"Si, mi coronel"

Right on the heels of my ra-ra Chile's Independence entry I thought it'd be nice to acknowledge an important event that happened pre-chicha festivities. President Ricardo Lagos has loosened the military grip on Chilean government.

Even though I'm a Latin Americanist by trade, my knowledge of Chilean-anything has been acquired not learned (thank you U of C "Mexico rules, all others drool" LatAm dept.). So what I know about Chile I gather from the news, books, mags, but most importantly (and entertainingly) from my fam.

My cousin Pedro, who let me shack up at his place the first five months of my "time off", is a chemist at the military hospital in Stgo. I have had the opportunity to see the place in action and at one point have my blood tested on the same floor where Pinochet was no doubt having his pillows fluffed. Now, you should all know that Pedro belongs to the "subversive-leftist-white-collar" element of my family. This would explain why on many occasions he's been on review, to the point where he might lose his job, because he wouldn't be a sycophant, revering every member dressed in blues with a "si, mi colonel." Being someone who harbors good feelings towards foot soldiers, but not necessarily to high-ranking officers I asked him to elaborate. Most of the officers he works with don't have medical backgrounds, they just needed a place to go once the wars ended and their trigger fingers became plagued with arthritis.

I'm not a voter nor a citizen of Chile, so I can't comment on this reform. But being a borderline libertarian, I want my goverment smaller and dedicated to protecting my country. And a machine gun, be it in a hospital, on the street, or in my supermarket, is quite uncomfortable.