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The situation in Chile continues to be a cause for concern. Although the numbers are much lower than those we see here in the UK, the effect on the poor in society is very much greater as there is little social provision.

Ronny writes:

The current situation has greatly worsened. 2,750 are already dead and close to 160,000 infected. The health system has already collapsed in many hospitals. The government lost the battle against covid-19 in Greater Santiago.

To this is added the great social pandemic. Unemployment insurance is over. In each neighbourhood there are common pots. There is no work, and people must go out just the same to see what they can do to get food. People are trusting the charities and the churches that are helping them, but we no longer have the means to do it.

I ask for your prayer for our Country and the social and health drama that affects us. We cry out to the King of Kings.

Chile for Christ has just authorised further financial aid to the churches Ronny works with so that they can continue this ministry, and also to the church in Osorno.

Please continue to pray for the people of Chile and the ministry of the church there.

Former director of Chile for Christ, Arnold Page, has written a book entitled God, Science and the Bible. Find out more from Arnold’s own website, where you can also buy copies of the book. 10% of sales receipts will be donated to Chile for Christ.

We have just received this response from Rodrigo Pérez Pinela in Osorno, showing how they have been making use of the donations we sent recently.

We are very happy to inform you that the contribution that CFC delivered could be distributed in food boxes for families who are unemployed and economically deprived. Thank you very much for your generous contribution.

In the same way, I want to thank the contribution they made for me, to be able to recover from the accident I had, it is very valuable and will serve to pay some medical and legal expenses.

We received this message from Ronny Pulgar, a pastor in Punta Arenas.

Like a great storm, the Covid-19 Pandemic is upon us. We live today in a feeling of vulnerability and anxiety, and not only because of the ravages of the Pandemic, but we were already experiencing a social pandemic, where the economic, social, labour and political aspects have become unsustainable. Hospitals are unable to supply the sick, factories are laying off workers, and everything has become unstable and chaotic. Chile has the highest Covid-19 infection rates after Brazil and Peru; we have already surpassed China and the United States in terms of deaths per million population.

In many cities of our country, common pots are being made, and food is being delivered. Many have lost their jobs, and the unemployment rate shot up to 16%, something that has not happened for 35 years. People are starving and they don’t see a short-term solution. Social Confinement is causing mental illnesses of coexistence and domestic violence. There is a ban on meeting and there is a call for social distancing. Our last church service was on March 15.

As a church we are raising money to make families baskets and go to the aid of the most needy. Already, several boxes of merchandise have been delivered, however the needs are large and we cannot help everyone, financial resources are lacking, although there are plenty of volunteers.

For this reason, I ask you to pray for Chile, our people and our church.
We are in an unprecedented crisis. God have mercy on his people.

Ronny Pulgar

Here in the UK, apart from the initial toilet roll panic, we have had a fairly orderly shutdown of services, people are staying at home and the health system is generally coping. The people of Chile are not so fortunate. We received this report today from Gerd Bergmann of Grace Ministries, who has now been evacuated back to Germany.

“The situation in Chile has grown more and more tense, insecure and chaotic. The government did not take a lot of active measures to protect from the virus. That caused many citizens to take matters into their own hands. They blocked roads to prevent people from entering their towns and villages. Citizens hindered citizens to use public roads. The country declared a state of catastrophe, which means that the military has been dispatched to provide order. The medical provision in our little fishing village is minimal.”

In other parts of Chile the situation is desperate due to a lack of water for hand washing. As we have previously reported, this summer in Chile has seen one of the worst droughts for many years. Residents are relying on deliveries from water trucks to sustain them and there simply isn’t enough available to allow for additional hand washing. According to Greenpeace in Chile, about 350,000 people are affected.

It is also being reported that some churches are continuing to meet despite the restrictions on gathering and it is thought this may have caused further infection.

Please continue to pray for Chile, for good governance, for fair provision for all regardless of social standing, and for all communities to act responsibly and selflessly to combat the virus.

As you will know, there has been considerable unrest in Chile over the last month or so, with large scale protests and riots taking place. In Santiago there was a mass protest in which over a million people took to the streets, and there have also been riots and violence.

The flash point was a rise in Metro fares, but this unrest comes from a deep-seated resentment at the huge inequality between rich and poor in the country. Chile has a two-tier system in both health and education, a blend of public and private, with far better results for those who can afford to pay. The privately-run pension system makes a steady profit for the fund managers but provides low and often delayed payouts to pensioners. The people are demanding change, and one of the main issues for them is the constitution. Chile’s constitution was created in 1980 by General Pinochet following the 1973 coup with a few later reforms and although it was approved at the time in a national referendum, it is viewed by Chileans now as a ‘Dictator’s Constitution’ which keeps power in the hands of a select few.

Constitutional reform is much more common in South America than it is in Europe, so there is an existing model for this. Typically the reforms focus on:

• A commitment to greater equality
• Recognition of civil rights
• Acknowledgement of indigenous groups and their languages
• Re-establishment of the Catholic church and greater equality between religions

In practical terms what is also being discussed is an increase in pensions, an increase in health spending and a guaranteed minimum wage. These provisions have been agreed in parliament and are now progressing through the legal framework.

At the same time President Sebastián Piñera is facing a Constitutional Accusation, broadly similar to impeachment in the US. Opposition parliamentarians are trying to hold him accountable for human rights violations during the crisis, as it is generally believed that the military and the police used excessive violence against ordinary citizens during the protests. So far 22 people have died and many hundreds of others have been injured, including loss of sight from rubber bullets. There are allegations of arbitrary detention, abuse and torture by the authorities.

There is another darker side to these protests with arson, looting violence and vandalism taking place. It is being reported that there are Anarchist groups behind this, taking advantage of the unrest to further their own cause.

The cost to Chile has been huge. Many businesses have not survived, either because of physical damage or simply because they have not been able to trade. The COP25 climate conference which was being hosted by Chile had to be cancelled, as was the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. There has been widespread damage to infrastructure, and less visibly, the social and emotional damage of being affected by or witnessing violence.

There is now hope for reform, but there is still a great deal to pray about.