Por la razón o la fuerza
Esmeralda is the Chilean Navy’s training ship and she also acts as a goodwill ambassador for her country. But Esmeralda has a troubled past, during Augusto Pinochet’s regime she was used as a place to jail and torture political prisoners, and now her arrival is often met with protests.
I usually enjoy visiting ships, especially when it’s free, but I had mixed feelings about this one because of its dark history.
I eventually decided to go while she was docked in Victoria, BC, I wanted to see some cruiser ships as well, and three of them were arriving in port that evening.
There were no protests on this occasion, so I was able to see the ship without any trouble. I can say that Esmeralda is a nice ship, not that I know much about sailing ships in general.
However, I saw a coat of arms inside the ship carrying the words Por la razón o la fuerza. Under normal circumstances I wouldn’t have paid too much attention to this – just another one of those ‘macho mottos’ – but in this case it was somehow unsettling, and forced me to think harder about where I was.
Translated into English, the motto means By reason or force, or By might or right.
In concluding this post I should say that Chile has now been a democratic country for over two decades, and its coat of arms was adopted some 200 years ago; the people who work and train on the ship have nothing to do with the events of its past. You can read more about this coat of arms on Wikipedia.
Esmeralda
You have to understand that Chile was a socialist goverment under Allende and that Pinochet was the leader of the opposition party. There is always death and torture in war, even with one’s own people.
The new government of Pinochet implemented economic reforms, including the privatization of several state-controlled industries and the rollback of many state welfare institutions. Pinochet’s economic policies were continued and strengthened by successive governments. Chile is now the best-performing economy in Latin America. Say what you will about Pinochet, but there are many supporters of him in Chile and around the world!
> Chile is now the best-performing economy in Latin America.
Chile is best-performing in the sense that it extracts and exports successfully a large amount of its resources (e.g. copper, lithium) all over the world. This success comes at a price: its infrastructure is strongly deficient, its population suffers from the strongest inequalities in the world, and its education system falling appart.
> Say what you will about Pinochet, but there are many supporters of him in Chile and around the world!
Even ignoring the (past) crimes of Pinochet and his supporters, the consequences of their politic are still hurting Chileans. I have met Chilean in France, Canada and in Chile, and I met Pinochet sympathizers only in Chile, and all in wealthy situations which argue against their impartiality: they support the system which supports them.