chile

“Fire, smoke and sirens. Santiago looks like a post-war city. … young people…protest against the political and entrepreneurial class of Chile, whom they hold responsible for the price increase and their miserable income. …Those who complain about social injustice make noises with pans, or hit the ground and lampposts with hammers and sticks on the ground. …Trade suffers a wave of looting. From food to large televisions, vandals destroy everything…”

Videos and links here

President reverses fare increase as unrest continues

18/10/19:Chile, Santiago: State of emergency declared as youths riot in response to cops getting heavy over mass fare dodging against massive fare increases (and other reasons) 

“The latest protests follow grievances over the cost of living, specifically the costs of healthcare, education and public services. Unsatisfied by partial reforms following widespread education protests in 2011, the metro fare rise has proved the spark that has awoken Chile’s formidable student body…The entity that controls the Santiago Metro network has already confirmed that there will be no service over the weekend, and the Chilean student federation has called a nationwide strike for Monday.”

…More here “…as night fell, the Enel utility building and a branch of  Banco Chile, both in the city center, were set on fire. … no employees were injured…A nearby supermarket was also looted and several metro stations were attacked with Molotov cocktails…Before the metro stations were closed, calls to get on the trains without tickets had circulated, protesting against the increase in the price of metro tickets, from 800 to 830 pesos (about $ 2) during rush hour , after already a first increase of 20 pesos last January. “The entire network is closed due to riots and destruction that prevent the minimum security conditions for passengers and workers,” the metro manager said on Twitter, after attacks against almost all 164 stations where many gates and turnstiles were destroyed.  …The Santiago Metro, the largest (140 km) and most modern in South America, which carries about 3 million passengers per day, is expected to remain closed this weekend and could reopen gradually next week. Many Santiago residents have had to walk home, sometimes traveling long distances, resulting in scenes of chaos and despair.   In various parts of the city, protesters erected barricades and clashed with police, who used water cannons and tear gas, the most long-standing street battle scenes in the Chilean capital…President Sebastian Pinera called the protesters delinquents. “This desire to break everything is not a protest, it’s criminal,” he said in a radio interview.  Thursday, 133 people had been arrested for damage in the metro stations, where the damage amounted to 400 to 500 million pesos (about $ 925,000)”.… More here“The campaign erupted when secondary school students began to jump barriers in groups following a fare rise on 6 October, which put Santiago’s metro among the most expensive in Latin America at 830 pesos ($1.17) during the rush hour. Bus prices also climbed as part of the changes…The demonstrations have spread across the city, leading to violent clashes between protesters and police, who have used teargas to disperse crowds on concourses and platforms. Protesters have vandalized barriers and electronic turnstiles, and pulled emergency brakes on trains, affecting the more than 2.5 million passengers who use the metro each day. Police have made dozens of arrests and two officers were reportedly injured.” …More here “The state of emergency will initially run for 15 days and restricts freedom of movement and assembly. Due to the emergency, the National Football Association has suspended matches this weekend. General Iturriaga said the military would patrol major trouble spots in the city of seven million but would not impose a curfew at present.”

Video here

12/9/19:

Chile, Santiago: molotovs thrown at cops from roofs of university (video)Possibly provoked by the mayor’s direction that student backpacks be searched, even though the uni admin does not want to apply this (see here)

11/9/19:

Chile: further riots on anniversary of Pinochet’s coup (in Santiago, Valparaíso, Concepción et Temuco).

8/9/19:

Chile, Santiago: standard annual riots on anniversary of Pinochet coup Though not mentioned in this article, it also expresses fury at the continued impunity of Pinochet’s murderous generals, some of whom are still alive. This time the riots included attacks on the professional liars of the media with moltovs and other stuff.

16/8/19:

Chile, Santiago: clashes at university as hooded protesters oppose ID checks

19/7/19:

Chile, Santiago: riots, barricades, empty bus torched, security booth destroyed, after yet another Mapuche Indian is killed (this time, trying to set fire to his boss’s house)

3/7/19:

Chile, Santiago: heavy clashes on demonstration for greater “education” funding Video here

1/6/19:

Chile, Valparaiso: moltovs, burning barricades, as cops attack demo against pension reform with water cannon and thick-clouds-of-teargas-dispensing armoured trucks Video here

24/5/19:

Chile, Santiago: university closes in response to heavy clashes between cops and hooded students

22/5/19:

Chile, Santiago: anarchists clash with cops on 10th anniversary of killing of anarchist attacking prison guard school

1/5/19:

Chile, Santiago: large store torched, banks  and bus stops smashed, as thousands demonstrate

3/4/19:

Chile, Araucania: clashes between cops and Mapuche

22/3/19:

Chile, Santiago: shops attacked, etc. during protest against state visit of Brazilian fascist Bolsonaro

27/12/18:

Chile, Santiago: cop beaten unconscious as Mapuches & supporters demonstrate again against murder of Mapuche by the cops back in November

19/12/18:

Chile, Valparaiso: more dockers riots as they reject union’s executive’s agreement with government “Dozens of workers protesting against the company Von Appen, from whom they demand a salary increase and an improvement in shifts, forced the main gate of the port terminal until it was demolished. At the same time, three water cannon trucks…one of them sent specially from Santiago, appeared in the square to disperse the crowd, which set up barricades to which they set fire and retreated to the union headquarters…From there, through the narrow access street to the building, they threw stones and everything they had on hand while several police vehicles roamed the vicinity firing tear gas”

17/12/18:

Chile:  Valparaiso dockers strike spreads to other ports “Protests spread briefly to several other ports overnight on Monday…the Chilean police had raided union offices in Valparaiso to tame protests late on Monday after about 20 people were seen throwing Molotov cocktails from its roof….Local daily newspaper El Mercurio reported on Tuesday that the strike had caused fruit exports from Valparaiso to fall by 95 percent from the same period last year”  See also report for 14/12/18 below.

Valparaiso

 

14/12/18:

Chile, Santiago: more clashes with cops over cops killing 24-year-old Mapuche… Valparaiso: striking dockers blockade port with burning tyres on 28th day of strike

Valparaiso

26/11/18:

Chile, Valparaiso: clashes on demo against cop killing of Mapuche Indian…Santiago: municipal van burnt out on similar demo…and also in Concepcion

20/11/18:

Chile,Temuco: burning barricades in front of University in protests about killing of MapucheSee reports below for 16/11 & 15/11

16/11/18:

Chile, Arauco: riots in 3 areas after a young Mapuche is killed  “In Cañete, hooded youths burned an agricultural farm in the sector of Paicaví. Fire consumed warehouses, a van, a caretaker’s house and 3 trucks. In Tirúa, a van belonging to a company that provides services to Frontel was burned in the heart of the city, where a group …stoned the sub-police station, the town hall and a branch of Banco Estado. And in Tranaquepe, they set fire to a summer cottage that was without residents. For all these reasons, the mayor of Cañete, Jorge Radonich, decided to suspend classes yesterday, in five municipalized educational establishments… Concepción…“There were riots and outrages in different parts of the commune, so the police had to react to establish public order …” said the governor of Concepción, Robert Contreras, who regretted the damage caused by the protesters.“

15/11/18:

Chile: riots in 4 areas after young Mapuche is killed