Spanish – In theory, feminism fought for women’s “right to work” and their political participation. In practice, feminist organizations are the first to boycott women’s access to work, especially in politics, if they do not adhere to the left.
“The day when we understand that the cause of women has no political color, it belongs to all of us, and is for all of us, we can move forward,” announced former Chilean Minister of Women and Gender Equality Macarena Santelices after resigning from her post.
It was feminist groups that pressed for her dismissal from the day of her appointment. While they encouraged the insurrection that has resulted in looting, burning, and unemployment for about half a million Chileans since October 2019, Santelices called the people who caused the destruction criminals and called for strong action against them. She also defended the capitalism that lifted Chile out of poverty and made it the most prosperous country in the region.
Ella es Macarena Santelices la nueva ministra de la Mujer.
Estallido social: lamentablemente ha faltado mano dura (…) la primera línea en su mayoría son delincuentes(…) necesitamos más compromiso con las FFAA (…) necesitabamos más días de estado de sitio…" pic.twitter.com/tTZ9PwNC2y
— PIENSAPRENSA 222,7 mil Seguidores (@PiensaPrensa) May 6, 2020
The former minister, who was mayor of Olmú for seven years, is the grand-niece of Augusto Pinochet. She was harshly criticized for saying, “we cannot ignore the good things about the military regime.” In that sentence, she acknowledges the existence of abuses in the military government. However, she affirms what was expressed at the polls by 44% of the Chileans who voted in favor of Pinochet’s permanence in power.
While she pointed out the merit of women in peacefully protesting and demanding better living conditions and equality before the law, she distinguishes the female sex from the feminist ideology, stating that they “seek chaos, destruction, and disparagement.”
Feminist groups managed to delegitimize the now ex-Minister Santelices using the hashtag #NoTenemosMinistra. They are now trying to do the same with the Minister of Labor. María José Zaldívar faces the worst labor crisis in decades as a result of the devastation and paralysis caused by the unrest.
Instead of showing “sorority,” feminist groups started to campaign against the minister. It was not enough for her to declare “I am not a right-wing person” in an interview. She works for a government that was elected as such, but which, in practice, has given in to the demands of the opposition and even the insurgency.
Este @GobiernodeChile olvida que las cifras son personas, que hablamos de 22 mil mujeres junto a sus hijxs que sin este apoyo pondrán en riesgo su salud o abandonarán el mundo laboral. Y se supone que @mjose_zaldivar es una pro vida. #notenemosministra #postnatalemergencia pic.twitter.com/qtpkHTcqrj
— Red Actrices Chilenas (@actriceschile) June 16, 2020
The PanAm Post contacted one of the party co-chairs of the former women’s minister, the National New Generations Vice President of the Independent Democratic Union (IDU), historic right-wing party, Katherine Montealegre, who says, feminists fears that right-wing women will take the lead in politics because they promote a culture of merit, not quotas, and reduced state dependence.
Is it valid to say that feminism fears right-wing women? If so, why?
Left-wing feminism has made it clear that the leadership of right-wing women and the advancement of our ideas frighten them. One example of this is the constant attempts to sabotage women leaders on the right. From ministers, congresswomen, senators to university students who defend the ideas of life, freedom, and property as the pillars for the Chile we want, they have been mocked and harassed by hegemonic feminism. They are afraid that it will suddenly become clear that the system of economic freedom is the one that has given more progress and well-being to women and men throughout the world. They are afraid that our voices can advocate for the life of every human being without exception, even those yet to be born, and finally, they are afraid that there are women with full freedom to think differently from their collectivist and totalitarian slogans.
What message does Macarena Santelices’ resignation send to right-wing women?
It is a clear message: the negative feminist leaders’ subversive process does not rest.
Macarena took on a fairly complex challenge amid Chile’s health crisis and under a relentless revolutionary process that seeks to overturn everything. She had not even been in office for 24 hours, and her worst enemies were the feminist movements, which hypocritically seek to position themselves up as the defenders of women. These movements are part of the groups that promote a constant process of insubordination and do not pause until they boycott every woman who does not defend their slogans.
In your experience, have these groups been part of the destabilization in Chile (as the former minister said)?
I have no doubt. The feminist and sexually dissident performances loaded with an insurgent sentiment that has taken place in Chile relentlessly from October 18 to date are explicit. The coordinator of 8M has been behind countless calls to subvert everything, continue the “process of insubordination” to avoid returning to the so-called “neoliberal normality.” Destroying every glimmer of institutionality, as exemplified by the constant sabotage of the last two former ministers (Isabel Plá and Macarena Santelices), and the current minister (Mónica Zalaquett) with the constant calls to ignore their authority and make it more difficult for them to work for the benefit of millions of Chilean women.
Hegemonic feminists claim that it was because of its ideology that women have a “right to work.” Do the facts support this claim?
Today, women have greater employment opportunities, more freedom, increased access to education, and leadership positions in public and private spaces thanks to the system that they disparagingly call “neoliberal” (because it is, according to them, the cause of patriarchal violence). Under this system, poverty in Chile has decreased from 50% percent to 7.8% in the last 40 years and would have continued to fall if it were not for the massive destruction that the revolutionary left has been wreaking since October 2019. They have destroyed thousands of businesses and jobs.
What message would you give to feminists about the presence of women on the right, and what message would you give to women on the right about threats from their alleged defenders?
We are not afraid of the violent and obstructionist way in which hegemonic feminism intends to confront us. Every day, more and more women are distancing themselves from the subversive process and refuse to be part of a deeply discriminatory, biased movement that is absolutely disconnected from the real problems that millions of Chilean women experience every day, and which has revealed its sole objective of advancing a grotesque ideological agenda.
The threats we receive daily from these groups should always be an incentive that we are defending the right ideas and that we should never compromise our ideals for the good of Chile and its people.