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22 March 2017 | |

Chilean government represses peaceful mobilization during minister meeting to reactivate TPP

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On March 14-15, trade ministers from the Pacific Alliance gathered in Viña del Mar, Chile, invited by the Chilean government, to reactivate the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) which was stalled after the withdrawal of the US. Members of the platform Chile Mejor sin TPP (A Better Chile without TPP), present in Viña del Mar, were marching to the meeting site when they were violently attacked by special police forces, and were held for five hours in the city police station, without anyone telling why they had been detained.

The Police could not explain itself, but the organizations know that the order came from "the top" to avoid showing the slightest sign of opposition to free trade agreements promoted by the Chilean government. Real World Radio interviewed Constanza Osorio, member of the Flora and Fauna Defense Committee of Chile, an organization member of the platform A Better Chile without TPP.

The Chilean government states that this type of treaties will allow for the export of more products, but organizations denounce that in reality they do not represent benefits, but poverty and sovereignty loss. Osorio said that these "mega treaties" imply the transfer of power to international corporations and highlighted that they are not limited to exclusively commercial issues, but they also bring disputes to international "tribunals" that defend the interests of companies, forcing States to pay millions and millions if they do not adapt to the interests of corporations.

Osorio highlighted that the TPP was under negotiation for five years under secrecy, and that the Chilean population -including political groups- became aware of it when it was about to be signed. The issue is not easy to understand -the TPP has over 1000 pages plus the clauses, but even less due to the fact that massive communication media won´t report about it, not a single opposing view is seen in the media, she concluded.

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