Terrorist Attack In Chile

[ajoknoblauch]

Again, this is very common in all of LATAM. Every few years or so, some drill sergeant in the Brazilian army goes on trial for killing recruits (due to negligence or poor judgement) during training. On the latest case (2013), the drill sergeant used as a defense the argument that "The Brazilian Army boot camp is not a daycare center, and shit happens".

It's not unique to Latin America: For a couple examples, see http://tinyurl.com/38g9d7q and http://tinyurl.com/oxp2fpv

 

[camberiu]

It's not unique to Latin America: For a couple examples, see http://tinyurl.com/38g9d7q and http://tinyurl.com/oxp2fpv

Definitely not unique to LATAM. However, I do think it is more common due to higher levels of impunity and a culture of treating recruits (who are usually poor) like shit.

 

[Caliexpat]

http://www.reuters.c...N0H31VG20140908 Sounds internal, I hope the idiots here don't get any ideas from them.

Agreed that this looks to be internal. Real terrorists usually like to take credit in order to advance some type of cause. If the end result is that nobody takes credit while the govt. passes new laws/restrictions in order to gain more power in the name of "national security" then we can be pretty sure who the culprits are. Nothing that countless other governments in the past haven't done.

 

[ElQueso]

Mandatory military conscription is prevalent in most of Latin America, including Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay, Mexico and Cuba. Argentina is an exception on this, not the rule. And that change only happened in the 90s due to a massive backlash against the military dictatorship.
And in most of Latin America, the police is militarized (dressing and acting like soldiers).

Not so sure about Paraguay - my understanding is opposite. I have 5 Paraguayan brothers-in-law, all adults and only one had military service, according to my wife at his own choice and against the wishes of the father. One of the other boys thought about it but decided against it. The other three never considered it. They lived in Paraguay until they were into their twenties (except for one who came at 19 but went back a year later), have traveled back and forth without any problems. If there is mandatory conscription, they don't enforce it as far as I can see.

 

[camberiu]

I am sure about Paraguay

Not so sure about Paraguay - my understanding is opposite.

I am sure about Paraguay. Just do a quick Google search with Conscription in Paraguay. Don't confuse mandatory conscription with universal conscription. The reality is that every year, there are more male kids turning 18 than the armed forces of any LATAM nation can absorb as soldiers. So even thought the kids are required to register for military service, only the ones who really want to join are drafted. That is exactly what happened to me in Brazil when I turned 18. I went to the local army recruiting office to register, they asked me if I had any desire to join and I told them "no". They made me sign some papers and sent me home without further issues.

 

[scotttswan]

Agreed that this looks to be internal. Real terrorists usually like to take credit in order to advance some type of cause. If the end result is that nobody takes credit while the govt. passes new laws/restrictions in order to gain more power in the name of "national security" then we can be pretty sure who the culprits are. Nothing that countless other governments in the past haven't done.

Are you Matias in disguise?

 

[ElQueso]

I am sure about Paraguay

I am sure about Paraguay. Just do a quick Google search with Conscription in Paraguay. Don't confuse mandatory conscription with universal conscription. The reality is that every year, there are more male kids turning 18 than the armed forces of any LATAM nation can absorb as soldiers. So even thought the kids are required to register for military service, only the ones who really want to join are drafted. That is exactly what happened to me in Brazil when I turned 18. I went to the local army recruiting office to register, they asked me if I had any desire to join and I told them "no". They made me sign some papers and sent me home without further issues.

It was the word "conscription" that got me. According to Merriam-Webster: the practice of ordering people by law to serve in the armed forces.

Registering for conscription is different from actually being conscripted. When I turned 18 in the US (well, I could have waited until I was 25), I had to register for the draft (conscription) but was never drafted (conscripted). If you have to register for conscription but are not actually conscripted, it is a volunteer force.

Maybe the word has become more generalized nowadays to include those being registered for the possibility of conscription.

Either way, I don't like it. I had to go register in the States just years after the end of the Vietnam war, the last war the US had actually conscripted young males into the military service. It was a bit creepy at the time, although since then the US has built up its military forces by spending huge amounts of money to make it worthwhile for people to volunteer to be part of a standing army. Being a libertarian, I abhor even the standing army, but hey...at least entry isn't forced any more, although you still have to register for conscription against the eventuality that the tyranny government will require you to give your life for something you may or may not believe in because it is the "will of the people".

 

[ajoknoblauch]

I am sure about Paraguay

I am sure about Paraguay. Just do a quick Google search with Conscription in Paraguay. Don't confuse mandatory conscription with universal conscription. The reality is that every year, there are more male kids turning 18 than the armed forces of any LATAM nation can absorb as soldiers. So even thought the kids are required to register for military service, only the ones who really want to join are drafted. That is exactly what happened to me in Brazil when I turned 18. I went to the local army recruiting office to register, they asked me if I had any desire to join and I told them "no". They made me sign some papers and sent me home without further issues.

In Chile, it is an obligatory lottery, in which the unlucky ones must do military service. They can volunteer before that if they like.