I’m a fool for the Chilean mine story, I’ve watched a lot of the rescue. It has produced in me the warm fuzzy global feeling that the story has been staged to produce as international spectacle; and yes I’ve wondered about the political consequences of this historic event.
Well I just saw Manuel Gonzalez come out, the last rescue worker, a few minutes ago. Chilean President Pinera asked him what his last thoughts were underground, and he said, per the translator (and my memory), “I do not want this ever to happen again. I want Chile to change the way it conducts mining. I want small mines to be safe for workers.”
Pinera talked about the legislation that Chile will consider to change work place safety for workers in many industries.
I find it thrilling that a workman confronted a rightwing president, at the end of a spectacle that made workers heroes, and talked about basic rights. If the miracle has global political resonance, let it be a blow for the dignity and rights of labor.
