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Clean-up work in the Villa Independencia region
Photo: Javier Torres / AFP
SPIEGEL:
Ms. Lagos, the forest fires that have been raging in your home country of Chile for several days are considered the most devastating natural disaster since the 2010 earthquake. The images that went around the world are shocking. What is the situation right now? Are the fires now under control?
Lagos
: No, they are still burning in many places. More than 122 people have died in the flames, most of them in a densely populated coastal region where many are spending their summer holidays. The botanical garden in Viña del Mar burned down completely. We have had to deal with such fires in the past, but never have our authorities so persistently expressed the suspicion that people started them on purpose. It's the first time. And it is what is now most unsettling for Chileans.
SPIEGEL:
Gabriel Boric, Chile's young president, has repeatedly claimed this publicly in the past few days. What is known about it so far?
Lagos:
The investigation is still ongoing, but we know from the fire department that some of the fires apparently broke out in several places at the same time. Canisters, bottles and traces of gasoline were found. Yesterday some suspects were arrested for the first time.
SPIEGEL:
Why should people do something like that?
Lagos
: Many believe there are commercial reasons. That real estate speculators are behind it, large construction companies. In the past it has often happened that burnt areas later became building land. However, it was usually forest areas in which the new settlements emerged. This time, entire neighborhoods are affected, areas where many poor people live.
SPIEGEL:
Is this just a theory?
Lagos
: There is no evidence, but in Chile this is a discussion that comes up again and again after such fires. For years there has been a proposed law in parliament that would prohibit construction companies from using burned-out areas. Many believe this would reduce the number of fires, but lawmakers have never seriously looked into it. The lobby is too strong. Just three days ago, the association of construction companies spoke out and declared that it was against the plans. So: It's just a suspicion. It could also have been an accident. Here in Chile you can basically wild camp or barbecue anywhere, there are no controls, there is little prevention.
SPIEGEL:
What would it mean for Boric's left-wing alliance if it came out that the fires were not a natural disaster, but actually a crime?
Lagos
: I think he would come under even more fire. The right-wing opposition would use this as a template to sharpen their narrative that this government is not doing enough to combat growing crime in the country. It is a discourse that is easy to get caught up in, even if the real problems lie deeper. I think Boric's administration has probably done more in terms of public safety than any of its predecessors.
SPIEGEL:
Does the survival of his government depend on how it deals with the disaster?
Lagos:
At least the question of re-election. And what’s more: we have local elections in October. For sure people will evaluate what he does now.
SPIEGEL:
What is the government doing to alleviate the suffering of the population?
Lagos:
It seems to me that the President is aware of the drama of the situation. He has set the entire state apparatus in motion; it is a big backpack that the government has to shoulder. Attempts are currently being made to provide emergency accommodation for all the people who have lost their homes. After that, and this is more difficult, it will be a matter of rebuilding the lost houses. The finance minister has announced that he will launch a large relief fund, but the housing situation in Chile has long been one of our biggest problems. Even before the fires, hundreds of thousands of houses and apartments were missing.
SPIEGEL:
On Tuesday, national mourning was extended by three days after former President Sebastián Piñera died unexpectedly in a helicopter crash. Which of these two tragedies will change the country more?
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Accident ex-President Piñera: The first conservative to be elected to the highest office in the state after the dictatorship
Photo: Mario Ruiz / EPA
Lagos:
Hard to say. But I think that both will probably determine the discussions in the next few weeks and months. In 2010, Piñera was the first conservative elected to the highest office in the state since the end of the dictatorship. Gathering the traditionally divided right-wing parties behind you twice is no small feat. Historically, it was usually the case that the left won elections when the various right-of-center movements put forward their own candidates. The big open question is therefore what will happen if Piñera's leadership is missing. It cannot be ruled out that Boric will benefit from this in the end. But it is also possible that the right-wing spectrum will become further radicalized. Some politicians are already racing to see who will most loyally defend Pinochet's neoliberal legacy.