Chile’s leader says the country is at war as 11 die amid protests and looting
As Chile reels from days of protests and looting, President Sebastian Pinera claimed the country is at war.
Eleven people died and almost 1,500 were detained in the worst outbreak of social unrest to hit the South American nation in decades.
“We are at war against a powerful, implacable enemy, who does not respect anything or anyone and is willing to use violence and crime without any limits,” Mr Pinera said after an emergency meeting with army general Javier Iturriaga, who has been put in charge of order and security in the capital.
Santiago and another nine of Chile’s 16 regions were under a state of emergency, Mr Pinera confirmed late on Sunday, with troops out on the streets for the first time since Augusto Pinochet’s military dictatorship between 1973 and 1990.
The clashes – in which about 9,500 police and military personnel fired tear gas and water cannon at protesters who have set fire to buses, vandalised metro stations and ransacked shops – were sparked by anger about price increases and social inequality.
Despite a growth rate that should reach 2.5 per cent of GDP this year, several social indicators – such as health, education and pensions – show very high inequalities.
“Many latent requests have not been answered, tension has built up [and] frustration has increased in daily life,” said Octavio Avendano, a sociologist and political scientist at the University of Chile.
This anger boiled over last week as a protest against a rise in metro fares escalated dramatically on Friday.
On Sunday, five people died when a garment factory was set on fire by rioters in a Santiago suburb, despite Mr Pinera’s
Saturday announcement that he was suspending the fare increase.
Almost all transport was paralysed in Santiago on Sunday, with shops shut and many flights cancelled, leaving thousands of people stranded by a 7pm to dawn curfew.
On Friday, the offices of the Enel Chile power company and a Banco de Chile branch were set on fire.
“I pray that my beloved Chile will be better,” Chilean star Arturo Vidal, the Barcelona midfielder, said on Sunday.
Santiago and another nine of Chile’s 16 regions are under a state of emergency, with troops out on the streets for the first time since 1990