Travel fare rise sparks showdown on poverty

Rioting, arson attacks and violent clashes wracked Chile for a fifth day yesterday as the death toll rose to 15 in an upheaval that has almost paralysed the country.

President Sebastian Pinera announced a programme calling for modest boosts to the lowest incomes and increased taxes on the wealthiest as he sought to calm anger.

About half of Chile’s 16 regions remained under an emergency decree and some were a under military curfew.

The curfew is the first – other than for natural disasters – imposed since the country returned to democracy in 1990 following a bloody 17-year dictatorship.

Unrest flared in the traditionally stable country last week when a relatively minor rise – less than 4% – in subway fares led to students jumping station turnstiles in protest.

The defiance exploded into violence on Friday with demonstrators setting fire to subway stations, buses and a high-rise building.

Demonstrations escalated with demands for improvements in education, health care and wages, and spread nationwide, fuelled by frustration among many Chileans who feel they have not shared in the economic advances in one of Latin America’s wealthiest nations.

Riot police used tear gas and water cannons yesterday to break up marches by rockthrowing demonstrators in several parts of Santiago, while soldiers and police guarded other Chileans who formed long lines at supermarkets.

“I’ve walked several kilometres searching for milk, but the supermarkets remain closed and neighbourhood stores have run out,” said Carmen Fuentealba, a retiree.

Many stores, subway stations and banks were burned, damaged or looted during protests over the weekend.

Shortly before the rioting broke out last week, Chile’s conservative president boasted in an interview that Chile “looks like an oasis” in the region because it has a stable democracy and a balanced and growing economy.

But the wealth is unevenly spread.

Many Chilean families earn the equivalent of £428 to £544 a month and pensions can be as low as £123.