Global Voices » Chile

Latin America: Energy Podcasts in English

Silvia Viñas — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:39:50 +0000

Setty recommends the Institute of the Americas' English-language podcast series on energy in Latin America.

Chile: NGO Report Reveals Increase in Sex Crimes

Silvia Viñas — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 17:50:48 +0000

According to a report by NGO Activa, sexual crimes increased by 19.1% in Chile in 2011. A post in Activa’s site Ciudad Global [es] says there is a rate of 9.8 rapes per day in Chile.

Chile: Mapping Chile with OpenStreetMap

Silvia Viñas — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:59:49 +0000

In El Quinto Poder [es], Marcelo Aliaga writes about OpenStreetMap (OSM), “a free editable map of the whole world,” and the OSM community in Chile. He invites Chileans to participate and stay informed through the local blog. [es]

Chile: 15 Songs from 2011

Silvia Viñas — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 12:52:48 +0000

Roberto Carreño recommends [es] 15 Chilean songs released during 2011.

Elizabeth Rivera, Global Voices Author and Translator

Dan Cooper — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 11:44:40 +0000

Elizabeth Rivera arrived to Global Voices in 2011 and since then has not stopped translating for Global Voices in Spanish, writing her own articles both for Global Voices in Spanish and Global Voices Online and also translating for Global Voices in English. Curious to know more about her, I decided to send her a few questions which she answered willingly. The end result is this interview that I share with you today.

Hello Elizabeth, tell us about yourself, where are you from, where are you and what do you do?

Hello! I am a citizen of the world that by chance and fortune was born in Mexico City a little over 30 years ago. I live in a multicultural family and I come from one. I have lived in 6 cities in 3 countries and I hope to be fortunate enough to increase that number. Today I am in Santiago, Chile and day to day - as well as collaborating with Global Voices - I earn my bread as a marketer.

How did you hear about Global Voices and what encouraged you to get involved in their work?

With the birth of the Arab Spring, I reactivated my Twitter account. I started to follow interesting people who post regularly, including @JustAmira. I was struck by the Twitbon you had on her profile, so I came to Global Voices. I immediately fell in love with the site, reading the posts they had and their reason for being. I saw the link to work as a translator and said, “here I am.” On the same day you contacted me and the rest is history. Now not only do I translate but I have the opportunity to write my own pieces. I am very proud to be part of this community and hope to remain so for a long time. I have learnt a lot and I have met very valuable people.

Elizabeth Rivera with her little girl. 2011.

How do you have enough time to translate and write?

A little discipline, that is all. When I take a translation I give myself a date or time limit to complete it by. I do not take another until I have finished it. When I'm writing a post I don't do translations. In any case, I am a quick typer on the keyboard and I'm used to doing many things at once (you know, working, being a mother, wife, writing, friends, etc, etc.) :)

You said you have lived in 6 different cities, tell us about your travels!

Now that I remember, there are 7! In Mexico I have lived in Mexico City, Cuernavaca, San Cristóbal de las Casas and Cancún. In the United States I have lived in Irvine and Chino, both cities in California. In Chile, only in Santiago. Mexico City is the city where I was born and where I have my roots, my people, my identity. I studied in California for several years and it is also a place where I feel at home because my mother's family lives there and I spent my childhood summers with them. In San Cristóbal (or Sancris as it is affectionately known) I had the opportunity to work with a Tzeltal community producer of coffee helping them start a business that allowed them to keep the village in a sustainable way. It is a community, tucked amid the Zapatista zone, poor in material terms, but extremely rich in culture. It was one of the most enriching experiences I have had in my life. So, of all the cities I mentioned, Sancris has a special place in my heart.

Elizabeth Rivera in Dublin, Ireland.

Changing topics, how do you see the Chilean student movement? Will the negotiations between them and the government reach a conclusion?

The Chilean student movement of 2011 is the second part of the “revolución pingüina” (”penguin revolution”) of 2006. In fact, I'm sure many of those who participated in those protests are the leaders of the current movement. I think that, despite many genuine causes, this is what the Chilean society has chosen to express their discontent with inequality and I believe it is right. Education is the foundation of any society. The current system does not seek access to quality education for all of society, from financing to evaluation, training and support for teachers in all schools, especially public ones. It is not just a problem at the university level, the system begins to affect children since preschool.

I think if Chile wants to keep growing and it aspires to be a developed and inclusive nation, it must have an education system that accompanies these objectives. I think both sides, government and students (or rather, society in general) want the best for the country. This must be what prevails in the negotiations. Now, if you want to reach a true solution, the government should stop providing “patch” answers as increasing grants or lowering interest rates, which help, but do not attack the root of the problem; and the students must understand that change does not happen overnight and must be open to options. The youngsters have lit the flame of change, now it's up to the current government to seize the golden opportunity that is in front of them to leave a positive mark in the history of Chile.

And why do you think the government does not want to compromise on the core of its educational model?

There can be many reasons. Both personal and ideological. I think many in the government really believe that such a thorough reform is not needed (we think this is a neoliberal model of education, which is consistent with philosophy of the Right). Others are “afraid” to change the tax laws or think that a reform would be too complicated and/or expensive. Others simply see it as an affront against the government rather than a necessity that is independent of the party in power. And some do not want to budge. The status quo is easier and more comfortable. Maybe that's why for many years of leftist government nothing has been done to change this system. Well, at least this time, the protests have succeeded in bringing the discussion to deeper issues and has not lost the level of pressure, which is already a gain on the previous movement.

How do you evaluate the use and impact of new media in the student movement?

The new forms of media have been key to elevating the discussion and involving all citizens in this matter. Whoever wants to, can comment, discuss, propose. That is always good for a democracy. Also, citizens' forums and journals have been available to Internet users to analyze other events beyond the traditional media, which have focused mostly on covering the excesses of the protests more than anything else. Even at the beginning of this movement, they were not even covering the protests, instead giving news of anything else, while in the streets there were thousands of people demonstrating. As in the rest of the world, the new media has opened many doors of conversation that did not exist before.

Elizabeth Rivera in Angelmó, Puerto Montt, Chile, 2010.

Why are you volunteering for Global Voices and not another NGO?

For me connectivity is important in every sense. It was the reason I chose my career and why I like to travel. The more we feel the interdependence with our fellow man and our environment the easier it will be to put ourselves into the shoes of others, understanding, respecting and opening ourselves to possibilities. Global Voices has allowed me and allows readers to understand cultures, ways of thinking and news from other perspectives, which is very rewarding making ties stronger, and borders - starting with the language - are gone.

Finally, tell us your favourite activities when you are not working?

I love traveling so I'm always imagining and planning the next “break”. It is normal that my husband, my daughter and I take the bag on a Friday and return on Sunday with no problems. We like to discover places from the “local” point of view, so we explore the markets, we ask the taxi driver “where to eat where the tourists don't go” and if there is a friend in the place, even better! For us it is the best thing to spend money on. In fact, I live intensely by my favourite phrase: “The world is too interesting to stay in one place all the time.” I also like reading, especially historical novels but since my baby was born I have not had much time to devote to reading. I like playing with her and showing her new things, seeing how she learns. Also, as a good Mexican, I organize outings and plans with friends quite often. It is common to see people in my house at lunch or in the afternoon having a beer. Everyone knows that they can just come round.

Thanks Eli! And to show you how true that is, our Latin America Regional Editor Silvia Viñas hopped over to Elizabeth's house for a brief chat:

Make sure you follow Elizabeth on Twitter: @elimaguire.

Chile: Crowd Funding a Mapuche-Inspired Mobile Game

Silvia Viñas — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:36:40 +0000

Digital communication and social network consultant Paloma Baytelman [es] explains crowd funding in her personal blog. She shares the experience of “Pewen Collector” [es], a mobile game inspired by the Mapuche indigenous people that was financed using a crowd funding platform.

Latin America: Museum Releases Digital Archive of 20th-Century Art

Silvia Viñas — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:36:22 +0000

The International Center for Arts of the Americas (ICCA) at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, has released a digital archive of 20th-century Latin American and Latino art, which, “is now available, free of charge, to the research and teaching community as well as to the public at large.” Culture magazine Ñ [es] briefly interviewed Mari Carmen Ramírez, the project's director.

A Guide to Crowdsourcing in Latin America

L. Finch — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 01:16:36 +0000

Crowdsourcing, also known as “mass collaboration,” allows anyone with an Internet connection to generate useful content for the masses. In Latin America, numerous crowdsourcing projects have arisen that respond to the various needs and emergencies that the continent is facing, such as Heroreports [en], which geotags acts of kindness in Mexico, or LluviasVe [en], which maps events caused by strong rains in Venezuela. Crowdsourcing has become a fundamental tool in Latin America to foment and utilize citizen participation in an effort to inform.

On January 14, 2012, Jacinto Lajas published “A guide to crowdsourcing in Latin America [es] on Periodismo Ciudadano, an online blog that hosts discussion and debate about citizen journalism. Below we have republished the article under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial 3.0 Spain license (CC BY-NC 3.0).

Americas Society (AS) is the leading forum dedicated to education, debate, and dialogue in the Americas. Its mission is to foment understanding of current political, social, and economic issues that Latin America, the Caribbean, and Canada are facing, as well as to augment public awareness of and appreciation for the diversity of the New World's cultural heritage and the importance of interrelationships between the diverse peoples of the Americas.

Within this mission falls the logical observation of changes effected by technological advances in the Americas, and in that same spirit comes the publication of a guide to crowdsourcing in Latin America, highlighting projects that have developed in different countries throughout the region.

The preface to the list of projects explains how crowdsourcing has become a popular method of citizen participation in compliance with the law, public health, consumer rights, and social issues in Latin America, one of the regions with the largest growth of Internet penetration in the world:

El número de usuarios de Internet creció a 112 millones en enero de 2011 –un aumento del 15 por ciento respecto al año anterior. En Brasil, Colombia, México y Venezuela, las tasas de crecimiento del uso de Internet aumentaron en un 20 por ciento o más durante el mismo período. También va en aumento es el uso del teléfono de última generación: en 2011, uno de cada cinco teléfonos celulares vendidos en América Latina fue un smartphone y, en 2010, las ventas de estos teléfonos en la región aumentaron en un 117 por ciento. Con un mayor acceso a Internet, más latinoamericanos están utilizando las redes sociales: 114.500.000 personas utilizaban sitios como Facebook y Twitter en junio de 2011.

The number of Internet users grew to 112 million in January 2011 -an increase of 15 percent over the previous year. In Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and Venezuela, the growth rate of Internet use increased 20 percent or more during the same period. An increase in high-end telephone use also was observed: in 2011, one out of every five mobile phones sold in Latin America was a smartphone, and in 2010, sales of these telephones in the region grew by 117 percent. With such widespread access to the Internet, more Latin Americans are using social networks: 114.5 million people utilized websites such as Facebook and Twitter in June 2011.

A promising prospect. Just as the proliferation of participatory projects –some mentioned here [es]– is in Latin America. Below you will find the list of projects included in the guide. You can find more information about each project in the original publication in Americas Society [en].

Argentina
- Mapa del Narcotráfico [es]
- Mapa de la Inseguridad [es]
Brasil
Chile
Costa Rica
- LocalCrime.org [available in en, es, fr]
- Quien Paga Manda [es]
Honduras
- Honduras Health Mapping [en, available in 24 languages]
México
Panamá
- Mi Panamá Transparente [es]
Perú
- Que No Te Roben [es]
Venezuela
- Quiero Paz [es]
- Victeams [es]

Chile: Discrimination, Media Ethics, and the Case of #InesPerez

Silvia Viñas — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 01:40:32 +0000

Inés Pérez interviewed on Chilevision television

“Can you imagine here, in this gated community, domestic workers [nanas] walking outside? All the workers walking on the street, and your children there, on their bikes?”

With this phrase, aired in an interview on national television in Chile on Sunday, January 15, neighborhood resident Inés Pérez became the subject of online scorn. Pérez was commenting on the policy of a gated community, El Algarrobal II, in Chicureo that prohibits the entry of maids and other workers by foot.

The tension around discrimination against domestic workers in the area had been mounting since December 2011 when an instruction letter [es] distributed to the members of the Breezes of Chicureo Golf Club [es] went viral. The letter said maids must wear their uniforms in the club and never use the swimming pool. With this controversy fresh in their minds, social media users immediately reacted to the statement by Pérez.

Sentidos Comunies published a Storify post [es] collecting Twitter reactions. On Facebook, on the page “Ines Perez Concha” [es] people left numerous comments condemning her words and even insulting her. Some Chileans also took to blogging to express their outrage.

Marcela Arellano [es] defended domestic workers and spoke against discrimination in a post that was published in several online citizen newspapers of the Mi Voz network.

Yo no sabía que en este pequeño país existían imperios (a menos que sean descendientes de reyes Incas) en donde los infantes herederos deben ser protegidos de presenciar a las seis de la tarde una horda de gente de clase trabajadora, osando pisar las mismas veredas donde juegan inocentes los principitos que no conocen un mundo distinto.

I did not know that in this small country we had empires (unless they descend from Inca kings) where the infant heirs must be protected from witnessing at six o'clock in the evening a horde of working class people, daring to tread the paths of playing, innocent princes and princesses, who do not know a different world.

Meanwhile, in El Quinto Poder [es], Ximena Jara wrote about the word “nana” as a discriminatory term, and added:

Nos llenamos la boca de furia sagrada […] nos hemos dedicado a buscar, una por una, las normativas discriminatorias que atentan contra la dignidad del quehacer de estas trabajadoras. Esto está muy bien, pero no pasa de ser un berrinche. No, mientras no comprendamos que el compromiso parte, literalmente, por casa. Que si somos medios responsables, ciudadanos responsables, vamos a asumir que los abusos a las trabajadoras de casa particular son mucho más extensos que estos casos extremos que hoy nos sulfuran.

We fill our mouths with sacred rage […] we've dedicated our time to searching, for each and every discriminatory law that attacks the dignity of the work of these workers. This is great, but it is no more than a tantrum. Not until we understand that the commitment begins, literally, at home. That means that if we are responsible media, responsible citizens, we will assume that abuses of domestic workers are much more extensive than these extreme cases that rile us up today.

On January 17, however, rumors of a transcript [es] of the full interview began to spread on social networks. Chilevisión finally published the whole interview [es], which shows that Inés Pérez's statement had been taken out of context.

In the full interview, among other things, she says her maid freely goes outside with her daughter, with or without her uniform. Pérez explains that she asks her maid to arrive and leave the neighborhood in a minibus, and that she lives half an hour from the neighborhood entrance. She asks: “Can you imagine during the winter with rain and thunder, all the maids walking in the neighborhood?”

On the same Facebook page [es] where she had been heavily criticized, some [es] users are now apologizing, although several [es] still believe that no matter the context, her declarations are still insulting, especially the phrase about maids and workers walking on the street while children are “on their bikes”.

Journalism Ethics and Social Media

The discussion about discrimination quickly turned into a debate on journalism ethics and social media.

Journalist Gianitsa Corral touched on the subject of ethics in a post for Sentidos Comunes [es]. She lists some of her thoughts on the full interview and the way Chilevisión handled the editing. Later, she discusses the responsibility of media consumers, concluding that:

Los medios se equivocan, manipulan, juegan, transforman, indagan, verifican y nos estructuran la información que todos tenemos derecho a saber. Pero somos nosotros los que decidimos qué hacer con ella. No podemos justificar nuestra pereza con un 100% de credulidad a todo lo que vemos y oímos. También somos responsables de capturar esa realidad.

The media make mistakes, manipulate, play, transform, investigate, verify and structure the information we all have a right to know. But we are the ones who decide what to do with it. We can not justify our laziness with 100% of credulity in everything we see and hear. We are also responsible of capturing that reality.

Mauricio Tolosa, in Sitiocero [es], blogs about online behavior in reactions to the video, and says the whole incident shows that Chile suffers from a “coexistence disease”:

El problema de fondo, la enfermedad de convivencia de Chile, que genera segregación y linchamientos, no se resuelva con explosiones en las redes sociales. El problema de fondo requiere aprender a conversar, a preguntar, a escuchar, a respetar hasta reconstruir la comunidad dañada. Son conductas que no surgen espontáneamente en este sistema comunicativo, es un esfuerzo de consciencia, una atención y un aprendizaje cotidianos.

The underlying problem, the coexistence disease in Chile, which generates segregation and [virtual] lynchings, is not resolved with explosions on social networks. The underlying problem requires us to learn to talk, to ask, to listen, to respect until we can rebuild the damaged community. These are behaviors that do not arise spontaneously in this communication system, they are an effort of consciousness, attention and daily learning.

Clases de Periodismo [es], a blog that focuses on journalism and media, declared their stance on Chilevisón’s editing:

Desde este espacio, rechazamos la falta de criterio de Chilevisión para editar las declaraciones de sus entrevistados. Además, nos sumamos al pedido de una rectificación (que no basta con la publicación del video para que los usuarios saquen sus propias conclusiones).

From this site, we reject the lack of judgement shown by Chilevisión in editing the statements of their interviewees. In addition, we join the call for a correction (not only the release of the video for viewers to draw their own conclusions).

The public statement [es] on the Chilevisión website counters:

el segmento seleccionado es una idea completa expresada por la entrevistada, unidad de contenido que no ha sido manipulada en modo alguno y que no altera el sentido final de sus declaraciones.

the selected segment is a complete idea expressed by the interviewee, a unit of content that has not been tampered with in any way and does not alter the final meaning of her statements.

According to the latest reports on the incident, Chilevisión fired [es] Fernando Leal Quinteros, the production assistant that filtered the text of the full interview.

Latin American Sites and Bloggers Protest PIPA and SOPA

Silvia Viñas — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:43:16 +0000

Several Latin American blogs like SitioCero [es], alt1040 [es], and Sentidos Comunes [es] have joined the online protests against U.S. anti-piracy bills SOPA and PIPA. Some are speaking out against similar local laws, like the bloggers behind the Mexican blog network Indie Weblogs [es]. Popular series and film site Cuevana.tv is also participating [es].

Video Highlights: Activism, Freedom of Speech, Identity and Culture

Juliana Rincón Parra — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 23:57:18 +0000

This section aims to showcase interesting and recent posts in Global Voices that show the many ways in which videos are helping people tell stories all around the world. You can follow the activity by regions in our YouTube channel or by clicking on the regional header links.

Middle East North Africa:

Yemen: The Amazing Life March Arrives in Sanaa
From Yemen we have the amazing story of the historic 264km Life March, which is the longest since Mahatma Gandhi's 390km long Salt March in 1930. During the Life March, villages and towns came together to give food and drink to the thousands of people who marched for four days straight through winding mountain passes protesting the immunity that outgoing President Saleh asked for himself and his aides and family for the killing of protesters in the Yemen uprisings.

However, the march didn't seem to sway the newly formed cabinet members who approved the bill: it will now go on to parliament for it to become a law.
Yemen: Saleh Gets Away With Murder…He Gets Immunity

It is those martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the rest of Yemen to live a life of freedom and democracy, whom Yemenis feel they must never be forgotten nor should their blood go in vain.

This next video is a silent remembrance for those who died during the peaceful uprising:

Some online activists are also promoting an online campaign against a stimulating herb chewed by many Yemeni men and women for hours on end, sometimes daily. The campaign is for a day without using the leafy green plant, Qat:
Yemen: January 12, a Day Without Qat

As blogger @Afrahnasser, proposed on Twitter:

An average citizen in Yemen wastes 8 hrs in searching money for qat, another 8 hrs in chewing qat & the rest 8 hrs in sleeping @NoonArabia

The idea of the campaign is to turn those hours spent on qat into active endeavors which build up Yemen.

Sub-Saharan Africa:

Ethiopia: Swedish Journalists Found Guilty of Terrorism Charges
Swedish journalists Martin Schibbye and Johan Persson crossed from Somalia to Ethiopia illegally which caused the Ethiopian authorities to detain and put them on trial for supporting terrorist activities and crossing illegally into the territory, although the defense claims that they were performing their duty as journalists to report both sides of the conflict. This next video was used as evidence during the trial, where the journalists are seen planning their journey as journalists

Western Europe:

Spain: Fighting for the Right to a Home

Families who got into debt to buy a home and ended without jobs or income to pay for them are being helped by an organization aiming to stop families from being evicted and to give them temporary homes in foreclosed and empty houses when they aren't able to stop the banks. The video on this post shows their success in avoiding an eviction and keeping a man and his 13 year old son off the streets.

Eastern and Central Europe:

Hungary: Memories of Barvalipe Roma Pride Summer Camp
Growing up Roma in Europe can make children feel stigmatized and rejected by their peers, causing them to hide their origins and feel ashamed of their heritage. The Barvalipe Roma Pride Summer Camp aimed to give Roma youth a chance to discover their roots by learning the language, history and cuisine of the Roma people.

East Asia:

Hong Kong: Protest Against Luxury Brand to Defend Local Identity
A luxury brand which doesn't allow for photographs to be taken of its store is not news, but when they stated that the rule only applied for local residents of Hong Kong and not tourists from Mainland China, the people of Hong Kong made their anger known through a flashmob outside the store.

Latin America:

Chile: Wildfire in Torres del Paine Shocks Netizens
The wildfire in one of Chile's top touristic spots, National Park Torres del Paine had netizens blogging and tweeting about the fire, both as experienced by those inside the park at the time of the evacuation and recorded it on video as well as from concerned people following the news and updates.

Central America: LibreBus Project Presents its Documentary
The documentary follows the activists who climbed on board a bus driving through 5 different Central American countries to spread the message of free software, the defense of freedom of speech and content sharing.

Colombia: Salsa Song Criticizes Bus Rapid Transport System
Public transportation makes it easier for people to get from one location to another without having to use their own vehicle, however, when that public transportation system is overcrowded, it can become a torture instead of a relief. The salsa song (with translated captions) shows what it is like for people to use the popular Transmilenio System in the capital city of Bogota.

Latin America: Politicians' #TwitterFail

Silvia Viñas — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:23:06 +0000

Erwin, in The Latin Americanist, highlights four recent social media interactions which have hurt the image of politicians in Chile, Colombia, Cuba, and Mexico.

Chile: Controversy Over Change from ‘Dictatorship' to ‘Military Government' in School Textbooks

Silvia Viñas — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 19:58:45 +0000

Greg Weeks explains the controversy over a decision to use ‘military government' instead of ‘dictatorship' in school textbooks: “Even if children don't bother reading them, their teachers will be using them to frame their own discussions in the classroom. They are a critical part of the construction of national identity, so revisions–subtle or otherwise–are a high-stake endeavor.”

Chile: Would Cheaper Books Promote More Reading?

Silvia Viñas — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 19:06:19 +0000

Enzo Abbagliati blogs [es] about a recurring discussion in Chile: removing or decreasing the IVA (value added tax) on books to promote more reading.

Chile: Wildfire in Torres del Paine Shocks Netizens

Elizabeth Rivera — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 20:02:35 +0000

Since December 29, 2011, Twitter has been flooded with messages referring to a massive fire in national park Torres del Naipe, one of the most important touristic spots in Chile and a declared Biosphere Reserve by the UNESCO. One of the first users to talk about the fire was journalist Gonzalo Ramírez (@tvn_gonzalo) [es]:

Malas noticias desde Torres del Paine. Ya van 1500 hectáreas afectadas por incendio descontrolado.

Bad news from Torres del Paine. There are already 1500 hectares affected by an uncontrolled fire.

This disaster has shocked Chilean netizens who have expressed their feelings of worry, anger, sadness and hope that the fire gets controlled soon on various social networks. The tending topic “Torres del Paine” and the hashtag #salvemostorresdelpaine (let's save Torres del Paine) have been used to inform and comment on the fire.

At the time of writing the post, the fire had been burning for four days and 11.000 hectares had been consumed, which is equivalent to more than 21 thousand football fields as it was explained in an infographic [es] published by the online community Sentidos Comunes (Common Senses). Also, the ONEMI [es] (National Office for Emergencies - Interior Ministry) Director, Vicente Nuñez, said on December 30 [es]:

Estamos ante una situación altamente compleja, con un escenario de carácter extremo, principalmente por condiciones de topografía, fuertes vientos y estado de vegetación altamente combustible

We have a very complex situation on our hands, with an extreme scene, mainly because topography, strong winds and vegetation that is highly combustible.

Various citizen media have picked up reactions, including online newspaper El Dínamo which published a Storify [es] with pictures of the fire taken and shared by Twitter users. Also, YouTube user Reggaetonmusicfull [es] uploaded this video filmed during the park evacuation.

Indignation grew among netizens as time went by and authorities showed no clear organization and mass media didn't cover the news.

Simón Borić Font (@sboric)[es], a journalist from Magallanes, remembered last year's plane crash accident that resulted in the tragic death of 21 people in September in the Juan Fernandez archipelago:

A Juan Fernández mandaron 3 fragatas, 15 aviones y más de 500 hombres. En Torres de Paine hay 25 soldados chilenos y 23 ARGENTINOS (Chauque)

To Juan Fernandez they sent 3 ships, 15 airplanes and more than 500 men. In Torres del Paine there are 25 Chilean soldiers and 23 Argentinean (Chauque)

Luis Mariano Rendón, Acción Ecológica (Ecological Action) coordinator, a NGO known for its opposition to HidroAysén, said on a press release replicated on several online outlets [es]:

Hubiésemos querido ver a este Gobierno, que es tan ágil para lanzarle agua a la ciudadanía que lucha por sus derechos, ser igualmente ágil para lanzarle agua a las llamas que consumen nuestro patrimonio natural

We would have wanted to see this government that is so agile to throw water to the people that are fighting for its rights to be equally agile to throw water to the flames that are consuming our natural heritage

Psychology student and Punta Arenas neighbor Luis Sandoval Pérez (@orpheoslira) remarked:

Los twitteros los únicos informantes wn, que cuático. Los medios guatiando #salvemostorresdelpaine

Twitter users are the only ones informing dude, that's crazy. Mass media failing #salvemostorresdelpaine

Others remembered that in 2005 there was a similar fire and no corrective action was taken to improve the security in the zone, while the penalties for those responsible were low. Designer Marcial Barría (@marcialbarria) complained:

Por lo visto.. el incendio del 2005 en el Parque no dejó ninguna lección. #salvemostorresdelpaine

Apparently… 2005's fire in the Park didn't leave any lessons behind. #salvemostorresdelpaine

Famous Twitter users @elquenoaporta said:

Turistas rayan en Cusco: presos. Turista provoca, en 2005, incendio de 17.000 has en Torres del Paine: multa de $120 mil. #asinosepuede

Tourists who graffiti in Cusco: jailed. Tourist starts, in 2005, a fire of 17.000 hecaters in Torres del Paine: fined with $120 thousand [pesos] #asinosepuede [can't bear this]

Photo by Twitter user @IvanGomezS, used with permission

Meanwhile, the government has declared the place a catastrophe zone decreeing that the park will stay closed during January. Also, the President has asked for help to other countries like the United States, Australia and Argentina to fight the fire.

Foreigners that were inside the park when this all started shared their testimonies on the Internet.

Global Voices author Miguel Angel Guevara told us by email:

Estaba en las torres del paine cuando nos tuvieron que evacuar, ayer regresé a puerto natales, hay mucha información aquí en el pueblo pero muchos rumores. […] La situacion ha evolucionado demasiado rápidamente, nos enteramos del incendio hace dos días cuando estábamos en el campamento italiano, y supimos que no podríamos ir al glaciar grey, después en la noche empezó a llegar olor a quemado al parque, y al siguiente día el guarda parques nos despertó a todos en el campamento para decirnos que había que evacuar. Evacuamos, pero ya en el horizonte no se veía nada, estaba lleno de humo, a mi me dieron naúseas al intentar caminar.

I was in Torres del Paine when they had to evacuate us. Yesterday, I went back to Puerto Natales. There's a lot of information here in town but a lot of rumors […] The situation has evolved too fast, we knew about the fire two days ago when we were at the Italian camp, then we learned that we would not be able to go to the Grey Glacier. Then at night we started smelling something burning in the park, and the next day a park ranger woke up everybody at the camp to tell us we needed to evacuate. We left, but it was already hard to see anything on the horizon, it was filled with smoke, I was nauseous as I tried to walk.

Stephanie - The Travel Chica left this comment in the post “Chile cries, her beauty burns: Fire in Torres del Paine” from the blog Matador:

The park should have been closed sooner. The guides coming out of the park knew it was out of control on Day 2 […] I have talked with several people evacuated from the park who said they were not given any information while they waited for hours in refugios watching the smoke and fire get closer. Some were even charged money to escape on the tourist boats on Lago Grey. […]

Blogger Claudia Saunders was also at Torres del Paine when the fire started and after evacuating she posted a call to action in her blog where she echoes the feelings and hopes of many who are closely following the developments:

It's with a heaviness in my heart and a saddness [sic] in my soul that I write this entry. Torres del Paine is burning. It's an act of recklessness, selfishness and stupidity. No fires are allowed in the park, it's one of the few rules to protect this incredible place. Anyone who has been here knows why, the winds in Patagonia are a force unto themselves. But a group of people thought this rule didn't apply to them. With a mixture of despair and anger I watched thick red/brown clouds spill over the ridges and fill the whole valley with smoke…and i cried. […]

[…] I am asking you all to do your part and collectively we can hold in our consciousness the safety and well-being of all of those who rushed in to fight the fire and for a quick and harmonious end to it.

I saw young men, old men, military personnel, park rangers, gauchos and guides leave everything behind and in a moment load up horses, on foot, in cars and boats to reach the beginnings of the blaze and to battle it. This is their home. This is their prize. This is their livelihood and they are struggling to save it.

Photo by Flickr user Nekane Ortega Albarran (NoaPhoto) (CC BY-NC 2.0)

Thanks to Silvia Viñas and Felipe Cordero for their contribution to this post.