Chaos on Chile’s border with Bolivia following announcement of state of emergency

A day after the government of President Sebastián Piñera announced the “state of emergency” in several northern border towns and the implementation of the new migration law, confusion and discontent increased among foreigners who arrived at the border crossings with Bolivia.
In Colchane, Tamarugal province, dozens of migrants crowded without certainty waiting to enter the country or be redirected to Bolivia, according to Efe.
On the eve, the Government announced the entry into force of the regulation of the new migration law, promoted by the conservative Sebastián Piñera to tighten the borders.
In addition, he decreed a “state of exception,” a regime that allows the deployment of the Armed Forces, in four provinces: Tamarugal, El Loa, Arica and Parinacota, on Chile’s border with Bolivia and Peru, to the north.
These measures were taken after two days of strikes and strikes by truck drivers who demanded more safety on the roads and the curbing of migration through clandestine crossings after the death on Thursday of a transporter during an alleged confrontation with a group of foreigners.

Although the new migration law came into force in 2021, the approval of the regulation was lacking, which was published on Saturday in the official gazette and will allow to expedite expulsions and even make “hot returns”, without a judicial procedure.
Dozens of migrants told Efe that the police authorities guided them on Sunday to carry out a self-report process, where, in case of being found with a background, they would be returned to the neighboring country.
However, in the morning, the border complex of Colchane closed its doors triggering a demonstration by families and travelers who spent the night outdoors despite having a PCR test.
“We don’t have to pay for other people’s crimes. Criminals are everywhere, regardless of their nationality. We come to support our families,” Andrea Durán, a young Venezuelan woman, who protested with her son, told EFE.
A total of 39 adults and an undetermined number of children were taken to Bolivia, although Bolivian authorities did not clarify whether they would be received.
The chaos also gripped the temporary camp set up by the government to attend to migrants already in Colchane, which ended up collapsing after the strikes of transporters that prevented the transfer of people to long-stay shelters.
In these provinces and other areas of northern Chile there has been a strong migration crisis for months with the massive arrival of undocumented people and the celebration of strikes against migration, trucker strikes and xenophobic attacks.
The inclement highlands of the north continue to form the main route of irregular entry to Chile, which despite the pandemic and the social crisis of 2019, remains one of the most attractive countries to migrate within Latin America for its political and economic stability.
In total there are 1.4 million migrants in the country, which is equivalent to more than 7% of the population, and Venezuelans are the most numerous, followed by Peruvians, Haitians and Colombians.

After two days of carrier strikes, traffic returned to normal in most of the country except in the Tarapacá region (north), where demonstrations continued and the partial blockade to a regional airport that suspended most of its flights.
In parallel, and through a statement, the governors of Arica, Tarapacá and Antofagasta, the three northernmost regions, called on Minister Delgado to make another of the announcements: the increase in the police and the resources and infrastructure promised to combat crime.
“We demand that the government resolve this conflict seriously and responsibly, urgently implementing the measures announced,” they said.
The state of emergency is still pending to be officially decreed by the president, something that is presumed to happen next week.
Governors of the northern zone ask for measures after announcement of state of emergency

The Regional Governments of Arica and Parinacota, Tarapacá and Antofagasta, addressed the announcements of the Minister of the Interior, Rodrigo Delgado, after the meeting with the union of truckers and transporters of the Norte Grande.
Governors Jorge Díaz Ibarra (Arica and Parinacota), José Miguel Carvajal (Tarapacá) and Ricardo Díaz (Antofagasta), said they have worked together, always with the focus on improving the conditions of safety and quality of life for the inhabitants of their regions.
“Citizens are witnesses that permanently, we have allocated the necessary resources in matters of security; we have also worked with the competent bodies, mayors, regional councilors, trade union, social and religious organizations, with the aim of being able to overcome the crisis we face today,” they argued.
In that sense, they requested “urgently” that the Government take the pertinent actions and mandate and deploy the national and regional authorities in the territory, in order to solve the security problems and address as a priority the migratory crisis that has affected the entire northern macrozone for more than two years. ”
“However, all the actions that have been carried out to date have been unsuccessful and insufficient on the part of the government,” they said, reaffirming the following points:
“1.- We value the implementation of the new Migration Law No. 21,235, but we believe it is necessary to indicate how its implementation will be financed (endowment, infrastructure and habilitation of border complexes 24 Hrs.), the action of redirection, since today the border crossings are closed (Chacalluta, Chungará, Colchane and Ollagüe).
2.- Regarding the decree of State of Exception, it is required that the real number of Army troops for each region be indicated.
3.- According to the minutes delivered by the Minister of the Interior, we request to know in detail, the special plan that will be implemented for the strengthening of security measures for the northern macrozone (intervention plan in neighborhoods and routes of greater conflict). In addition, it is requested that it be clarified whether the measures indicated in point three Special Plan of Carabineros (logistical equipment and training), indicating if these will be the same for all the regions of the northern macrozone.
4.- We request the commitment of the government, to increase the endowment, permanently, in 30% of the forces of Order and Security, both for the protection of citizens and our roads.
5.- we request that the Undersecretary (Juan Francisco) Galli and his teams be permanently installed in the northern macrozone, in order to coordinate in a decentralized way and in the field each of the committed actions, and thus show the real commitment to advance in integral solutions for the northern macrozone
6.- Finally, we ask for information on the measures that the Ministry of the Interior will adopt with respect to the migrant camps located in each region.”
“The Governors of the northern macrozone, we demand that the government resolve this conflict in a serious and responsible manner, urgently implementing the measures announced by the Minister of the Interior and Public Security, placing ourselves at our disposal in order to resolve the demands of citizens and thereby reduce insecurity and violence in our regions,” Closed.

Original source in Spanish

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