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22 May 21
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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | Why I'm Still an Activist
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, The Hollywood Reporter
Abdul-Jabbar writes: "I have often said that I will truly have achieved my full legacy when I have helped or inspired people who never knew I was an athlete."
The NBA Hall of Famer and Hollywood Reporter columnist looks back at his career on the heels of the NBA's creation of the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion Award, which will honor one player annually.
have often said that I will truly have achieved my full legacy when I have helped or inspired people who never knew I was an athlete. That will mean that I was able to use my fame from sports to improve the lives of people who never heard of me, never saw me slamdunk. I will have defined myself as someone more than the guy with the skyhook. Of course, I didn’t first pick up a basketball with the thoughts of creating a legacy. I just wanted to prove myself by beating the next guy or team who stepped onto the court. My court.
In high school, I was able to achieve my young boy’s goal of “proving myself” by defeating all comers on the court and on the playground. I had the trophies and college scholarship offers to prove it. At UCLA, things changed. Under Coach John Wooden, I was able to perfect my basketball skills to become part of a championship team. But my definition of “proving myself” evolved into something different. Coach Wooden wanted us to be great athletes, sure, but he also wanted us to be good people. To him that meant having high moral character as well as a well-rounded education because he was as concerned about what we would do when we left his tutelage as he was about what we did on the court. Basketball was a means to an end, not the end itself. Like any other college course, it prepared you — through discipline, hard work, and introspection — for life beyond school.
For Coach Wooden, part of being great athletes was to focus less on winning and more on pushing ourselves to perform at the top of our capabilities. Instead of “proving myself” to others, I learned to prove myself to myself by constantly pushing the limits of what I thought I was able to do. Yes, I wanted to please the crowds, excite the fans, win pennants, but mostly I wanted to do better in the next game than I had done in the last. To discover where my limit was. Like an explorer forging a roiling river in search of its source.
Athletes are entertainers. Like writers, actors, dancers, and musicians we get paid to thrill the audience. But there is a shimmering threshold that some cross over that transforms them from entertainers to artists: when they are able to not merely delight the audience, but also stir something dormant deep within them. It is when the artist becomes a tuning fork that triggers a similar tonal frequency within another person inspiring them to also try harder to reach whatever potential is inside. When they think: If that person can do that — make an impossible shot, write an elegant phrase, sing a haunting tune — maybe I’m also capable of more.
I realized it was gratifying to be able to inspire others as an athlete, but I also realized that wasn’t enough. If I pushed myself to become the best basketball player I could be, I should also push myself to become the best person I could be. That epiphany came when I was a sophomore at UCLA and NFL legend Jim Brown asked me to join the Cleveland Summit, a group of Black athletes meeting to decide whether to denounce or defend Muhammad Ali’s refusal to register with Selective Service because he claimed he was a conscientious objector. I was only 20, the youngest member of the group, and nervous that maybe I hadn’t yet paid my dues enough to be part of this accomplished gathering.
We debated heatedly. Some were military veterans and questioned Ali’s sincerity. But after hours of questioning Ali, we were all convinced. Ali would be stripped of his heavyweight title, banned from boxing which would cost him millions, face years in prison, and become hated among millions of white people as a draft dodger. The government even offered him a deal that would allow him to keep everything and he wouldn’t have to fight in Vietnam. He refused. His commitment was unbendable and we admired at his self-sacrifice.
The next year I boycotted the 1968 Olympics, not wanting to represent a country that was actively suppressing Black people’s civil rights, while beating, imprisoning, and killing those who fought for them. Dr. King had just been killed and I wasn’t in a particularly patriotic mood. Avery Brundage was The Olympic Commissioner. He had stopped Jewish athletes from competing in the ’36 Olympics so as not to offend Hitler. That was the origin story of my life as an athlete-activist — when I realized I didn’t want my legacy to be just a bunch of sports statistics that fans would argue about over beer and nuts. Oh, I still wanted to achieve those stats by setting records, but I also wanted to change lives.
While still in the NBA I started writing books that celebrated Black people in history who had made a huge impact on our country, but whom I’d never heard about in school. The attempt to literally whitewash history as if Black people had never done anything but be slaves and riot perpetuated the belief in generation after generation of white and Black children that Black people were of no worth. Even after retiring from the NBA, I continued to write books, articles, and documentaries extolling the achievements of inventors, scientists, patriots, writers, artists, and other Black people in order to educate Americans on their true history, and to inspire Black children to see they had many more career options than they realized. The further that goal even more, I started the Skyhook Foundation to promote STEM education among inner-city kids in Los Angeles.
During my 50 years as an activist, I’ve always heard the same complaint from some whites: Just be patient. Things are getting better all the time. True, but it’s not real progress just because you’re getting beaten with a smaller stick. People who aren’t marginalized are giddy about the progress because it makes them feel better: look, things aren’t as bad as they were. They see the glass as half full. But Black people see it as half empty knowing that the first half was probably drunk by someone white before the glass was passed down to us. What we see in that half-empty murky glass is the Black man choked to death while going to the convenience store, the Black woman shot to death while in her apartment, the Black 13-year-old shot to death with his hands in the air. That water tastes bitter.
By the way, that glass of water is more than a metaphor. Several reports over the last few years have concluded that in America there is unequal access to safe drinking water based on race. So, even if it is half full, what’s it full of?
My answer to people who ask why I’m still an activist when I could just be resting on my laurels as an athlete is that the work is not done. We’re being murdered in the streets and in our homes. States across the country are trying to suppress our access to voting. How could I not be an activist for my community?
Athletes have a unique standing in society. Unlike some other instant social media or reality TV celebrities, athletes have earned their fame through years of dedication, discipline, physical injuries, and failures. They are role models for perseverance and fair play. To not extend this opportunity as a role model to help improve the world seems like a betrayal of the values of athletics. But there are different types of activism: some are public, some are private, some are national or even international in scope, others are more community based. Each athlete must find what they are comfortable with and pursue that. For some, the type of activism evolves, as it did with me. Which is why over the years my participation with diverse groups dedicated to equity increased. I started with civil rights for Blacks and expanded to include immigrants, different religions and ethnic origins, LGBTQ+, etc., embracing Dr. King’s belief, “No one is free until everyone is free.”
The past few years have seen more and more athletes speak out and that has prompted sports leagues to join them in seeking social justice. As a result, the NBA has created the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion award to honor those NBA players who have made the pursuit of social justice a major priority. I can’t help but admire the NBA’s courage and long-term commitment to the cause of equity for all people. More than just joining the bandwagon they have chosen to be leaders. I am confident that this award will bring more satisfaction to the recipients than any records they break, any championships they win. Having my name associated with the award and with all the good that will be recognized because of it means my legacy has been fulfilled.
And I have finally proven myself to myself.
Family members of Ronald Greene listen to speakers as demonstrators gather for the March on Washington, in Washington, D.C. (photo: Michael M. Santiago/AP)
Ronald Greene Punched and Dragged by Police Before His Death, Video Shows
Lauren Aratani, Guardian UK
Aratani writes:
wo years after Ronald Greene, a 49-year-old Black man, died after a confrontation with white police officers in May 2019, the Louisiana police department released footage of the incident.
Louisiana state police had refused to publicly release footage from the incident, which they claimed culminated in Greene dying from crashing into a tree and injuring his head.
Footage released by the police on Friday was similar to the video released by the Associated Press this past week, which showed inconsistencies with the police’s claim that Greene had died from a car crash. It is unclear how the Associated Press obtained the footage.
The videos, taken from body and dashboard cameras from the officers on the scene, showed the disturbing encounter Greene had with the police that night. Officers started to pursue Greene for an unspecified traffic violation just after midnight. Officers are seen punching Greene and using a stun gun while he is on the ground.
At one point during the video, Greene pleads with the officers: “I’m your brother! I’m scared! I’m scared!” The officers on the scene are heard calling him a “stupid motherfucker” and dragged him face down on the ground after handcuffing him.
Greene’s family said police told them he had died after his car crashed during a police pursuit. Police later adjusted the story and said he had struggled with officers and died on his way to the hospital. No cause of death was mentioned in Greene’s autopsy report.
Two investigations, an internal inquiry from Louisiana police and a federal civil rights investigation, began at the end of last summer – over a year after Greene’s death. Greene’s family has also filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the officers involved.
Citing these investigations, police refused to release footage until Friday. Col Lamar Davis, the state police superintendent, said the agency decided to release the footage to encourage “healing”.
“I want the public to move toward healing. This has been a tragic event. When we look at Mr Greene’s family and all they’re going through, what I don’t want is for this to keep resurfacing and bringing up old wounds,” he said at a press conference.
Mona Hardin, Greene’s mother, told CNN that she was disgusted by the videos. “There’s no words for how mad I am.”
Ron Haley, the lawyer for Greene’s family, said the video’s release was “two years too late, but better late than never”, according to the Advocate, a local newspaper.
“There could have been an investigation that was immediately opened. But the family was also lied to that he died in a car crash. If you’re going to investigate yourself and give the family a BS reason for his death hoping they don’t look into it, it’s never going to come out,” he said.
Davis, the police chief, said he intends to fire one of the state troopers involved, according to the Advocate. A second trooper died in a car crash last year, shortly after he was informed of his imminent termination. A third officer received a 50-hour suspension.
A hand typing on a computer keyboard. (photo: Westend61/Imago Images)
Ken Klippenstein | Pentagon Plans to Monitor Social Media of Military Personnel for Extremist Content
Ken Klippenstein, The Intercept
Klippenstein writes: "As part of the Biden administration's crackdown on domestic extremism, the Pentagon plans to launch a pilot program for screening social media content for extremist material, according to internal Defense Department documents reviewed by The Intercept, as well as a source with direct knowledge of the program."
The military has previously balked at surveilling service members for extremist political views due to First Amendment protections.
s part of the Biden administration’s crackdown on domestic extremism, the Pentagon plans to launch a pilot program for screening social media content for extremist material, according to internal Defense Department documents reviewed by The Intercept, as well as a source with direct knowledge of the program.
An extremism steering committee led by Bishop Garrison, a senior adviser to the secretary of defense, is currently designing the social media screening pilot program, which will “continuously” monitor military personnel for “concerning behaviors,” according to a Pentagon briefing in late March. Although in the past the military has balked at surveilling service members for extremist political views due to First Amendment protections, the pilot program will rely on a private surveillance firm in order to circumvent First Amendment restrictions on government monitoring, according to a senior Pentagon official. Though the firm has not yet been selected, the current front runner is Babel Street, a company that sells powerful surveillance tools including social media monitoring software.
Babel Street has drawn criticism for its practice of buying bulk cellular location data and selling it to federal national security agencies like the Secret Service, who rely on the private company to bypass warrant requirements normally imposed on government bodies seeking to collect data. In November, Vice reported that the U.S. military’s Special Operations Command used one of Babel Street’s products, Locate X, to track the location of individuals for special forces operations.
Garrison and Babel Street did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
It is unclear to what extent Congress is aware of the program, if it all. When asked about the program, a spokesperson for Rep. Don Bacon, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, said they were not aware of it.
“I have discussed this with our defense team and as of right now, we have not heard anything from DoD that would confirm this story,” Bacon’s press secretary Abbey Schieffer said. The Senate Armed Services Committee did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In an email received after this article was originally published, a spokesperson for the House Armed Services Committee provided the following statement:
The Committee understands that the Department of Defense is exploring a means of implementing social media screening in conjunction with background investigations. We anticipate that any social media screening would be intended only as an additional means of vetting cleared individuals or those seeking to obtain a security clearance, not as a tool for ongoing surveillance of all men and women in uniform. That said, Secretary Austin has been clear about his intentions to understand to what extent extremism exists in the force and its effect on good order and discipline. We look forward to hearing the results of the stand down and the Department’s plan to move forward.
The Defense Department hinted at the program in an April 9 press release about its Countering Extremism Working Group, which it says will make recommendations on “incorporating machine learning and natural language processing into social media screening platforms,” as well as “ensure training addresses issues raised by commanders and supervisors on ‘gray areas’ such as reading, following, and liking extremist material and content in social media forums and platforms.”
The pilot program will use keywords to identify potential extremists, though coming up with a list of terms without running afoul of speech protections has proven to be challenging, the senior Pentagon official said. To this end, the military plans to consult with experts from across the political spectrum to help develop the pilot program. As The Intercept previously reported, the military’s Countering Extremism Working Group drafted a list of potential consultants that included anti-Muslim and Christian conservative groups.
“Using key words to monitor social media isn’t just an unnecessary privacy invasion, it is a flawed strategy that will ensure it is short-lived,” said Mike German, a retired FBI agent who did undercover work in neo-Nazi groups and is now a fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice’s Liberty and National Security Program. “It will undoubtedly produce a flood of false positives that will waste security resources and undermine morale, without identifying the real problem, which is the tolerance for those that openly engage in racist behavior and discrimination.”
Last month, the White House rejected a 2019 proposal from the Department of Homeland Security to collect social media data from immigration applicants. After the White House’s decision, Harsha Panduranga, counsel for the Brennan Center’s Liberty & National Security Program, argued that social media screening not only lacks efficacy but also may even hamper freedom of expression.
“As OIRA’s [White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs] decision signals, there is little evidence that social media screening is an effective screening tool,” Panduranga said. “But we do know that facilitating dragnet surveillance of the modern public square harms free speech and privacy, imposing a disparate impact on people who have traditionally borne the brunt of government profiling in the name of national security.”
Rather than relying on artificial intelligence or algorithms, German says, it would be more constructive to simply improve the whistleblower system so that reports of racist misconduct are taken seriously.
“Trying to suss out ‘extremists’ with an algorithm isn’t likely to identify problem employees within the department nearly as effectively as simply making clear that racist misbehavior and discrimination won’t be tolerated, requiring the troops and officers to report this misconduct when they see it, and then protecting them from reprisal when they do,” German said. “But, today, because the Defense Department doesn’t adequately protect whistleblowers, reporting such misconduct is often more risky to a person’s military career than actually engaging in racist misbehavior.”
Mumia Abu-Jamal. (photo: April Saul/Philadelphia Inquirer)
Pennsylvania Supreme Court to Hear Latest Mumia Abu-Jamal Case Filings, Suit
Associated Press
Excerpt: "The latest appeal filed by Mumia Abu-Jamal and a related suit brought by the widow of the Philadelphia police officer he's convicted of killing will now go before Pennsylvania's Supreme Court."
The state Superior Court ruled Thursday that it lacked jurisdiction to hear Abu-Jamal's latest challenge of his conviction and life sentence for the 1981 traffic stop death of Officer Daniel Faulkner. The panel also found the state's top court is the better venue for addressing a plea by Maureen Faulkner to intervene in the case in opposition to Jamal's bid for freedom.
Neither side opposed the transfer to the Supreme Court, the panel noted.
The ruling comes less than six months after the state Supreme Court rejected Maureen Faulkner's bid to disqualify the city district attorney's office from continuing to work on the matter. She sought to have the attorney general's office appointed to take over the prosecution.
Maureen Faulkner has argued that District Attorney Larry Krasner and his aides have links to Abu-Jamal's case that should have disqualified them and that the office has not handled the case with due vigor. Krasner, a Democrat, has denied any substantial conflict exists.
The 67-year-old Abu-Jamal is arguing that his convictions must be reconsidered, especially in light of the discovery by a DA's office of previously undisclosed boxes of material in its files on his case. He is serving a life sentence and, in the intervening decades, his claims of being unfairly convicted have drawn fervent supporters, both in the United States and internationally.
Palestinians sit in the debris in the aftermath of Israeli air attacks in Gaza. (photo: Mohammed Salem/Reuters)
ALSO SEE: My Grandfather Bought a Home in Gaza
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Gaza Attacks: Fear, Finality, and Farewells as Bombs Rained Down
Khuloud Rabah Sulaiman, Al Jazeera
Rabah Sulaiman writes: "As a ceasefire in Gaza takes hold, stories of fear, resignation, and survival are emerging from the besieged territory."
Many terrified civilians began saying their final goodbyes to family members and friends during the 11-day onslaught, fearing they would die in one of the heaviest Israeli attacks on the Palestinian enclave ever.
Ibrahim al-Talaa, 17, lives in Mughazi camp in the centre of the Gaza Strip. He was among those who sent a final farewell to extended family members and friends through Facebook.
Ibrahim recounted his toughest day in the bloody attack as Israeli fighter jets heavily bombed near his home. He said he felt like it was the end for himself and loved ones surrounding him.
“The Israeli warplanes bombed many different places in my area with more than 40 consecutive missiles, without issuing the prior warnings they used to issue in the past three wars. The sound of the bombing and shelling was so terrifying that I cannot describe it,” Ibrahim said.
“As the bombs fell heavy and close, the house was shaking as if it would fall on our heads… My nerves collapsed and I was about to cry out, but I tried to restrain myself, just to give my family some strength. I saw my 13-year-old sister crying in silence. I hugged her for a while trying to cheer her up. I brought her a glass of water and tried to lessen her fear, although I was beyond scared.”
All die together
The Palestinian death toll on Saturday stood at 248, including 66 children, with more than 1,900 people wounded from Israeli air and artillery attacks. Rocket fire killed at least 12 people in Israel, including two children.
After the Israeli military action against Gaza began, Ibrahim’s family, including his parents, four brothers, and three sisters, gathered in one room, hoping they would all survive – or die – together.
As Israeli jets attacked, the al-Talaa family began saying their goodbyes.
“While hearing the sound of bombs getting much closer and several ambulances coming, we gave farewell looks to one another, and then we warmly hugged,” Ibrahim said.
The teenager then wrote a Facebook farewell post. “My friend called me to check on me after I posted it, and I told him how much I love him,” he said.
“As a Palestinian in Gaza, I am deprived of my simple right to live in safety. I asked my friend to spread my message that I won’t forgive any human being and president in this world who supports the Israeli occupation, normalises with them, or even stays in silence.”
Urgent escape
Reem Hani, 25, lives in the Shuja’iyya neighbourhood with her parents and five siblings. On May 14, the Israeli military started shelling the eastern border of Gaza City about 100 metres away.
“After four hours, the shelling became much heavier and closer, striking randomly in all directions,” she told Al Jazeera. “Crazily, my older brother cried out at us to rush and get in the car. We brought a bag of belongings including all our documents.”
In 2014, Israel also attacked the Shuja’iyya neighbourhood with jets and tanks, razing most houses to the ground. While fleeing in their father’s car this time, Reem witnessed the same scene from six years earlier with hundreds of people running on the streets, some barefoot and carrying their kids, all heading to the west of the Gaza Strip.
Others were riding motorcycles, taxis, and donkeys, the constant blasts illuminating the darkness.
“My family and I survived in 2014, but we didn’t expect that we would survive this time because they launched more than 50 air attacks around us while we were in the car. I kept hugging my young brothers, shedding tears, and fearing I’d die before we arrived at our destination,” said Reem.
“I also sent farewell messages to my close friends, asking them to keep me in their thoughts and prayers after I die.”
‘All of us targeted’
Maha Saher, 27, from the al-Zaytoun neighbourhood, is a mother of two daughters – Sara, 4, and Rama, five months old. Her husband is a photojournalist so when attacks begin in Gaza, he must leave his family to do his work.
“I am fully responsible for protecting my daughters from every tiny harm in this brutal war in the absence of my husband,” Maha said.
“I fear for my husband while he is conveying the truth by his photos to the Western world, and for my daughters because all of us – children, women, journalists, doctors and all civilians – are being targeted by them,” she added.
Israeli warplanes bombed three houses on al-Wehda street last Sunday, crushing the inhabitants underneath the rubble, an attack that killed 42 civilians, mostly children and women.
“They then destroyed the street itself to prevent the ambulances and fire trucks from reaching the destroyed buildings and wounded people,” Maha said.
“I fear they will target my apartment while we are sleeping, as they did with the al-Wehda street massacre. I don’t fear death itself. But I fear to lose one of my children – or they to lose me.”
She said she stayed up all night through the attacks to watch over her children and then slept for about 30 minutes after sunrise each day. During the heaviest of attacks, her daughter Sara wept uncontrollably, asking for her father to return home.
“I phoned my husband to let Sara speak with him. She told him how much she missed him and asked him to come and play with her. He stayed silent, unable to answer,” said Maha.
Maha and her family “survived with the mercy of our God”, she said, and they are now staying with her uncle in a rented flat, after his own apartment was targeted by a drone strike.
A protest in Chile. (photo: BBC)
Chileans Voted for an End to Neoliberalism
Pablo Abufom, Jacobin
Abufom writes: "If just two years ago someone had said that the Left in Chile would today be celebrating one of its biggest political victories since the nation's democratic transition away from Pinochet's dictatorship, many would have balked."
Last week, the people of Chile voted for sweeping structural reform and an end to neoliberalism. It's one of the Left's biggest victories since the end of Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship.
f just two years ago someone had said that the Left in Chile would today be celebrating one of its biggest political victories since the nation’s democratic transition away from Pinochet’s dictatorship, many would have balked. And yet, here we are.
Elections on May 15 and 16 for local and regional offices and for members of the Constitutional Convention have completely changed the national political landscape in Chile. The Right, gathered around president Sebastián Piñera, was dealt a major blow, and the ruling centrist coalition, Concertación, collapsed spectacularly. The Left and social movements swept the contest, winning a series of vital political offices and, perhaps most importantly, majority representation in the assembly responsible for drafting Chile’s new constitution.
The two-day mega election — deciding mayorships, municipal councils, regional governorships, and the composition of the Convention — is a milestone, the impact of which will resonate for decades to come. By winning substantial representation, the Left made good on the promise of radical change announced by the popular revolt that broke out on October 18, 2019. Just as importantly, a clear signal was sent that Chile’s reigning transitional regime — brokered at the end of the dictatorship between the center-left, the Right, and the military — is on life support.
Left-wing parties Frente Amplio and the Chilean Communist Party made major inroads into local and regional governments, and won numerous seats at the Constitutional Convention. The non-party left — feminist and environmental movements, in particular, as well as representatives from First Nations and Indigenous peoples — also won important political offices, and will be sending a number of representatives to the Convention. On balance, almost overnight, a left-wing groundswell has achieved major footing in institutional politics, an arena from which it had been almost entirely excluded for decades.
Meanwhile, the traditional Chilean political elite, still reeling, has put forward its own narrative of its election defeat: it was a “message” to the political class that it had fallen out of touch with the people.
But last week’s election did not simply produce a protest vote. Rather, the people of Chile went to the polls to cast their votes for a clear-eyed program of guaranteed social rights and an end to neoliberalism.
Toward a New Constitution
Chile’s path to a new constitution has not been simple. On November 15, 2019, in an attempt to placate the popular revolt of October, the entire Chilean political establishment — except the Communist Party — signed the Agreement for Social Peace and the New Constitution. Aiming at pacifying the protests, the agreement provided a temporary lifeline for the embattled Piñera administration, but it simultaneously kicked off the historic process of redrafting Chile’s constitution, inherited from the Pinochet era.
The Constitutional Convention, approved by an overwhelming 78 percent in 2020’s national plebiscite, is an elected assembly responsible for drafting the new constitution. It will be formed by 155 members — 77 women and 78 men — who will be in charge of writing Chile’s new Magna Carta. The body will decide on such fundamental issues as social rights, the role of the state, and the country’s private-property regime.
The constitutional reform voted by the legislature establishes that any law proposed at the Convention must achieve two-thirds majority support. That a one-third minority is capable of blocking any proposal has been a comfort to the Right, insofar as its veto power would at least act as a shield of defense against more radical proposals. However, with the Right having now failed to win the necessary 33 percent representation, it no longer has the power to even block proposals.
We can expect that the weeks leading up to the Convention’s first session will be busy with alliance formations. The general understanding is that the center-left and Left together form an overwhelming majority opposition to the right-wing government, but it remains to be seen how voting blocs will form. One possible scenario is that alliances will divide into three groups: the Right and center-right (including Piñera’s Chile Vamos and the right-wing of the Concertación), the center-left (which includes the Socialist Party and other reformist parties) and the Left (comprised of the Communist Party, Frente Amplio, and the independent left and Indigenous representatives). In that scenario, the Left bloc would have a simple majority (50.3%) — requiring dialogue with the moderate Left to overcome the two-thirds threshold.
Where the Left is concerned, their voting bloc may not form a monolithic majority — some social movements and Indigenous groups are still wary of the political process. But a broad anti-neoliberal left has a historic opportunity to exert its influence over the Convention and set the terms of debate for a political cycle that is just beginning.
In one of the most striking turns, the independent left and social movements picked up many seats at the Convention. The Plurinational Feminist Constituent Platform, uniting feminist candidates under the banner “if one enters, we all enter,” made good on its slogan by picking up five seats. The so-called People’s List, channeling the insurrectionary spirit of the October revolt, won twenty-six seats, surpassing many parties of the ex-Concertación. Of the seventeen seats reserved for Native peoples, seven went to Mapuche leaders.
Shortcomings and Roadblocks
Amid the enthusiasm, Chile’s recent elections also pose a number of open questions. Perhaps the most pressing matter is to understand why there was such low voter turnout (around 43.4 percent), forming a sharp contrast with the massive participation in the Constitutional Plebiscite of October 25, 2020.
In addition, in one of the main electoral districts in the country, four feminist candidates were left out of the Convention due to an electoral method, the so-called D’Hondt, that privileges party lists over individual votes. In addition to that, mandated gender-parity laws contradictorily resulted in some women candidates being excluded in favor of their male counterparts. As Alondra Carrillo, elected to the Convention as a representative of the Coordinadora Feminista 8M, told Jacobin, parity laws often operate “as a ceiling and a form of exclusion, to reassert the presence of men at a time when women become the majority.”
Other social forces expected to win a seat at the Convention were left out. The United Workers’ Central failed to win representation, and the Coordinadora Nacional NO+AFP (which for years has been fighting for a new social-security system) only elected one spokesperson, despite running many candidates.
Nor was the election a resounding victory for all social movements. Newer movements — feminist and LGBT groups, plurinational sectors, ecologists, and students — performed quite well, but organized labor underperformed.
With just weeks until its first session, the first great battle of the Convention will revolve around procedural rules. Here, the main tension is between conservative sectors calling for the terms of the November 15 agreement to be fully respected, and those on the Left that will challenge those terms on the grounds that they are antidemocratic. Specifically, the Left will want to challenge formal limitations such as the two-thirds majority clause and the lack of popular influence over the proceedings, as well as bring more substantial socioeconomic issues, like international trade agreements, into the debate.
The majoritarian anti-neoliberal sector has the potential to dictate the terms of the Convention, but to do so they must not back down in the face of an inevitable backlash from the combined forces of the Right and the Concertación.
A Historic Opportunity to Write the Future
The other key area to watch in weeks to come is the alliance formed between the two largest left-wing parties: the Communist Party and the Frente Amplio. Both parties scored historic victories by picking up mayorships and governorships in the most recent elections, and together they form the largest left bloc at the Convention.
Since its foundation in 2017, Frente Amplio has spurred an important revival of progressive, youth-led politics in Chile. However, it has increasingly acquiesced to the reigning model of transition-era politics, placing a higher priority on governability and negotiations when, some would argue, a more radical approach is needed. (Frente Amplio, for example, signed Piñera’s Agreement for Social Peace.)
The more seasoned Communist Party has shown itself adept at collaborating with the center-left around key areas while still hewing closer to a strong anti-neoliberal stance when called for. Key to the formation of a broad anti-neoliberal majority at the Convention, the two parties must overcome sectarian tendencies and recognize that the Chilean left is much broader than party ranks.
The challenges facing the Chilean left are many, but so are its opportunities. Never has the Left been so close to converging around a common feminist and anti-capitalist program — a far cry from the typical demands for greater social rights or immediate improvements in living conditions. The Left has successfully turned the Constitutional Convention into a conduit for the revolts of October 2019; now it must strike a balance between maneuvering within the halls of power and maintaining a clear vision of a future society that will serve the interests of the working class.
In short, the Chilean left has shown the power of revolt and must now face its greatest test: whether it can take the reins of power and turn the contestation of the Pinochet-inherited economic system into a majoritarian movement for a completely different society. Maintaining the active participation of the independent left and social movements — plurinational feminism, in particular — will be fundamental to the success of organized progressive parties. Chile’s (and Latin America’s) Feminist General Strike has been one of the most significant political events in recent decades; were it to be sidelined by other progressive forces, it would blunt the vanguard of the most openly anti-capitalist current of the progressive bloc.
Finally, for the Left to seize its historic opportunity, it will need to do more than simply exert pressure from within the Constitutional Convention. Various sectors of the Left and social movements have called for popular mobilizations in the street so as to “besiege” the Convention and ensure that the process does not bypass the will of the people. In the days and weeks to come, the streets of Chile must be an expression of the same popular will that set the constitutional process in motion.
The Convention must be opened to popular participation, allowing space for proposals and deliberation from rank-and-file sectors. Even for those political demands that exceed the scope of the Convention, today is still the moment to press for an end to state-sponsored terrorism, especially in Mapuche territories, and to strengthen the working-class institutions of Chile that have played such an important role in challenging neoliberal authoritarianism.
Chile has taken a decisive step toward ending the neoliberal and antidemocratic constitution of 1980. Its next steps must be toward a sweeping structural transformation of society led by the people and the working class. What happens over the next two years as the Constitutional Convention advances will determine the political contours of the future for years and decades to come.
A gray wolf. (photo: National Geographic)
How Wolves and Other Wildlife Help Us Fight for the Climate
Jennifer Sherry, NRDC
Sherry writes: "Ecosystems have the power to help us mitigate the worst impacts of climate change - especially when we harness the benefits of 'natural climate solutions' (NCS) that restore and protect significant carbon-storing environments like forests, grasslands, and wetlands."
With what we’re learning about the way wildlife influences ecosystems and the carbon cycle, it’s all the more important to protect biodiversity and keep our planet livable for all.
cosystems have the power to help us mitigate the worst impacts of climate change—especially when we harness the benefits of “natural climate solutions” (NCS) that restore and protect significant carbon-storing environments like forests, grasslands, and wetlands. But amid the buzz over better stewardship of our planet’s greenery, a growing body of scientific research is unearthing another piece of this complex carbon puzzle: wildlife. This research makes it increasingly clear that biodiversity is not an optional luxury, but integral to the natural life support systems that we all depend upon.
Wild animals play important roles in sculpting ecosystems—with top predators often having the greatest influence, despite their relatively small numbers. This happens because predators, herbivores, plants, and decomposers interact in complex relationships called food webs. We already know that healthy, intact food webs make ecosystems more resilient to environmental changes. Now we’re beginning to understand that because of their influence on plants and soils, the presence and abundance of certain animals within a food web can substantially affect carbon storage. Scientists are demonstrating through innovative research that failure to account for the effects of wildlife on the carbon cycle could result in miscalculating—and misunderstanding—the capacity of ecosystems to take up and store carbon.
One revealing example of this comes from the boreal forest of Canada, which has been identified as one of the most crucial carbon-storing landscapes on earth. While there is widespread recognition that boreal trees and soils store large amounts of carbon, we are only recently starting to understand that wolves and other wildlife in the forest food web are a part of this process too.
As a top predator and keystone species, wolves have an outsize influence on the boreal ecosystem. Moose—as the dominant herbivore—also shape the composition of the forest and the soil microbes because they feed heavily on tree shoots and leaves. Here’s where it gets really interesting: When healthy wolf populations are present in the forest, they directly influence both the foraging behavior and abundance of moose through predation—which changes the way moose interact with boreal plant communities—which alters the forest composition and increases tree biomass—which then enhances carbon storage in both plants and soils.
The result of these interactions is an estimated increase in carbon storage between 46 million and 99 million metric tons attributed to the presence of wolves in the boreal forest compared to the absence of wolves. (That’s equivalent to a year of tailpipe emissions from between 33 and 71 million cars.) When these delicate predator-prey dynamics are left intact, the whole ecosystem benefits from a balanced food web—and so do we.
Researchers are breaking new scientific ground to explore relationships between wildlife and the carbon cycle all over the world. These findings further reinforce the importance of other species to our own future. Other notable links between wildlife, forests, and the carbon cycle include:
- Elephants, rhinos, and other types of mega-herbivores help to spread and germinate the seeds of trees that have particularly high carbon content. Researchers found that without the help of these animal foresters—many of which are threatened by habitat loss and poaching—the carbon storage capacity of certain tropical forest ecosystems could erode.
- On the west coast of North America, sea otters prey on the sea urchins that can decimate coastal marine kelp forests when their numbers aren’t kept in check. Researchers estimate that the presence of otters can enhance kelp biomass carbon storage by 1,100% compared to otter absence in the study area.
- Moving beyond the importance of individual species, researchers have also found that the diversity of mammals within an ecosystem can itself enhance carbon storage. The following short video explains how higher mammal diversity in the Amazon’s tropical forests resulted in higher carbon concentrations in soils.
Unfortunately, top predators face massive threats worldwide, and many other wildlife populations are suffering as a result of exploitation and habitat loss. The loss of species should be alarming in its own right, but these findings suggest additional reasons for concern over the rapid decline of biodiversity in the time of climate change.
If we are to succeed in the fight for a safer and healthier future, we need to forge a new relationship with nature—one where we recognize our deep connections to the diversity of life on earth and step up to defend intact, functioning ecosystems. Governments must take bold action to protect at least 30 percent of our lands, freshwater systems, and oceans by 2030. The growing body of knowledge on the interactions of animals, plants, and carbon is an important reminder not to miss the forest for the trees—and not to take for granted the complex web of life that gives rise to our green, livable planet.
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