I wasn't actually around to witness the Teleton, I'll get to the reason why in my next post, but it's a very big part of Chile.
In its 32nd year, it's a really big telethon to raise money for an organization that works with children with disabilities in a variety of ways. Every year they set a goal to raise and there's a giant show in the national stadium that accompanies it. Starting about a month beforehand, maybe even 2 months, signs went up about it EVERYWHERE. And not just official signs: the date was written all over buses and cars and pretty much everything else.
Many Chileans will point to El Teleton as evidence of how strong the links of "solidarity" are in their country: everyone chips in to do their part, a comment that I think is very valid. This year for example, the target goal was to raise $16 million, but $24 million was raised, a tremendous sum given that Chile only has a population of 17 million....And actually that's in Chilean pesos, so double that for the US dollar sum.
However, at the same time, the opposing dialogue of neoliberalism is very evident. The entire idea that it is the responsability of private charities to provide care for the disabled and not the state is very linked to this model. El Cuidadano, the leftist newspaper, has criticized this aspect of the event, seeing it as exploitation of those with disabilities by a reality TV system to cement a certain economic model. It's an interesting argument, not sure I agree with it entirely, but spanish speakers, here's the article.
http://www.elciudadano.cl/2010/12/08/la-teleton-y-el-prestigio-del-modelo-neoliberal/
No comments:
Post a Comment