Escrito por don Juan Carlos, editor senior emérito
En las horas de esta madrugada, desafiando las limitaciones de un delicado proceso postoperatorio reciente que me obliga al uso de un andador, me dispuse a revisar la correspondencia y los medios digitales. Fue así como encontré su publicación, ilustrada con la imagen de una gruta devocional hogareña; un símbolo que, lejos de las grandes peregrinaciones, encarna un significado profundamente íntimo y familiar como altar de fe en la vida cotidiana para mí. Sus palabras —«Amar a Dios compromete mi acción con quienes me rodean. Debo ser Justo, Amable, Alegre y Caritativo. Entregar y entregar y sentir la Libertad del Amor»— resonaron profundamente en mí. Esa manifestación de fe me evoca el respeto que profeso por su trayectoria y por la memoria de destacados oficiales que perdieron la vida de nuestras Fuerzas Armadas, como los generales René Schneider Chereau, Carlos Prats González, Alberto Bachelet Martínez, Augusto Lutz Urzua (*). En su caso particular, General, mi alta estima se funda en su liderazgo cercano y querido por la tropa. Su conducta ética e irreprochable marca la diferencia. Usted mantuvo una línea de acción profesional ajena a las graves violaciones a los derechos humanos, preservando la dignidad del uniforme y el respeto a la vida de nuestros compatriotas.
--- . ---
POLITICIZED ARMED FORCES
Dear General (R) Rafael Villarroel Carmona:
In the hours of this morning, defying the limitations of a recent, delicate post-operative process that forces me to use a walker, I set out to check my correspondence and digital media. It was thus that I came across your publication, illustrated with the image of a home devotional grotto; a symbol that, far from the great pilgrimages, embodies a deeply intimate and familiar meaning for me as an altar of faith in daily life. Your words —“To love God commits my action to those around me. I must be Just, Kind, Joyful, and Charitable. Giving and giving, and feeling the Freedom of Love”— resonated deeply within me. That manifestation of faith evokes the respect I profess for your career and for the memory of distinguished officers of our Armed Forces who lost their lives, such as Generals René Schneider Chereau, Carlos Prats González, Alberto Bachelet Martínez, and Augusto Lutz Urzúa (*). In your particular case, General, my high esteem is founded on your close and beloved leadership of the troops. Your ethical and irreproachable conduct makes all the difference. You maintained a professional line of action detached from the grave human rights violations that scarred our history, thereby preserving the dignity of the uniform and the respect for the lives of our compatriots. I had the honor of knowing this general personally.
Under that same consideration toward your investiture, I take the liberty to reflect with you that, even in a conflict scenario, a soldier's most powerful weapon does not lie in the firepower of his rifle nor in the armor of a tank; rather, it lies in the moral force of love for the homeland, family, and fellow citizens. History painfully shows us the breakdown of democratic institutionalism. A sector of the Armed Forces co-aided the coup d'état following the agreement of the Chamber of Deputies regarding the constitutional breach. This action overthrew Dr. Salvador Allende and ended the validity of the 1925 Constitution, establishing a cruel and inhumane seventeen-year regime. When National Defense institutions lose their essentially non-deliberant and professional character to align with partisan factions or ideological interests, their doctrine is distorted, and democratic coexistence is weakened. The politicization of military echelons not only breaks legitimate civilian control over weapons, but it also alters the professional career path by subjecting promotions and high public positions to political affinity to the detriment of technical merit, stripping neutrality from a force that belongs to the entire nation.
REPUBLICAN VALUES
The most complex challenge we face today as a society lies in the danger of renouncing national unity and social cohesion. Nonetheless, if we recognize ourselves as legitimate heirs to the republican values for which this country has sacrificed so much, and if we accept our existence as instruments of divine providence, we will be capable of healing and strengthening the soul of the homeland. Please accept my sincere congratulations on your vast career, echoing that note rescued from the web which justly summarizes your military life: “He entered the Military School as a recruit in the year 1956; an exemplary cadet of that promotion who, from his beginnings in recruitment, reached the summit of the generalate. Congratulations, Rafita! (Mauricio Espinosa García)”.
(*) I had the honor of knowing this general personally.





















