President Sebastián Piñera counted, the World Climate Summit COP25 canceled in Santiago: Chile has been rocked for weeks by serious social protests. The US government now suspects Russia of having fueled mass protests with an internet campaign.
As the White House announced on Thursday, President Donald Trump said in a phone conversation with head of state Piñera more generally "foreign efforts to undermine Chile's institutions, democracy or society".
A senior US Secretary of State accused Russia of "distorting" the debate in Chile through contributions from so-called Internet trolls in online networks. Trolls are Internet users who deliberately disturb discussions and poison the atmosphere in online debates.
The ministry representative said the Russian campaign aimed to intensify differences of opinion in Chile, stir up conflicts and disturb a "responsible democratic debate".
Triggers of the riots were more expensive subway tickets
According to the US authorities, Russia also tried in 2016 to influence the presidential election by massively disseminating false information and to influence the election of the presidency through polarization, which then won Donald Trump against Hillary Clinton.
Chile has been shaken by mass protests since mid-October, with 20 dead so far. The protests were triggered by an increase in subway prices in the capital Santiago de Chile.
Meanwhile, protesters are calling for the resignation of 69-year-old leader Piñera and a fundamental change in his economic policies that blame her for the social problems in the South American country. A Piñera crisis meeting with the opposition leaders ended in vain on Thursday.
Previously, Piñera had tried to pacify the displeasure with an apology to his citizens and a major cabinet reshuffle. Both attempts failed.
