La nueva normalidad

In Chile it's beginning to look a lot like the good ol' days of Allende;

Port strikes which have swept the nation and devastated fruit exporters now enter a third week, leaving export goods on stand-by. Copper and wine industries continue to experience delays and perishable goods face major losses.

“The whole Bío Bío Region is paralyzed,” José Agurto, spokesman for the Bío Bío Port Union (UPBB) told The Santiago Times. “No port is open here.”

Which has so far cost over $100 million dollars in rotting fruit, with more to come. All over some hurt feelings of leftists;

The Chilean Port Union (UPC) is negotiating with its counterparts around the world in order to block Ultramar cargo in ports across Latin America, Europe and the United States, according to Mundo Maritimo.

Many union representatives see Ultramar — Latin America’s largest regional shipping group — and in particular part-owner Sven von Appen as the cause of the impasse in negotiations. The ageing von Appen sparked controversy during recent presidential elections by suggesting business leaders should launch a coup if President-elect Michelle Bachelet mismanaged the economy.

“We are negotiating an international blockade against all cargo ships of Sven von Appen,”  UPC spokesperson Enrique Sola said. “This man is so powerful that no one can [resolve the situation], the government, politicians can’t do anything.” 

If they're worried about an anti-Marxist coup, they ought to read their own history. It was because the entire country was on strike in 1973 that Chile got its last one.