10/21/19 10/21/19 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! ever tomore ready than help create a government based on the principles of justice, economic justice, racial justice, social justice, and of our mental justice. -- environmental justice. bluntly, i am back.

amy: in the largest campaign rally of the 2020 presidential race, senator bernie sanders addresses an estimated 26,000 asple in queens, new york, he picks up the endorsement of congresswoman alexandria ocasio-cortez, san juan mayor carmen yulin cruz, and michael moore. then seven catholic peace activists go on trial today for breaking into the kings bay nuclear submarine base in georgia. we will speak to longtime peace activist liz mcalister. if convicted, she could spend the rest of her life in prison. >> that is the end of life on earth. that is the end of life on earth. say no to that. we don't have that right to

destroy god's creation. amy: plus we go to chile where protests have rocked the country. as many as eight people have died in widespread unrest, which began after subway fare hike two weeks ago. the chilean president has declared a state of emergency and the military has been deployed to the streets for the first time since the pinochet dictatorship. all of that in more, coming up. welcome to democracy now, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. in northern syria, u.s. troops continued their withdrawal sunday, as residents threw potatoes and rotten fruit at the convoys as they departed. the pentagon says they will be re-stationed in iraq despite president trump's claims that he was bringing the troops home. this is pentagon chief mark esper. >> i had a discussion last week

with my french counterpart and i had a conversatation with the no secretary general. we both agreed on the importance isisontinuing the d de- campaigngn. amy:y: trump hastily o ordered e withdrawal frosysyria afr speaking on the phonone with turkish president recep tayyip onn way for the turkish offensive against kurdish-controlled areas of northern syria. there were reports of ongoing fighting between the turkish military and kurdish groups over the weekend, despite a five-day ceasefire, which ends tomorrow. "the new york times"s" reports a top kurdish commander has warned of a bloodbath, saying, "there will be ethnic cleansing." "the times" alalso reptsts erdog is seeking to obtainucuclear missiles. erdogan is meeting in sochi with russian p president vlaladr putin tomorrow. over the weekend, house speaker,

nancy pelosi, led a congressional delegation to jordan and then to afghanistan, where she and other lawmakers highlighted their disagreement with trump's syria policy. last week, u.s. lawmakers repudiated trump's policy on syria in a landslide bipartisan vote. u.s. defense secretary mark esper also traveled to afghanistan sunday in efforts to restart t peace talks withth the taliban afteter president trump abruptly broke off the talks last month. a series of protests have swept the globe from south america to asia to the middle east. in chile, as many as eight people have died in widespread unrest that has rocked the country. president sebastian pinera canceled the subway fee hike that sparked the protests, but demonstrators continue to grow, with a national strike called for today. pinera declared a state of emergency and sent? and five other citieies over the

weekend, imposing a curfew and sending the military in the streets in response to civil unrest for the first time since pinochet's nearly 20 or regime. protesters have been detained acrossh. in london, up to a million people gathered outside the palace of westminster to reject prime minister boris johnson's brexit deal. it was one of the largest public demonstrations in british history. massive antigovernment protests are also growing and lebanon with repeports of well oveonone million people e pouring into te strereets sunday. prime minister saad hariri has given his coalition government a deadline of today to agree on reforms to appease the demonstrators, but many are already calling for his ouster. >> we want the three of them to leave. the president, the prime minister, and the speaker. if they do not leave, we will

ststay on the streets. we will sleep here. that's lebanese protester hiba. amy: in haiti, demonstrators are also calling for the ouster of the government there. at least 30 have been killed in widespread unrest in recent weeks, with protesters demanding the resignation of president jovenel moise. in hong kong, hundreds of thousands flooded the streets sunday as young people continue to call for more autonomy from beijing. in azerbaijan, dozens of people were arrested in protests sunday against corruption, a lack of democracy, and low salaries. in barcelona, spain, demonstrations continue following last week's jailing of nine separatist leaders over catalonia's 2017 bid for independenence. and in p pakistan, thohousands marched through the streets of islamabad sunday to express solidarity with e people o of kashmir.r. >> today eight many peopople are

victctims to curfew. after the passing of 75 days, people remain under seizure at their homes. this rally is t to shake the conscience of international communities so they can pay attention to t the issue and kashshmiri people can get their fundamental right toto self-determination. amy: that wawas protester r raja mehtabab ashraf. in augusus india withdrew kashmir's sesemi-aonomouous status, , detaining ththousandsf people and cuttingng off all internet a and other cocommunications. the move has heightened tensions between the two nuclear-armed powers. india and pakistan. at least nine people were killed over the w weekend as inindia ad papakistan exchahanged fire ovee line, dividing the disputeted territory. in bolivia, the presidential election appears headed for a runoff as early results show incumbent president evo morales leading his opponent, former president carlos mesa, with less than a 10% margin. morales is running for a fourth term in defiance of a two-term limit set by the constitution. meanwhile, voters are also heading to the polls in canada

today. the brother of honduran president juan orlando hernandez was found guilty of cocaine trafficking in a new york courtroom friday. witnesses described corruption at the highest levels of the honduran government, including accusations that mexican drug lord joaquin "el chapo" guzman gave at least $1 million inn bribes to tony hernandez to give to his brother, the president. the trial has triggered massive protests in honduras demanding president hernandez's resignation. back in the united states, president trump has announced via twitter that he will not hold the upcoming g7 summit at the trump national doral golf resort in miami after massive criticism from republicans as well as dedemocrats. the use of the site was widely seen a as being a violation of e constitution's anti-corruption provision. the emoluments clause. a three-year state departmenent inquiry has concluded that former secretary of state

hillary clinton did not deliberately mishandle classified information by using a private email server. the email server controversy emerged as a major issue during the 2016 election, which clinton lost to trump. meanwhile, hillary clinton accused 2016 green party candidate jill stein of being a "russian asset" without offering any evidence. clinton was speaking on the podcast "campaign hq." she also accused 2020 democratic presidential candidate tulsi gabbard of being groomed by russia to run as a third-party candidate, again without offering any evidence. in response, congress member gabbard said "you, the queen of warmongers, embodiment of corruption, and personification of the rot that is sick and the democratatic party for so long, have finally come out from behind the curtain." a landmark federal trial against opioid manufacturers and distributors begins today in

cleveland, ohio. the trial comes as last-minute talks for a $50 billion settlement collapsed friday. now a jury will decicide who should bear the cost of the opioid epidemic, which has killed at least 400,000 people over the last two decades. over 2000 cities and counties have sued manufacturers and distributors over the opioid epidemic. in texas, a tornado raged through northern dallas sunday night leaving more than 100,000 people without power. police went door to door searching for people who had been trapped in their homes. trees and d utility poles wewere also severerely damaged. atat least three peoplwerere ten to the hospital. and in florida, a federal judge has issued a temporary injunction striking down a federal law that would require people with felony convictions to pay all fines related to their sentences before they can register to vote. while friday's ruling is limited, it suggests the

republicans' new law aimed at thwarting voter re-enfranchisement in florida is likely to be strucuck down. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. senator bernie sanders held the largest campaign rally of the primary season so far on saturday. an estimated 26,000 supporters packed into queensbridge park in new york city. the event was held in the shadow of the nation's largest public housing development. it was sanders' first campaign rally since he suffered a heart attack earlier this month. he was joined on stage by three prominent supporters -- congresswoman alexandria ocasio-cortez, carmen yulin crcruz, the mayor of san juan puerto rico, and filmmaker michael moore. >> the powers that be are very

unhappy that you are here. [cheers] they are very unhappy that bernie is back! [cheers] and so they are doing everything they can to throw everything they can come up with to get people to think differently about bernie, to get people repeating their tropes. we know what they are. we have heard them. they want everyone to repeat them. they got all of the pundits repeating it on the news, and now they want the average american repeating it. so what do they say? bernie is too old. bernie is too old. what is toohere is old. the electoral college is too old. that is what is too old.

a $7.25 minimum wage, that is too old. women not being paid the same as men, that is too old. [cheers] thousands and thousands of dollars student debt. what is that? >> too old! >> a $10,000 deductible for your health care, what is that? >> too old1 >> superdelegates. what's that? >> too old! >> fossil fuel? >> too old! >> that's what is too old. the next thing they say is, what about bernie's health? what about his health? about thewe talk health of this planet that is dying?

that is the health i care about. deal1en new green new deal! >> green new deal! >> green new deal! health of thethe kids in flint, michigan? what about that health? talk about that on cable news. what about the health of 40 men people who live in poverty -- 40 million people who live in poverty? what about the health of the young black male who is shot in the back by the police? what about that health? >> black lives matter! >> black lives matter! >> black lives matter! black lives matter!

only heart attack -- the only heart attack we should be talking about is the one wall street is going to have when bernie sanders is president of the united states! and now it is my honor to introduce to you one of the original, as trump put it, nasty women -- [cheers] courageous andd necessary mayor of san juan, puerto rico, mayor carmen cruz. let's hear it for her1 >> september 20 is one of those days where your life changes forever. rico.rricanes hit puerto

times were hard. there was no food, no electricity, no water. no medicine. help was not getting their. we were dying. and president trump was killing us. with his bureaucracy and his inefficiency. you know, he said he could not get help because we are an island surrounded by water, lots and lots of water, ocean water. from the quote president of the united states. [boos] in the midst of all that darkness, when men came down to visit me and i could tell you i was not a bernie supporter in 2016. i was not. started feeling the burn when he came down to the city of

san juan, or to rico. cameras, no-show, just a man with a big heart with a lot of passion and a lot of compassion, and he won me over. expert.climate change i am a climate change survivor. [applause] warm the oceanw is going to get or how hot -- how high the tides are going to go. say it louder. say it louder. say it louder! i do know this one thing. climate change is real. climate change kills. 3000 puerto ricans did not open their eyes this morning because of a president that was too

concerned about looking good rather than doing good. and yes, we are not going to spend too much time talking about a racist, demagogue from is even if ohmic -- xenophobic, paper throwing president. >> lock him up! lock him up! lock him up1 >> you know what? let's vote him out. vote him out! vote him out! >> vote him out! bethe time is now to uncompromising. the time is now to be

relentless. the time is now to be fearless. the time is now to be bold. the time is now to stand with bernie sanders. [cheers] >> congresswoman alexandria ocasio-cortez. >> holy cow! what's up, new york city? i am in the united states congress now. [cheers] that is a long, long way from being a sexually harassed waitress in downtown manhattan one year ago. this new historic , anhman congressional class overwhelming amount of them now reject corpus pack money. that is thanks to bernie.

of thermous amounts house of representatives endorsed medicare for all. that is thanks to bernie. more people now than ever recognize the climate crisis as an existential threat, but also our greatest economic opportunity -- and that is thanks not just to the climate work of bernie sanders, but the climate activist that are part of mass movement politics in the united states. [cheers] a united states that really, truly, and authentically is operated, owned, and decided by working and all people in the united states of america.

it is multiracial, multi-gendered, multigenerational, and multi-geographic. we have to come together, not ignoring our differences, but listening to them, prioritizing them, understanding and justice, understanding that we operate in a context where slavery evolved into jim crow, involved into mass incarceration, evolved into the realities we have today. and with that, i would like to , the ally -- ian call him tio bernie. to some others he is brother. sanders. my to bernie

♪ >> today unbelievably, while we have the highest rate of childhood poverty of almost any , 25 hedgetry on earth fund managers make twice as much money as all of the kindergarten --chers in america [boos] we are going to honor our , not the hedge fund managers. and that is going to change

under our administration. the three wealthiest americans own more wealth than the bottom half of american society. [boos] 1% have seen their by $21 trillion over the last 30 years. [boos] streetay we say to wall , youhe billionaire class anymore.na get it all [cheers] street from the isre we are at this moment

new york city's largest fossil fuel power plant. [boos] clear. us be it is no secret that that plant is located right next to the city's largest public housing development. [boos] pass a greenill new deal that will end the environmental racism we see right here in queens. [cheers] communities all across this country. together not our environment, but we will finally put an end to environmental racism.

look -- ifwilling to you're willing to fight for a of compassion and justice and decency, if you are willing to stand up to trump's desire to divide us up if you're prepared to stand up to the greed and corruption of the corporate elite, if you and millions of others are prepared to do that, there is no doubt in my mind that not only will we win this election, but together we will transform this country. thank you all very much. make a presidential candidate vermont senator bernie sanders speaking on saturday at a massive rally in queens, new york. he was endorsed by new york congresswoman alexandria ocasio-cortez, carmen yulin cruz -- the mayor of san juan, puerto

rico -- and phil maker michael moore. the rally was held in queensbridge park between the nation's largest public housing development and the largest powerplant in new york city. when we come back, seven catholic peace activists go on trial today for breaking into the kings bay nuclear summary base in georgia. we will speak to 79-year-old peace activist liz mcalister. if convicted, she gets been the rest of her life e in prison. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

this is democracy now!, i'm amy goodman. seven catholic peace activists are going on trial today for brbreaking into the kings bay naval base, one of the largest nuclear submarine base in the world. the activists, who are known as the kings bay plowshares 7, face

up to 25 years in prison if convicted. on april 4, 2018 -- on the 50th anniversary of martin luther 's assassination -- the activists entered the based armed with just hammers, crime scene tape, baby bottles containing their own blood, and an indictment charging the u.s. government with crimes against peace. their goal, to symbolically disarm the nuclear weapons at the base, which is home to at least six nuclear ballistic missile submarines. each submarine carries 20 trident thermonuclear weapons. the activists that they were following the prophet isaiah's command to "beat swords into plowshares." over the past four decades, activists in the plowshares movement have taken part in about 100 similar actions at nuclear arms facilities beginning in 1980 at the general electric nuclear missile plant in king of prussia, pennsylvania. that action was led by the legendary peace activists father daniniel berrigan and his brothr philip berrigan, a former catholic priest.

philip berrigan's widow liliz mcalister took part in the kings bay plowshares action. liz mcalister, who is a former catholic nun, turns 80 next month. she is now facing the possibility of spending the rest of her life behind bars. she is going on trial today with her co-defendants, father stephen kelly, mark colville, patrick o'neill, carmen trotta, clare grady, and martha hennessy -- who is the granddaughter of dorothy day. they all have been charged with three felonies and a misdemeanor. i sat down with liz mcalister about the kings bay plowshares action and her lifelong commitment to peace and resistance. liz mcalister was held in pre-trial confinement from april 2018, the date of the action, to last month -- almost a year and a half behind bars. i began by asking her why she decided to engage in nonviolent civil disobedience at the kings bay naval base in georgia. >> i have participated in a plowshares witness some years

ago. clare grady was part of that as well. we went to griffiths air force did d disarmamement action there. that. went to prison for i think it was a couple of years, three years, something like that. that time has gone. it was time again for me. i figured i had at least one more opportunity to do this. i'm looking at turning 80 next month, next november. so as that began to develop, , i found in myself that i had to say yes to participating in that. and that we chose the triton submarine was an added call to my heart and spirit because they are so bloody dangerous.

that we have, i thought we were up to eight as the people. the munitions -- i've noticed the submarines are ever used. that is the end of life on earth. that is the end of life on earth. say no to that step we don't have that right to destroy god's creation. developed and a as we began moving toward the action, i felt more and more deeply committed to being part of that part of that witness, being part of that statement that we do not have the right to destroy the earth. and these machines can do that. amy: can you talk about what you did? you go to georgia. you go to the space where the trident submarines are based, their nuclear submarines -- they

are nuclear submarines. what did you do? you all divided up. >> i think we were basically three distinct -- well, related groups. first of all, we were all together. we cut through fences and we found a path and we walked that path for some distance. it was a beautiful, beautiful walk. it was early evening. we could hear the frogs in the .ond croaking and then at a certain point, we split up because we were going and three different directions to three different sites. andi was with steve kelly carmen trotter. and we were trying to get near the bunkers where the weapons were stored. and that took us a very -- of a very committed very steep hill. we lay at the top of that hill

for some time and we could see the guards walking. we could see -- there are two towers that they had and we saw the change of the guards and one of the towers. waiting until the other two groups could get to the sites that they were interested in addddressing. amy: you are in a a highly secee area of the base. you just walked on. >> yes. well, we had to cut some fences and things like that to just walk on, but we did that. began to move across ,his road -- interestingly rabbit run is whatat they call area. there were f fences on both sids ofof the road. so you could not just walk onto the road from the hill we had

climbed. so we had to cut through that barricade in order to get on that road and then beyond that wherelose to the place the munitions were stored. ourat that point, we met first couple of security people. they put guns on us and told us to freeze and so forth. amy: did you explain to them why you were there? >> oh, we did. yes. that we were here to witness against the d destruction of ths earth, which is represented by the weapons on this base. amy: how did they respond? >> they looked at us and did not respond. they sent somebody to put cuffs rest, do searches, and the of it.

amy: you have been doing this for decades. youth out of the jonah house, the catholic worker house in baltimore in 1973? >> yes. amy: and while we have been broadcasting this, we played images of the catonsville 1968,t back in may 17, where your brother-in-law daniel berrigan, father daniel berrigan, her husband phil in then, were involved burning of draft records, protesting the vietnam war from using napalm that was used by the u.s. against the vietnamese. you and phil berrigan had just gotten together recently in those years. introduction to the movement. a nun.e educated as take.

as a teacher. i taught history of art in new york for number of years. loved it. what was happening with the at that point is my students had boyfriends, fiances mother being drafted into the war in vietnam. they were breaking down. and what do you say to these young people who have their lives ahead of them and everything their planning and grabslives is now up for in this war? it makes no sense at all. me to become to active on their behalf. i can't teach them history of art, as if tt were really important,t, if they''re not looking at somome kind of futur.

but their future was being robbed from them. veryhat called very, deeply to me. i could not love these kids -- young adults, whatever they are -- first, second, third year college students, and not try to speak out for the right to life, the right to future, there future,lives right to and vietnam was the focus at -- as we and is that got ththrown out of vietnam, the focus then became these weapons of mass destruction. in the building of them in the research on more and more deadly weapons of master structure and in the multiplication of that.

so how do we find a w way to resist nuclear weapons became our focus. and we had found ways to resist the war by destroyoyg draft files. what can we do to resist these weapons? obviously, cannot dismantle them, but you can get near them. you can put blood on them. you can say no to them in that fashion. and we began looking for ways to do that. if that makes any sense. to 1980i wanted to move in the king of prussia action. again, with father dan and phil. i want to turn to a clip from "in the king of prussia." this scene features father dan recitingng what he told the jude and jury during the trial. i just want to say, this is highly unusual film because the

director -- it was a dramatization, but using the actual people who are involved in the protest. again, father dan. >> you've heard about hammers and blood. these are the hammers of hell. these are the hammers that will break the world to bits. that are the hammers flanked the end of the world. the judge knows it. the prosecutor knows it. we have seen people walk away fromom these things. wewe have seen them disclaim th. we have seen them say they are not responsible for them. we have seen all sorts of death.age like e dance of they are murderers. amy: an excerpt from the film "the king of prussia."

and that was father dan, father daniel berrigan playing himself. >> yes. amy: liz mcalister is the sister-in-law of father daniel berrigan, one of the plowshares -- members of the plowshares movement all over this world. talk about that moment and what that action meant and is unusual dramatization of that action. firstl, it was one of the of the plowshares actions, and thus it was quite new. but it had been building. i was close to that process. philip also participated in that action, so i was home wiwith the kids, , so to speak --- amy: you had three kids by then. >> yes, i think so. freda, jerry, and k.

we were all present in a sense for it and supporting it. therefore,andnd something we were uncertain abououand fearfulul they might e severely hurt in that process. but we prayed and left it in god's hands and it came through unhurt.. and did their witness in court and their witness from prison. amy: i wanted to go to an interview that i did with your latend phil in 1997, her husband phil berrigan, while he was in jail in maine for taking partrt in another plplowshares action. i think this one was at the bath iron works. this is philip berrigan. about 55,ey're been 56 plowshares actions happening

in the united states and abroad. western europe and australia. this was another in the series. we disarmed first-rate weaponry, nuclear weaponry. into not onlyne airbases, but also shipyards and war plants in order to do this. our -- the scripture that guides us is the second chapter of isaiah of the prophecy of isaiah. he speaks about the nations leading swords into plowshares and spears into pruning honks. we know the government won't do this, so it is incumbent upon us who are threatened by these weapons to do this. we have been doing this since 1980. amy: that is the late phil berrigan. i interviewed him when he was in prison in maine. talk about hospitality houses, the catholic worker houses.

talk about your house, jonah house, that you founded with phil berrigan inin baltimore -- nott so far from catonsville. was nonviolence, resistance, communitity. those were the three things that were of deep concern to us that we remain nonviolent, that we engage in resistance and an ongoing kind of fashion, and that we build community. because there is no way of continuing to engngage in direct action and resistance outside of community. you have got to have that kind to keep onto be able keeping on with it. so that is what we started. we spent about a year, weekly meetings, with friends who are interested in exploring that, and then we moved to baltimore

and that first house there. amy: why didid you call a jonah house? >> because jonah was the reluctant prophet. amy: i want to go back to 1972. according to the evening news, on march 17, 1972, they're talking about the harrisburg seven. the seven were charged with conspiring to write draft boards in nine states, blow heating pipes in washington utility tunnels, and kidnap president for an affairs advisor henry kissinger. you are one of the harrisburg seven. talk about that action. >> that was not in actition. that was conversations about how -- how to raise awareness about what is going on in this country. what it was based on was could you do a cicitizens arrest of someone like henry kissinger and get them to talk truth so that

could get out -- truth so they could get out? we thought about that and we realized thehere is no way you n nonviolently compel another and take them kind of like a prisoner and force them to spspeak. that is not a nonviolent action. that is not something we could do. amy: so you're going to trial. you faith can pharisee, trespassing -- you face and spurs it, it trespassing, and degradation of property. three felonies and a misdemeanor. what is your response? close our response is, i did them. seei own that and i don't that that is the crime. i think the crime is the weapons. the crime is the money spent on the weapons. the crime is the money y taken from the real needs in our country and in our world to

spend d it on these weapons of mass destruction. and we need to stop that. and that is the message that i i wantnt to continue to stand behind. amy: longtime peacee activist lz mcalister. she and six other catholic anti-nuclear activists go on trial today for breaking into the kings bay nuclear submarine base in georgia. on friday, the judge in the case -- dana ellsberg another expert witnesses from testifying in the trial to explain why the activists broke into the military base. ellsberg said "an action that under other circumstances would be illegal can be justified as legal by a reasonable belief that it is necessary to avert a much greater evil. in this case, on the side, the killing of nearly every human on earth in a war in which the nuclear missiles aboard trident submarines were launched."

daniel ellsberg is the author of "doomsday machine." when we come back, we go to chile or protests have rocked the countrtry. the chilean military has been deployed to the streets for the first time since the pinochet dictatorship. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

."y: "i had no right this is democracy now!, i'm amy goodman. we turn now to chile, where as many as eight people have died in widespread civil unrest thaht has brought santiago to a standstill and sparked a a violt police crackdown across the country. as protesters shut down metro stations and police took to the streets with water cannons and tear gas, five people died in a fire at a garment factory outside santiago over the weekend. at least three others were killed in a supermarket fire. the protests in chile began in

response to a subway fare hike two weeks ago, and have grown into a mass uprising against rising inequality, high cost of living, and privatization. conservative billionaire president sebastian pinera canceled the fee increase on saturday, but protests are continuing with a national strike called for today. president pinera declared a state of emergency in santiago and five other cities over the weekend, imposing a curfew and sending the military into the streets in response to civil unrest for the first time since dictator augusto pinochet's nearly 20-year regime. military tanks rolled through santiago this weekend, as some 10,500 police officers and soldiers patrolled the streets. at least 1400 protesters have been jailed across the country. on sunday, president pinera vowed to extend the state of emergency and declared war against protesters, calling them "a powerful enemy, who is willing to use violence without any limits." >> there protesters are at war

against all gogood chileans who want to live in democracy and peace. the general in charge of dealing with the state of emergency has been able to deploy 9500 men to protect your peace, your tranquility, your rights, and your liberty. i want to express my gratitude to these 9500 people of the armed forces, the military, who are confronting these violent people and criminals. amy: protests will continue today throughout chile. chile is one of the richest countries in latin america, but also one of the most unequal. for more, we're joined by two guests. about 100 miles from santiago, francisca perales joins us via democracy now! video stream. she is one of the leaders of the newly formed left-wing political party, social convergence, and has participated in several social movements in chile sincne 2008. and joining us from portland, oregon andra chastain, an , assistant professor of history at washington state university in vancouverer, washington. she is currently writiting a bok on the history of f the metro system in santiago, chile, in

the context of shifting political regimes. welcome to democracy now! let's begin with francisca perales speaking to us from chile. can you describe what is happened over the last two weeks? describebe the scecene in the streets, why people are protesting. >> hi, everyone. can you hear me? amy: we hear you fine. >> i will start to say a little bit about the recent events here in chile. i also want to give you the overview of everything we are thinking that is happening right now. first, the recent riots started after pinera raised the subway fare incentive? . fare.a really low it is really low. money, but it is really significant because in chile we have a really low

minimum wage. we have people that go out to the subway every day and have to travel for about two hours to get to their jobs. it is really significant that raise in the subway fare. after that happened, the greatts generated acceptance in the public eye. and everyed raiding subway station. the people started joining them and that evasion. after that, the government deploying policemen and every subway station to repress this act. they started beating the children. filling the subway stations with a lot of policeman. and they thought this was enough to contain the protest, but it wasn't. so after that, the people in every city of the country, in every big city of the country,

started to go out to the streets to protest. around the country reflected years of injustice for different types of things in chile like health care, education, water privatization, and environmental issues, and so on. we have a lot of issues going on here in chile, so it is not just about the subway. the people took to the streets to say they have had enough of a country ruled by the elite for the elite. this is the issue right now. people are going out even though pinera has had a really bad response about the situation, and the people are filling the streets. yesterday incentive? , we had like 20,000 people in the square, a public square. therey long they were from 10:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m.

it only got bigger as the day passed on. protest will be growing over the days, even moreh pinera has deployed policeman, more soldiers, more tanks to the streets showing the democratic oasis of a chile is a lie. last night i know you put it on the broadcast, he told a national broadcast that we are at war. he told the people that we are at war with their countrymen. war andnow that democracy cannot be together right now. so i think it is very important government we have a that doesn't have -- that doesn't have -- i don't know how you can say it, but they can't

give us the response we wanted them to because they're only adding to ththe violence. right now we have a curfew. we can't go out to the streets after 7:00 p.m. we have like 10,000 militaries deployed in the country. they have been beating and firing their weapons against the people, even though there are a lot of people that are really peaceful. they are protesting peacefully in the streets. i am 34 years old. i did not live the dictatorship, but for some people who lived the dictatorship, they resemble those days. we think this is not how a democracy works, and we want the democracy to be restored. amy: i want to bring our other guest into the conversation, professor andra chastain. you are actually writing a book on the metro system of santiago, chile.

can you talk about the spark of the protests been increased fair in travel through the subway system of santiago? >> yes, definitely. thank you so much for having me on this morning. i first want to say this is nothing new. transit fare increases have spark major social protest in santiago and throughout latin america for over a century. inuntil the dictatorship 1973, social protest and political opposition and opposition to fare increases were a major reason why fares were held relatively low for many decades. there were uprisings in 1949, 1957 in santiago, so this is nothing new. i also want to say in 2007, there was a major overhaul of the transportation system that integrated the buses with the metro, which was -- also sparked

major protestss. this is nothing new. i think social protest actually is a legitimate way to force the government into changing its policies. i also want to say the metro -- it began and the late 1960's. it has represented the chilean state for a very long time and has represented both the left and right. so under the socialist heolution ofa llende, supported the metro but after he was overthrown, the dictatorship of pinochet seized on the metro as a shining example of what could happen under an authoritarian government. since the return to democracy, both governments on the right and left have held up the metro as kind of an example of what they like to call the chilean miracle, showing chile to the outside world as this developed and democratic and exemplary

model. but what has happened since 1990 metro metro is, since the was not allowed at that time to have state subsidies as a result of the neoliberal policies put in place by pinochet, the metro has been run more and more like a private company -- even though it is owned by the state. so it is kind of a microcosm of what is happening in chile where it seems to the international observers everything is running very well and they have -- they're are focused on the bottom line, income, and cost have to be equalized. what that means is workers inside the metro and p passenges are paying the price to achieve that financial equilibrium. amy: we have to leave it there, but we're going to do part two and post it online at democracynow.org and we will also do it in spanish. andra chastain is an assistant professor of history at

washington state university in vancouver, washington. joining us from portland, oregon, writing a book on the history of the metro system in santiago. francisca peralesfrancisca perales and, what of the leaders of the newly formed social