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Riley Brewer

SGS 484

Reflective Paper

Dr. Sivak

My coursework at Arizona State University has undoubtedly prepared me for my future

thus far. The USAC study abroad program for the Spring of 2023 in Santiago, Chile is a glowing

example of the connection between the topics I have studied and real-life experiences. I spent

four months learning a language, studying history, and making new connections. The

continuation of my education was not limited to my university, there were lessons to be found at

every crossroad. The foundation of my global studies education has covered human rights,

cultural studies, the global economy, gender studies, truth and reconciliation, and most notably

international relations. While my goals for the future have remained steadfast, this global

experience has only served to solidify them and strengthen my motivation for an

interdisciplinary future working toward diplomacy and global relations.

I have spent much of my time at Arizona State University diving into political violence

and the path that follows. Courses such as Violence, Conflict, and Human Rights, as well as,

Religion, Nationalism, and Ethnic Conflict prepared me extensively for my time abroad. We

covered subjects like oppressive regimes, the involvement and responses of the United States,

human rights abuses, colonization, and paths to justice, truth, and reconciliation. When I began

my coursework abroad, I quickly realized how fortunate I was to have the passion and

opportunities to study these topics and critically examine the role of the U.S. on a global scale.
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Many of my peers were discovering the history of Operation Condor in South America for the

first time. The truth of the U.S. support and collaboration in numerous dictatorships and military

regimes throughout Latin America was a substantial portion of our conversations abroad. A 2002

journal stated, “Operation Condor was an organized system of state terror with a transnational

reach. It was an anti-communist international that went far beyond targeting "communists," and

it signified an unprecedented level of coordinated repression by right-wing military regimes in

Latin America” (McSherry). This added a complex layer to my time abroad, seeing firsthand the

impact of 17 years of oppression and state violence coupled with the knowledge that my country

helped make this dictatorship happen. It is undeniable that immense privilege comes with

studying abroad as an American student and this was something I had to work through during my

time in Santiago. However, I learned to use it as motivation to immerse myself in the history of

Chile and dedicate myself to learning about the impacts while honoring the lives lost.

I was fortunate enough to visit various key memorials and museums with my

International Human Rights in Latin America course. We went to the Museum of Memory and

Human Rights, Villa Grimaldi, Casa Memori a José Domingo Cañas, and Londres 38, Espacio de

Memoria, all five touching and impactful locations that serve the Chilean people by honoring the

memory and denouncing the crimes. These trips were extremely important for me as they

showed beautiful sites where the nation has worked to acknowledge the truth of its history and

fight for reconciliation. Specifically, the locations that existed as detention and secret torture

centers held a different kind of remembrance. These places support visitors, families, and

survivors to stand on the same ground as victims and truly feel the pain and suffering that existed

during the abuses. They also contain history and warnings for the future, but the spaces are

unique and truly touch the hearts of those committed to remembering the atrocities of the
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dictatorship. It is clear that to establish collective memory to heal political violence and trauma,

we must make it through the monstrosities to find lessons about the importance of international

human rights and the need to continue protecting them today. I believe the Chilean context can

serve as an important example of acknowledging the past as a method to better the future,

something I believe the U.S. has yet to accomplish. This work also brings us to a key discovery

during my time abroad, transitional justice. The field of transitional justice feels like an

accumulation of my studies and areas of interest, and I hope to incorporate its importance into

my future. It can be defined as “an approach to systematic or massive violations of human rights

that both provides redress to victims and creates or enhances opportunities for the transformation

of the political systems, conflicts, and other conditions that may have been at the root of the

abuses” (UN). The theory addresses two goals, one to find justice for victims and the second to

implement reform in democracy, peace, and most importantly, reconciliation. We must recognize

the strides this field has taken to heal old wounds in the fight for truth and rapprochement.

An integral addition to this discussion relates some of my work in the course,

Globalization and the Environment, with my time abroad. We spent much of the course

examining sustainable development and what this looks like around the world. Clearly, this has a

wide ray of examples but one thing remained true, neoliberalism and extractivism have had an

immense impact on Chile and human rights. Once again, the role of the U.S. must be taken into

consideration, the Chicago Boys and the leadership of Milton Freidman were fundamental in the

new economy of Chile during military rule. Introducing neoliberalism turned the Chilean

economy on its head, and a new era of prosperity began, but these changes came with significant

consequences under the surface. The national wave of privatization and increased extractivism

has only led to extreme inequality in Chile. This “Chilean experiment” led to an economic crisis
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and extreme unrest under the oppressive state, backfiring on numerous policies including

keeping women out of the workforce and in the home. While the new government worked to

bring justice and peace, economic policies from Pinochet remained and continued to disparage

the people. Today, the country remains the largest producer of copper and the second largest

producer of lithium (ITA). It is widely recognized that GDP is not an accurate measure of a

nation's economic standing, and while Chile has experienced incredible GDP growth over the

years, the numbers do not represent the complete picture. Additionally, introduction into the

global economy has had strong effects, “Chilean copper mines are 72 percent owned and

operated by private mining companies. The remaining 28 percent are state-owned and operated

by Codelco” (ITA). The increased presence of international companies has also worked to

damage the future standing of the economy and deplete natural resources while committing

grave human rights abuses. A study on the true reflection of the Chilean economy found that “on

average, GDP and mining GDP are overestimated by 11.34% and 98.04%, respectively. The high

magnitude of the adjustment reflects the importance of incorporating the depreciation of natural

resources and environmental degradation into the traditional indicators used to measure the

country's economic activity, especially for those sectors that are based on the extraction of

non-renewable resources and produce strong negative externalities” (Schmidt-Hebbel). Key

externalities exist in what we know to be true, extractivism and environmental degradation

disproportionately affect marginalized communities first and foremost. This is extremely true in

the Chilean context, Indigenous communities have been displaced, ignored, poisoned, robbed,

and lied to for years and the abuse is ongoing. It was clear through my coursework and now

through my time in Santiago that extreme economic growth is not correlative to social equity,

human rights, or environmental protections.

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However, there is a new wave in the country fighting for change with extreme strength,

which can be represented through “El Estallido Social”. Learning about these months of unrest

only a couple of years after was very impactful for me. Walking through the city every day you

could still see the impacts, marks in the streets and paint on the walls. 2019 and 2020 brought

years of inequality, racism, and oppression, with lasting effects of colonialist, patriarchal and

capitalist rule to the brink, something we can see echoed around the world. From Hong Kong to

Ecuador, the U.S., and especially Chile, the people had reached their limit and decided it was

time to make their voices heard, and they did. With multiple states of emergency called and

eventually the COVID-19 shutdown, questions of continued oppression and silencing are valid.

However, with the election of President Boric, the new constitution to replace the policies of

Pinochet is underway. Being in the city during elections regarding the constitution was surreal, I

learned that all democracies roughly have the same issues and the same sides fighting to be

heard. Coming from the U.S. which has extreme division; something that concerns not only

myself but I believe most generations, it was fascinating to see the political process and how

Chileans went about discussing the state of their country. If anything, this context of my global

experience was extremely humbling and inspiring. Widespread non-violent practices have been

utilized for years, from street art to arpilleras or live performances, the range of tactics used to

communicate a message provides endless possibilities for catalysts of change.

A group of Chilean society that has been fundamental in the work, momentum, and call

for social change is Chilean women. From the time of the dictatorship, women were the ones

fighting for the Desaparecidos, searching for loved ones, and demanding change. Learning about

the creative community-based non-violent methods was inspiring and continued to show up in

my everyday life in Chile. In my courses, Latinx Cultural Studies and Gender, Culture, and
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Development, we discussed the role of women through a lens that extends beyond the traditional

Eurocentric realm of feminism. This was reflected in my time abroad as well, the feminist

presence in Chile and especially Santiago is vast and impressive; something I was fortunate

enough to witness on International Women’s Day. I found this environment perfect to find

resources, listen to leaders and unlearn much that has been ingrained in me growing up in

small-town America. A lot of my coursework has led me to learn about intersectionality and the

importance of its practice and inevitable presence. How our identities intersect and overlap

informs how we move through the world, how we perceive, and how we are perceived. At the

same time, intersectionality weaves a web through us all, connecting at points and conflicting at

others, what remains important is understanding that it is a necessary part of the conversation.

This exact conversation is where ‘el feminismo’ of Latin America and much of the Global South

is not congruent with our limited Western point of view, often because we fail to consider the

vastness of struggles that feminism can face, or in other words, intersectionality. From this, we

see women's groups and feminist groups championing movements like anticolonialism, poverty

reform, Indigenous rights, and antiracism, as well as against gendered violence and el machismo.

These concepts are areas I am looking forward to discussing more not only in my future classes

at ASU but also in my daily life because these issues affect us all, seen or unseen, no matter our

nationality.

I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this experience will leave a lasting impression on

me and my studies. My future goals in the international stage representing the United States

remain steadfast, but this hands-on experience has provided me with a new passion to achieve

these dreams. My Spanish minor and love of collectivist cultures has always drawn my attention

and heart towards Latin America but this trip has served as a case study for my areas of interest
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and demonstrated the work that is left to right past wrongs. The lasting impacts to this day on the

nation and the people are clear when witnessing firsthand the effects of U.S. foreign policy and

State violence. With ever-changing technology, our world is becoming increasingly

interconnected while many of our societies grow more and more divided. I will continue to learn

from this experience while the connections, relations, and lessons I made will advance my

studies, community, and personal growth. My viewpoint has widened and I feel more prepared

than ever before to discuss foreign affairs, the global economy, Indigenous rights, Chilean-U.S.

relations, human rights abuses, transitional justice, intersectionality, and much more. As I move

onwards into my final year at Arizona State University, I look forward to seeing where this

invaluable experience will lead me.

Sources

“What Is Transitional Justice? A Backgrounder - United Nations.” United Nations, 2008.

https://www.un.org/peacebuilding/sites/www.un.org.peacebuilding/files/documents/26_02_2008

_background_note.pdf.

McSherry, J. Patrice. "Tracking the origins of a state terror network: Operation Condor." Latin

American Perspectives 29.1 (2002): 38-60.

1. “Chile - Mining.” International Trade Administration | Trade.Gov, 30 Sept. 2022,

www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/chile-mining.

Schmidt-Hebbel, Klaus. "Chile's economic growth." Cuadernos de economía 43.127 (2006):

5-48.
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