievement
should be accompanied by this word.

Marichi means "forever",
and "marichiweu":

"We will always win".

You can also say "marichi poyeyu",

"I will love you all my life".

With "marichi",
you can create various combinations

to express things that will last forever.

It's a very pretty word.

We also believed
in the permanent changes

initiated by Salvador Allende.

We were happy,

but the coup d'État
shattered our lives and our dreams.

Today, there is this new hope.

I like to think
that the dream is finally happening

and that the country we imagined
will become reality.

This square has become the symbol
of the street fights,

under the indifferent gaze
of General Baquedano,

a military hero from the 19th century.

Baquedano and his horse
would never have imagined

that their statue would be the center
of these new struggles.

The young people come here

to transform this space
into a theater of the future.

What is the greatest danger
that could happen?

The first,

would be if we lose faith
in the Convention

to the point where the campaign
against the leaving referendum

wins, for example,

and we are left with
the dictator's Constitution.

For me, that would be terrible.

That could happen,
and it would be the worst thing.

The second danger,

is that many things

have fueled a sense of patriotism

that is very painful, in Chile.

These two things together,
would be a terrible outcome.

Firstly, that we fail
to drive a new Constitution,

we would regret that.

It would be a step backwards,

regretting what we said
during the referendum,

that we wanted a new Constitution
and that we should defend it.

Secondly, that once again,

far-right sectors of this country
are re-established,

as has happened elsewhere
in Latin America and the world.

That would be fatal.

Is chess also a fight?

It's a fight, a confrontation.

It's also a space for meetings

and discussions.

According to the legend
of the Goddess of chess, Caïssa,

who, at some point, was linked to war,

she said:
"Listen, make war on a chessboard.

"Converse, think, imagine, create

"and stop making war outside".

But there is a fight.

Someone dies.

Yes, of course.

You must destroy...

You must capture, rather.

You capture, you never kill.

We capture.

There is a fair trial.

The King is allowed a fair trial.

In order to preserve it,
the military removed the statue.

Even so, they built a high fence

around the empty stand.

That provoked indignation.

A huge crowd converged in the square
on the second anniversary

of the outburst.

Everything indicates
that we have reached the end of an era.

I feel a new era is beginning.

At the same time,

Chile is voting
for a new president of the Republic.

The candidate Gabriel Boric wins.

He wins it by 4,600,000 votes

against the far-right candidate.

He triumphs thanks to the huge support

of young people, women,

and of all Chileans who wish for change.

These stones now form

the foundations of a new house,

in which Chile will open its windows wide

to let the air circulate.

I am beginning to see
a new imaginary country.

Good evening, Chile!

Po nui

suma aruma, pun may, Chile!

Thank you all,

every one of you,

all peoples who live
in this place we call Chile.

Today, hope overcame fear!

As you know, I come from far away,

from the South, from Magallanes,
on the edge of the Antarctic,

and I am 35 years old.

I am fully aware
that history doesn't start with us.

I feel like an heir,

and that our project is the heir

of a long historical trajectory,

that of those whom,
from various positions,

have searched tirelessly for justice,

the expansion of democracy,

the defense of human rights,

and the protection of freedoms.

That, my large family,
is what I want to see reunited

in this chapter which we are initiating.

We are facing an historic change of cycle

that we cannot lose out on!

I would like to thank, in particular,

the women of our homeland.

They came together,
throughout the entire country,

to defend the rights
that they had such difficulty obtaining.

From things so basic
as the right to vote,

to the right to be in charge
of their own bodies.

From the right to non-discrimination...