Day of the Young Combatant

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Day of the Young Combatant
Joven cambatiente afiche.jpg
A poster promoting the commemoration of Día del joven combatiente.
Observed byChile
DateMarch 29
Next time29 March 2022 (2022-03-29)
Frequencyannual

Day of the Young Combatant (Spanish: Día del joven combatiente) is a non-official commemoration day, celebrated each March 29 in Chile. Its main purpose is remembering the assassination of brothers Rafael and Eduardo Vergara Toledo, which occurred on March 29, 1985 during the military dictatorship in Chile.[1] The brothers were reportedly militants of a left-wing, anti-dictatorship insurgent group called MIR.

The commemoration is a call for human rights awareness and inquiry into several cases of extra judicial killings during the dictatorship. Violence often involves throwing rocks against buildings, vehicles, and police, as well as fire-bombing with Molotov cocktails. Given the general unrest-prone day, violence is directed not only against public and government buildings, but also against private property and commercial enterprises such as electrical wiring and power stations. These actions also serve as a cover-up for lootings and other deliberate violent actions done by organized groups. Most of the violent protests are in the Villa Francia neighborhood, in Estación Central Commune of western Santiago, the place where the Vergara Toledo family resides. Whereas some commemorations in Chile involve peaceful marches, the Día del Joven Combatiente is well known to warrant violent action from hooded protesters, this has caused certain sectors to refer to the event as the "Día del Joven Delincuente" (Day of the Young Delinquent).[2][3][4]

Generally, local media and government agencies have disseminated warnings to the public to stay indoors, expect power outages (particularly near the mentioned neighborhood "Villa Francia")[1] and several institutions such as Universities end classes early for students to return home before nightfall, which is mostly when the violent attacks happen. It is also common to expect public transportation to be sparse due to frequent attacks on public buses.

A similarly violent-prone and disruptive day is September 11, the day of the 1973 coup d'état.

Background[]

Further information: Armed resistance in Chile (1973–1990)

The Vergara-Toledo family lived in , and, due to their commitment to the population and worker organization, along with the fact that the sector stood out for the political organization and actions of its inhabitants, they were watched over by state agents.[5]

During the afternoon of March 29, 1985, an operation was carried out by Carabineros de Chile in the Las Rejas-April 5 intersection in the Central Station commune that ended up with the death of the Vergara-Toledo brothers. At the time, the press reported that brothers, Rafael Mauricio (18) and Eduardo Antonio (20) were students of the Liceo de Aplicación school and the Metropolitan University of Educational Sciences, respectively.[6]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Message for U.S. Citizens- Day of the Young Combatant". U.S. Embassy in Chile. 2017-03-22. Archived from the original on 2017-04-27. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  2. ^ "Ayer fue el Día del Joven Delincuente". Agencia Informativa Orbe (in Spanish). 2007-03-30. Archived from the original on 2016-03-07.
  3. ^ "Otra tragedia en el Día del Joven Delincuente". Las Últimas Noticias (in Spanish). 2015-03-30. Archived from the original on 2015-06-13. Retrieved 2015-04-26.
  4. ^ "El día del joven delincuente". La Tribuna (in Spanish). 2015-03-15. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-04-26.
  5. ^ "Día del Joven Combatiente: En memoria de Rafael y Eduardo Vergara Toledo". Museum of Memory and Human Rights (in Spanish). 2020-03-29. Archived from the original on 2020-03-29. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  6. ^ Mellado, Vicente (2017-03-29). "A 32 años del asesinato de los hermanos Vergara Toledo. El significado histórico para la juventud combativa y revolucionaria". La Izquierda Diario - Red internacional (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2017-04-02. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
Stub icon

This Chile-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by .

  • v
  • t
Retrieved from ""