Enroll-Ominami: "In Chile, there is no crack but there are twenty dead and 2,500 people arrested"

The Chilean politician closest to Alberto Fernandez, Marco Enriquez-Ominami, interviewed the CEO of Profile Networks, Jorge Fontevecchiaas part of the television cycle Pure journalism, which is issued by the air channel Net tv.

In one of the parts of the report, Enriquez-Ominami evoked the situation of the trans-Andean country and compared it to that of Argentina: "Chilean society is founded on a promise: to work harder to earn more. A Nike style slogan says, "Do it, it depends on you …" And your problem is the obstacles that life offers you, which is the state that will bother you: your problem is the rules, they are the rules. On the other hand, Argentina has a very strong social pact written and unwritten. It is based on intergenerational solidarity on retirement issues, on solidarity between Argentines, on the way you enjoy your identity. Chile, as said a great Chilean poet, Nicanor Parra, "is more a landscape than a country". We are more than a beautiful country, but Argentina has an advantage: what you despise as a crack, I want it. There is nothing better than the debate, the contradiction. In Chile, there is no crack but there are twenty dead and 2,500 arrested. "

– Media owners should refrain from acting in economic activities that create conflicts of interest?

"This should be a norm."

-I agree.

– Secondly, we also agree that competition is essential. And the state, the state media, can be a factor of competition, stimulating competition, as in other areas of the economy. And it seems to me that there is public media, so that there is another look, other tasks, that address to another audience. The relationship between these media and the official directive is also available at a level. I am not talking about journalists, we are constantly talking about media owners, who may or may not be journalists. And also recognize that media owners have inappropriate relationships with states. The advertising model of cities or the nation and the state is a form of corruption. I know about political corruption, but we also have to talk about the corruption of media owners.

-When you were a candidate, you indicated that 85% of the reason was attributed to "El Mercurio" and "La Tercera" in the case of Chile.

"These are the two newspapers on the right." In some cases, their owners are far right.

This would be the case of "El Mercurio".

"The case is not 85%, the problem was not just the amount, but how it is allocated. I have chaired the first Latin American research committee inspired by Neuquén, your case Neuquén. As a deputy, I asked media owners how much money they were getting from the state. The answer was, "Nothing, a million dollars a year." But how long is "forty years". One million dollars guaranteed for forty years to achieve support. I know how much that means because I created a support. It is an act of corruption. It is corruption and affects democracy. And I have never listened to journalism, not the owners, to bother him. Let's talk about journalism now. You may wonder what I live. I never know who pays the journalists. Many tell me that I am populist. And here I realize that many have a double salary. Do citizens have the right to know that such an acidic journalist is funded by those I want to assign? There appears the problem of access to information.

Here, the complete interview of Jorge Fontevecchia with Marco Enríquez-Ominami

– It's exactly the same problem as before: a journalist should not work simultaneously for a company in which there was a conflict of interest because of his journalistic work.

– How will I go to the journalists' union if I make this proposal? Forbidden to work for banks as a spokesperson, it is a question of values.

"The ethical standards of quality journalism around the world increase transparency. The major media in the world have an ombudsman. In the case of China, some media are particularly archaic.

-A few. I would like to add something else. Do you interview me and there is a commercial directive, what is called a cup, and who sponsors the information space? A bank X.

– For this, the media also have codes of ethics: distances must be marked and advertisers criticized. The problem is that in Latin America, our journalism is still underdeveloped. Media like "Folha de São Paulo" are different.

-I know. But I ask without insidium. Is it happening here too?

– Conflicts of interest are a recurring theme. In PROFILE, in particular, we show transparency. We have an ombudsman and a code of ethics. There is a reputation capital. Before a skewed look or responding to interests, the cost of reputation appears. In the case of Chile, you have two newspapers and it's over. When you were a candidate, the Concertación promoted the arrival of progressive media, such as "El País". Like "El País", they offered us a magazine like "News", which was more progressive. It seems to me that Chile has a serious supply problem. It seems to me that media owners are conservative, as you have said.

– And confessional.

-The confessionals, the main advertisers are conservative confessionals. The media is the symptom of an economic system.

-More or less. I understand that an entrepreneur is looking to profit and is legitimate. It is curious that economically deficient television channels are bought. They are not so innocent, we know they like to make money. They buy media because they know that there is power.

"But the cause would be in the advertisers."

"The discussion is a rent and a good, they are at the same level. Property matters too. It is a subject related to democracy. The issue of media ownership is not trivial.

-Now, when you travel, do you find the same problem as in Chile? Do you see it in Argentina and Brazil?

"In general, yes." I also think that a newspaper is not the same thing as television. His mission is different: to inform newspapers, to educate television. Television occupies the wireless space, which is rare. In this, I criticize the center-left positions and much more to the right. Creating a newspaper poses another type of problem: to create them, you do not have to ask for permission, beyond the need for distribution and printing. On television, there is only room for seven channels, which has changed somewhat compared to digital television. If citizens give a place to a channel, a public obligation is generated because you use a public road. I have not seen that television stations agree to appear before Congress and express a vision that can be discussed and renewed from time to time.

– I smile: you are modern in so many things and just in this subject, which is your subject, you are a little outdated. There are many ways that do not go through the air. What you say everyone can do from a newspaper also applies to companies like Netflix and Amazon: there are streaming sites, Internet. Open television tends to shrink in the world.

-But open television at a lower income is much more watched than a high income. Those of us who can afford have an advantage. Now, something much worse is happening because a class phenomenon is generated. Open television remains a very high consumption for the most deprived, the most forgotten economies. I do not want a false sensation to remain in this interview: journalism is essential for research. My mother did a study on the value of the hidden source interested in the Chilean print media and its impact on democracy. It is true that these sources are important. But the problem is how much: the study shows that more than 60% of what is said comes from sources of this type in Sunday newspapers.

"Why are you talking about Sundays and not others?"

-Because you read a lot in Chile on Sunday. This is the day when the newspaper is the most read

-In the whole world.

– For me, the print media are the truth, the rest is foam. I am addicted to the newspaper.

Can Sebastián Piñera be compared to Mauricio Macri?

"I met Macri at a time when I was running for president." He told me that his best friend, the man he admired most in foreign policy, was Sebastián Piñera. They are very similar. I withdrew from Creole politics, domestic and local.

– You said, "I will not be a candidate anymore."

"I will not talk about Chilean politics." It's very contingent. I do not want to speak badly in Argentina's Piñera. I have faced him very hard, but I do not want to take advantage of his misfortune today or the defeat of Mauricio Macri. Both belong to a democratic tradition very popular in the world: the promise of success outside politics. Characters like Donald Trump, Silvio Berlusconi, Sebastian Piñera, Mauricio Macri. It is an old electoral formula that seduces a lot: because you are not part of politics, you are credible. Seneca said, "He who said nothing at all." In politics, something really happens: the people despise anyone who loves politics and likes someone who does not like politics. But "further from politics, more credible" seems to me to be a serious mistake. That is why I am so excited by what the triumph of Alberto Fernández means in intellectual terms.

– What message does Argentina give what is happening in Chile?

– Chilean society is based on a promise: work harder to earn more. A Nike style slogan says, "Just do it, do it, it depends on you …". And your problem is the obstacles that life offers you, which is the state that will bother you: your problem is the rules, they are the rules. On the other hand, Argentina has a very strong social pact written and unwritten. It is based on intergenerational solidarity on retirement issues, on solidarity between Argentines, on the way you enjoy your identity. Chile, as said a great Chilean poet, Nicanor Parra, "is more a landscape than a country". We are more than a beautiful country, but Argentina has an advantage: what you despise as a crack, that's what I want. There is nothing better than a debate, a contradiction. In Chile, there is no crack but there are twenty dead, 2500 arrested.