In December 2019, Chile was scheduled to host the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)’s 25th Conference of the Parties (COP25) in Santiago. President Sebastián Piñera sought to showcase the country’s ostensible... more
In December 2019, Chile was scheduled to host the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)’s 25th Conference of the Parties (COP25) in Santiago. President Sebastián Piñera sought to showcase the country’s ostensible leadership in climate governance on a world stage. However, when mass protests—known as el estallido social (social outburst)—erupted against inequality in October 2019, Piñera declared “war” on his own citizens. Violent state repression followed, reminiscent of the neoliberal military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet (1973-1989). As a result of this unrest, the official COP25 was moved to Madrid, Spain.
