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News > Chile

'In Chile They Torture, Rape, Kill', Mon Laferte Says Shameless

  • Mon Laferte wears the message 'In Chile they torture, rape and kill' on her body, Nov. 14, 2019.

    Mon Laferte wears the message 'In Chile they torture, rape and kill' on her body, Nov. 14, 2019. | Photo: Reuters

Published 16 November 2019
Opinion

The Chilean singer exposed her breasts at the 2019 Latin Grammys to denounce what is really happening in her country.

At the Latin Grammys ceremony held in Las Vegas on Thursday, singer Mon Laferte uncovered her breasts where she wrote: “In Chile, they torture, rape and kill.” 

This powerful statement was meant to express solidarity with millions who have taken to the streets daily for four weeks now to demand deep political and economic changes.​​​​​​

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Since then social networks have offered the stage for a symbolic battle in which harsh criticism has been raised against her brave gesture.

She has been attacked for her ideas, for her body and even for her music, although she won her second Latin Grammy in the category of Best Alternative Music Album.​​​​​​​

Subtle forms of censorship were not long in coming. Almost immediately, Instagram prevented Mon Laferte's topless photos from being easily searched and located.​​​​​​

“My free body for a free homeland," the Chilean singer wrote as a reply in her media account.

"If the images were men's breasts, they would not be censored."​​​​​​​

"This is how the Chilean police respond to health volunteers (doctors, nurses, medical students) who provide first aid to the injured. Not even a red cross stops them."

Some social media users also raised their voices frontally in support of the Latin American singer and her message.

"Kendall Jenner and Mon Laferte both with her boobs showing up on a red carpet. One is celebrated. The other is criticized for her nudity," @fineIovers said and added "the truth is men don't care about nudity. They care when woman bodies are not there for their likeness and consume."

Contrary to what some xenophobic and misogynistic comments​​​​​​​ hinted at, Mon Laferte is not a frivolous artist in search of easy fame.​​​​​​​

The meme reads, "if breasts bother you more than the message, then you are part of the problem."

In an interview with the BBC, she talked about her childhood in a country she remembers as a place where social injustice prevails.

"I was born during the dictatorship in a poor neighborhood," she said and recalled that her "house had no floor, no doors or keys." 

Nevertheless, "her mother, father, and sister worked for a long time trying to improve it," outlet En24 reported, adding that her father was bricklayer and carpenter, which meant that her family didn't have enough money to get to the end of the month.

"Sometimes not even for reaching the middle of the month," Mon Laferte ​​​​​​​bounded.

The 36-year-old artist also commented that she began singing at age 14 to get some money to help her family and explained that she considered it "natural" to get involved in protests.

"All Chilean society is furious about inequality," Mon Laferte said and stressed the importance of taking part in collective actions that are aimed at solving problems "affecting the Chilean people."​​​​​​​

"Chile: abortions and premature births. The violence that pregnant women suffer from repression."

Social unrest in Chile began in October with protesters amassing on streets to demand greater social reforms, including free education, better health care, and higher wages and pensions.

Street demonstrations reached unprecedented levels on Oct. 26, when around 1.2 million people gathered for a march in Santiago, to demand the resignation of President Sebastian Piñera and denounce his right-wing austerity policies.

Lawmakers on early Friday agreed to hold a referendum next April on replacing the 1980 constitution drafted by Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship (1973-1990).

Progressive social movements and parties, however, have criticized the agreement reached among political elites, which would seem to be looking for opportunities to perpetuate themselves in power.

People in Chile have not demobilized. They continue in the streets demanding real transformations. 

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