Aysen: the rise of a Patagonian social movement and new challenges for Chile's government in 2012

The region of Aysén has come to occupy the headlines of newspapers since February when the people of Aysén decided to mobilise and protest against what they consider the abandonment of their region by the state. Although the mobilisations and protests were sparked by the rising price of fuel, Aysén's Social Movement has also denounced the lack of investment in the region and inequality of wages affecting the region's infrastructure, as well as the quality of its education and health systems among many other topics affecting the people of Aysén. 
But on Friday March 16th, 2012, in a very controversial decision, the government opted to enforce the state’s security law on protesters after failed meetings with the local social movement. This legal decision means the leaders of the social movements can be criminalised for calling upon other citizens to organise and protest if the state considers such actions as affecting the daily running of basic services and activities in the region. The decision has proved highly controversial posing new questions for the future of social and political movements in Chile, as well as for the functioning of democratic institutions in the country.

Here is an article from El Mostrador on the application of the "Ley de Seguridad del Estado" http://www.elmostrador.cl/noticias/pais/2012/03/15/la-moneda-confirma-tesis-de-la-mano-dura-y-finalmente-invoca-ley-de-seguridad-contra-manifestantes-de-aysen/