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Chile: how did we get here, what has happened so far and what's next?

2019-10-23T17:01:40.217Z


The protests that have shaken Chile began more than a week ago. They started with a proposed price increase for subway tickets in the capital city, Santiago, but since then ...


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(CNN Spanish) - The protests that have shaken Chile began more than a week ago. They started with a proposed price increase for subway tickets in the capital city, Santiago, but since then they have expanded, leaving a balance of 18 dead and thousands of detainees, and revealing a social discontent among Chileans.

This is what you should know to understand the situation:

1. Thus they began

Since last Monday, Santiago residents began mass demonstrations on account of the increase in the subway ticket by about 30 pesos, which left the maximum price of the ticket at approximately $ 1.19.

LOOK: Police from Chile try to stop protesters with pepper and water

The increase for the rise in the ticket, according to experts, came under the argument of the rise in the price of the dollar and oil. Protesters rejected an increase in the subway ticket while the minimum wage remains at about $ 420, so monthly would involve a cost of $ 47 in transportation alone.

The protests have become violent.

2. And they continue despite the measures

This Wednesday, Chileans protest again at Plaza Italia, the nerve center of the demonstrations in Santiago, in response to the call of several social organizations to continue with the rejection of the measures announced by President Sebastián Piñera.

On Saturday, October 19, Piñera announced that he would withdraw the increase in the subway ticket. However the protests continued.

This Tuesday, the president spoke to his country, asked for forgiveness and announced an increase in pensions, the creation of a guaranteed minimum income and a mechanism to stabilize electricity prices.

“It is true that the problems have not occurred in recent days, they have been accumulating for decades. It is also true that the different governments were not and were not able to recognize this situation in all its magnitude. This situation of inequality, of abuse, has already meant a genuine and authentic expression of millions and millions of Chileans. I recognize this lack of vision and I apologize to my countrymen, ”he said.

3. The dead increase

There are already 18 people who have lost their lives during the violent demonstrations in Chile. Under Secretary of the Interior, Rodrigo Ubilla, said during a press conference that three more people died. One of the victims died after being attacked by Chilean police in Santiago, said Undersecretary Ubilla, citing relatives of the victim. The other two were killed when an unidentified vehicle struck a protest in the city of San Pedro de la Paz. A four-year-old boy was hit. The two incidents are being investigated.

4. Curfew and state of emergency

This Tuesday the Government extended the curfew in the capital for the fourth consecutive night.

On Friday, October 18 at night, President Sebastián Piñera declared a state of Emergency for Santiago and Chacabuco and other communes in the Santiago metropolitan region, with which the Government reserves the power to restrict or suspend the exercise of certain citizen rights under of national defense or security.

5. Inequality, the gasoline of social unrest

In a recent report, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said that the quality of life has improved for Chileans in recent decades and that the decline in the poverty rate is better than that of the United States.

But there is a chasm between the richest 10% and the poorest 10% of its population. According to the OECD, almost one third of Chilean workers are employed in informal or non-permanent jobs, and one in two Chileans has little literacy.

Many Chileans said they are frustrated with rising living costs, low wages and what they see is an inadequate pension system.

“We have been enduring injustice, inequality for more than 30 years, we are almost the number 1 in inequality worldwide. So that is what we do not want. That's why we are here, raising my voice, ”one of the protesters who joined the marches on Wednesday told CNN in Spanish.

MIRA: There is a child among the 18 dead in the protests in Chile

Catalina Magaña, spokeswoman for the Confederation of Students of Chile (Confech), said the demonstrations are due to the discontent of the people in that country.

“This is what is being lived in Chile for every day since the rise in the passage was announced, this is the discontent of the people in reality. They are years of repression, they are years of living in misery, they are years when the Government imposes measures at the expense of the people and when one goes out to the streets to demand their rights, to demand a dignified life, they put the repressive forces on us, ” Magaña told CNN in Spanish this Monday.

6. Piñera, the target of criticism

Others have directed their anger towards President Piñera, a center-right billionaire who was photographed eating in a fancy Italian restaurant while protests were taking place.

Piñera was reelected in 2017 after governing the country from 2010 to 2014 with the promise of transforming his homeland into a nation developed by 2020.

MIRA: Chile: Are Piñera's ads enough to defuse the crisis?

In an interview with the Financial Times a week before the protests began, the president compared Chile with other Latin American countries ruined by economic and political turmoil.

“Argentina and Paraguay are in recession, Mexico and Brazil are stuck, Peru and Ecuador are in a deep political crisis and in this context Chile seems like an oasis,” said Piñera.

Santiago will host the world leaders in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) from November 11 to 17. But in what would be a blow to Chile, the riots could threaten the summit and a long-awaited trade meeting between the United States. President Donald Trump and President of China Xi Xinping.

Source: cnnespanol

All news articles on 2019-10-23

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