The rescue of the 33 Chilean miners was as exciting as a novel by Jules Verne. Some commentators have compared it to the landing on the moon and, thanks to the extensive, live media coverage, it was followed eagerly around the world. However, it would be a shame if we followed the miners’ rescue with such absorption that we forget how they came to be trapped in the first place.
I do not underestimate the sheer human interest of the story. Each individual miner had a distinctive personality that came to the fore at some point since August 22, the day, 17 days after the collapse of the copper mine, they managed to tell the world outside that all of them were still alive.
There was Luis Urzua, aged 54, the leader of the miners, who organised shifts, drew up plans of where the miners were to help the rescuers and insisted on being the last to be rescued.
There was Josè Henriquez, 56, who besides working in the mines for 33 years is also an evangelical preacher and was tasked to keep up the spirits of his colleagues. Many of them were traumatised.
Edison Pena, 34, ran for five kilometres in the tunnels every day to keep fit for the day he would see the sun again. Franklin Lobos, 52, a former footballer, received a signed shirt from Barcelona star David Villa, whose father and grandfather had been miners.
Ariel Ticana, 29, became a father on his 40th day of entrapment. He asked his wife to change the name they had intended to give their baby girl to Esperanza.
Others promised to marry their respective long-standing girlfriend or found a strengthened love for their wife. Not so Yonni Barrios, 50, whose wife only found out about his mistress when they both attended a vigil. The Sun newspaper reported that the first words Mr Barrios told his mistress, Susana Valenzuela, was: “I’m going to take you to bed for a few days.” His wife, Marta, has told reporters that Susana is welcome to keep him.
It should be evident from these details that I have succumbed to the soap opera aspects of the whole event as much as any other person. Many of the miners charmed me. Some made me ask if I would have had their bravery in the circumstances. Others I could almost identify with.
I have some doubts, however, about the overarching story pressed relentlessly in the media. As time passed, the story became one of Chilean resilience and national pride. It was the story underlined by the new President of Chile, Sebastian Pinera: “Chile is no longer the same country it was 69 days ago.”
Actually, that will depend on the outcome of a lawsuit that has been filed against the mining company by one of the miners. One of the first notes to make it to the surface, before the rescue, came from the oldest miner, Mario Gomez, 63. He wanted the world to know that the company had “to modernise”.
The company, Codelco, is state-owned and this particular mine is the most productive subterranean one. For the last several years, and especially in the beginning of this decade, Chile has been seen as the economic miracle of Latin America. Copper exports were part of the formula. Indeed, I visited one of the largest copper mines in Chile some four years ago.
However, workers’ rights and conditions of health and safety have not kept up with economic prosperity.
President Pinera’s predecessor, Michelle Bachelet, was beginning her presidential term. I joined a delegation of the European Parliament on a visit to Chile, which included a meeting with her. I felt the warmth and commitment of Chile’s first woman President. Indeed, at the time, as she ran through the details of her programme, I thought that she had not yet realised she could stop campaigning!
We were seated on either side of a wide table in one of the official rooms within the President’s Palace in Santiago. President Bachelet explained her full programme of reform, mainly emphasising women’s rights, although it also focused on health and education.
She ended her presidential term with a popularity rating of some 80 per cent. It is unfortunate that Chile’s Constitution prevents a President from running for a second consecutive term. Clearly, the reform programme was not completed.
Her successor is a centre-right billionaire. He is not just media-savvy. Mr Pinera is a media tycoon who took a detailed interest in how the rescue operation was filmed and presented.
By all means, let us appreciate what the event has done for national solidarity in Chile. But let us remember the story behind the event, too. An economically prosperous Chile is necessary for the country’s stability. However, that is no excuse to leave workers behind as the country burrows its way up towards prosperity.
Dr Attard Montalto is a Labour member of the European Parliament.