Anti-Chilean sentiment

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Anti-Chilean sentiment (or "Antichilenismo") is a dislike, hatred or fear of Chileans. The motivations of the Anti-Chilean sentiment can be varied, but the majority tend to be related to historical, political and cultural motivations or pure racism. Because Chile has had a complicated relationship with its neighboring countries (Argentina, Bolivia and Peru) due to territorial conflicts, this has meant that Anti-Chilean sentiment still carries some weight to this day.

Argentina and Chile have had a historical rivalry in different spheres, so the prejudice against Chileans is still quite large in Argentina. Anti-Chilean sentiment was strongly promoted by the dictatorship of the National Reorganization Process, and reached its peak during the Beagle Conflict, a territorial dispute over a group of islands on the southern border that nearly sparked a war between the two countries, with the Argentine dictator Jorge Rafael Videla planning a large-scale invasion against Chile under the codename "Operation Sovereignty", and Pope John Paul II had to intervene to make a peaceful mediation and avoid possible war. Subsequently, Chile would support the United Kingdom during the Falklands War, which was seen by many Argentines as a "treason" and increased Anti-Chilean sentiment.

Bolivia is another country where there is great anti-Chilean sentiment, sometimes driven by the authorities themselves. President Hilarión Daza was openly anti-Chilean and ordered the forced deportation of Chileans from Bolivian territory, this being the main reason for the outbreak of the War of the Pacific. After the war, Chile annexed Bolivia's maritime territory and turned it into a landlocked country, which caused great rancor among Bolivians against Chile. To this day, relations between the two countries are very tense, to the extent that both countries do not have diplomatic relations with each other. Bolivian governments have historically made territorial claims to Chile demanding the return of the territories it lost during the war, and many Bolivians still have a negative perception of Chileans due to this conflict.

Peru is also another country where there is considerable Anti-Chilean sentiment. Peru fought alongside Bolivia during the War of the Pacific and also lost territory to Chile. Along with this, during the war Chile occupied Lima for almost 2 years and there were accusations that Chilean troops committed war crimes against Peruvian civilians, which helped strengthen Anti-Chilean sentiment in Peru. In recent years, the ethnocacerist movement is openly anti-Chilean.

Within Chile itself, a small sector of radical indigenous groups have separatist motivations and use a strongly anti-Chilean speech, driven mainly by Caucasiophobia.

In the United States, Anti-Chilean sentiment is generally included under Hispanophobia. In a more specific case, during the California Gold Rush, Chilean immigrants were harassed and attacked by American miners. President Richard Nixon was also known for having an aggressive foreign policy against Chile, promoted by his National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger.

In Sweden, where the majority of Latin American immigrants are Chileans, they are derogatorily called "black heads" by racist groups, due to their dark hair that differs from the common blonde.

Anti-Chilean sentiment

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